Double Boiler or you can do as I do and use a large coffee can for melting the wax in, inserted in a saucepan, filled 1/3 of the way with water. Wax MUST be melted this way and never directly on the heat source because it is a serious fire hazard.

Directions:

Cut the wax into small pieces so it melts more readily.

Heat the water to boiling in the boiler or set the coffee can in the water. Use medium heat. be patient and do NOT turn up the heat. Stir the wax until it is completely melted and it reaches a temperature of 160° F or 71° Celsius. Test with the thermometer. Reduce the heat at this point making sure the water stays hot enough to keep the wax liquid.

Add the colour, a little at a time. As it dries, it will lighten up. To test for colour, place a small amount on a pie plate. Allow to cool. Check the results. Make your adjustments and be sure the colour is blended evenly throughout the wax.

Add the fragranced oil now, stirring well for a uniform scent when the candle is burning. If you are using herbs, also add them at this point. Decide on the length of candle you want and then cut the wick at double this length plus three inches. For example, if you are making 12" tapers, then cut the wick 27" long. You will be making two tapers at once and need the extra three inches for holding the wick as you dip.

Hold the wick in the middle and dip into the hot wax for a few seconds. It may float the first few dips because the wick is lighter than the wax. Have patience. You want to be relaxed and focused because your emotions and feelings affect your intent. The wax needs to dry for a minute between each dipping.

Make sure the candles don't touch each other!

At this point, you can also pour the hot wax into moulds, if you want. There are many interesting candle moulds available at local craft stores. Yellow, sun-shaped candles would be perfect for Imbolc! You'll need to double the amount of wax if your intent is to use moulds.

After several dippings, you can speed up the process by plunging the candles into cold water between dippings. Keep dipping until candles reach desired thickness. While wax is still somewhat pliable but not too soft, roll on wax paper to smooth out any irregularities. Trim the bottoms until they are flat and hang to dry.

I love it when the kids help me in the kitchen, there are some common sense rules that should be strictly adhered to.

The kids also enjoy making Brighid's Crowns on Imbolc, to wear during our family feast. Eggs are an appropriate meal at this time because they symbolize pregnancy and a return of fertility. Any dairy product is a good choice. Scout is an aficionado of good cheeses and we generally begin our meal with Brie on crackers and Gouda or Colby slices.

A Greek salad, topped with Feta cheese, is a great accompaniment to a spinach quiche. We always finish our dinner with a pudding, in honour of "oimelc". If you are lactose intolerant, as I am, then you might consider using goat's milk for the pudding. It is much easier to digest. I trade tarot readings to a neighbour in return for goat's milk. You can also find it at Wal-Mart, in the dairy case. I'm very excited because in the Spring, we're going to purchase two dairy goats of our own!

Brighid's Crown

(I know I found this idea online somewhere but I cannot remember where. I've adapted it to my own use but would love to give credit to the original source so if you know, please email me!)

Supplies:

Directions:

Cut a two inch strip of paper, long enough to wrap around your child's head, plus two inches. Your child can decide what colour to make his/her crown.

Cut out 6-10 thin rectangles for the candles. 8 works well but it depends upon the size of the candles.

Using yellow construction paper, cut out as many flames as you need to top the candles. We then use the red construction paper and cut out a smaller flame to fit inside of the yellow. This is a matter of choice.

Glue the flames to the candles and then glue the candles around the headband. Scout is very thorough and neat about her work and her crowns are generally very symmetrical. Spike uses some creative license but it is his creation, after all!

From the Witch's Kitchen

Imbolc  recipes from Garnet WindDancer

Classic Quiche Lorraine

Sprinkle bacon and cheese in bottom of pie shell. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over bacon and cheese. Bake at 350°F for 35-40 minutes or until knife inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let stand for

5-10 minutes before cutting and serving. I generally toss in some frozen spinach that has been thawed but it's fine without it. You could also add 1 C. cooked and diced chicken or 1 C. cooked mixed veggies, in lieu of the bacon

Bread Custard

Toast the bread. Butter each one and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon, to taste. Put buttered side together, making 2 "sandwiches". Cut these into quarters and arrange in the bottom of a buttered casserole dish. Combine the eggs, granulated sugar, vanilla, salt and milk; stir until well blended. Pour over the bread. Put the casserole dish in a pan of 1" deep water and bake at 350°F for 75-80 minutes. You can add about 1/3 C. of raisins to this if you'd like.

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was the most influential occult group to emerge from the end of the nineteenth century occult revival. The main achievement of the group, and of its more influential individuals, was to create a working system of magic, bonded from the various separate strands of tradition in existence at the time.

The group was founded in the year 1888 by William Wynn Westcott (1848-1925), a doctor, and a master mason, William Robert Woodman, also a doctor and a mason, and Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers (1854-1918), who was also a mason.

The order claimed its pedigree from coded documents in Dr Wynn Westcott's possession; these claimed the group was a branch of a German Rosicrucian Order. They outlined five Masonic rituals, which were expanded upon by Mathers. It is highly likely that these papers were forged by Westcott, and it was this accusation that later led to the break up of the order.

The prime mover of the Golden Dawn turned out to be Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers. He was responsible in main for the cohesion the Golden Dawns structure, rituals, and whole system of magic. Mathers, who was also a mason, was a flamboyant character with a romantic leaning to all things Celtic. He changed his name to incorporate the MacGregor, and claimed descendance from the Scottish Clan. It was his confidence and charm that lead to the orders great popularity among society at that time.

Like many other members of the Golden Dawn, he had a passion for reworking and translating some of the Medieval Grimoires, and a great deal of his time was spent researching in the British Library. Mathers wrote much of the Golden Dawn's material, he drew on information gleaned from his long researches into old magical texts. He used Eliphas Levi's system of magic, along with Egyptian magic, Graeco-Egyptian magic, and Jewish magic, fused with ideas from medieval grimoires, the Tarot and Eastern mysticism. Dee's strange Enochain language was also incorporated in places. This mass of varied material allowed them to say that their tradition stretched all the way back through the ages to Egypt, land of magic and mystery. The fact that Mathers managed to fuse all of this material into a working coherent system is his great legacy.

The hierarchical structure of the Golden Dawn was divided into ten degrees, based on the ten degrees of the Sephiroth from the Qabalah (Kabbalah). Members passed through each of the levels by sitting exams and partaking in theatrical ritual. The rituals took place in specially designed temples named after the Egyptian gods.

The main emphasis and motive of passing through the degrees was to develop the personality through the higher self, and achieve god like status by identifying with universal energies and archetypes.

These energies were seen as already present within the human psyche, they just needed to be brought to the surface and controlled with the force of the will and imagination.

As with many occult groups, the leading members, Mathers in particular, claimed that they were in contact with a secret order of higher intelligences or Magi. These beings guided the working material and controlled how the order developed. The secret order were unapproachable, which was a useful barrier to detractors.

The Golden Dawn had some very influential people within its ranks. W. B. Yeats, Aleister Crowley, Constance Wilde, Algernon Blackwood, Arthur Machen, A. E. Waite, Annie Horniman, Florence Farr, Gerald Kelly and Maude Gonne were all members. There was also a rumour that Wallace Budge, who was in charge of Egyptology at the British Museum, was also involved, although this has never been verified.

By the year 1900 the inflated egos of many of the group members had caused arguments, and created schisms within the group. Aleister Crowley (who joined in 1898) had a major part in this. He was not well liked, but he sided with Mathers (although they were later to have a magical battle of their own), Mathers accused Wynn Wescott of faking the Rosicrucian documents on which the Golden Dawn was founded. It seems now that the allegation was probably true, but this undermining of the orders foundations did not go down well, and Mathers was expelled.

Mathers left England for Paris with his wife Moina in 1892. While in Paris he founded a splinter group of the Golden Dawn, but the order was never as powerful as it had been in Britain. Mathers died in Paris in 1918.

William Butler Yeats, the Irish poet (who joined in 1890 from the Theosophical Society) took over the Golden Dawn Core group after Mather's departure, but it was A. E. Waite, gaining control in 1903 who took the order down a different path. He changed the name to The Holy Order of the Golden Dawn, and pushed the order towards more Christian leanings. He finally closed the Order down around 1914 because of apathy, and dwindling membership.

By the time the core of the Golden Dawn had fizzled out there were temples as far apart as Bradford and Paris. There were also groups in Weston Super Mare, Edinburgh and Chicago. Many occult groups now claim descent from the Golden Dawn, and its advancement of the Western Mystery Tradition cannot be underestimated.

Dance Again - by Aset Moonglow

Beautiful white bride
Of the countryside
Your sweet perfume
Doth fill the room
Flowers do bloom
In honor of you and your groom
And we dance again
Dance again

You turn to me
Say, "You must follow to see."
I take your hand
Together we greet the land
"This is where the magic grows,
Here is the seed you must sow."
And we dance again
Dance again

Lord and Lady gave blessing
And I did of their asking
In the newborn light
We said farewell to night
So the wheel turned again
And the Lady did call me friend
And we dance again
Dance again
 

Singing Bowls

The other night I did a ritual where I used a Tibetan Singing Bowl to raise power. I walked around the circle, playing the bowl and visualised it filling with the right sort of energy before sending the energy off to do its work.

Here's a bit more about Singing Bowls.

In the beginning wind ('lung') moved the Great Silence & created Sound. By it's vibration, sound produced both subtle & gross forms. In Creative Myths worldwide, sound is recognised as the womb from which the Visible and Invisible emerged.

The Bronze Age in China dates from 1600 BC. Small metal bowls were known around 11thCentury BC and are the oldest objects described as 'Singing Bowls'. By the 6th. Century BC the Chinese, being far advanced in the manufacture of metal alloys, made perfectly tuned bells. During the time of Confucius in the 5thCentury BC, the ancient kings were ever careful about things which affected the heart.

It was said that sound vibrations came from the heavens & were interpreted by the heart, the place where harmony arises. In those days it was through tones & music in rituals, which brought people's inner feelings & external conduct into balance to establish peace in the nation. The singing bowl is essentially a heart-oriented experience.

Singing bowls have a magical aliveness, and they interact in distinct ways with different people and environments when played. Each bowl has a unique voice. Comprised of the seven metals representing different planetary influences:

Together these metals produce a profound sound which can penetrate deep within the body and mind creating a subtle healing, also useful as an aid to meditation. The bowl is played by holding it in the flat open palm of one hand, allowing the body of the bowl to vibrate freely, while running a rounded wooden stick around the outside rim of the bowl with the other hand. When the correct combination of pressure, angulation, and velocity is reached, the bowl will sing, much as a drinking glass will vibrate to a certain frequency when you run your finger around the rim.

The singing bowl is traditionally used as a special offering bowl in a Buddhist altar containing barley, flower or rice, water, and butter with a wick placed in the centre to create a butter lamp. Due to its sonorous properties the singing bowl has become not just a musical instrument, but rather a practical tool of letting go in the practice of meditation

Brighid

Brighid is a deity who can be seen in many different cultures. She is believed to have been Brigantia in England, Bride in Scotland, and Brigandu in Wales and France. She is thought to be the same goddess who was worshipped at Bath in ancient Britain as well as the patroness of countless springs and wells in Ireland. The Romans were quick to identify in Brighid their own favoured goddess Minerva, or Pallas Athene, the maiden aspect of Athena. Indeed, she is still worshipped widely in Ireland under the veil of Saint Bridget.

Brighid was born in the instant between night and day and as she rose with the sun, a beam of flame was said to have sprung from her forehead. It is this legend that hints that perhaps she was once considered to be a sun deity. That she was born on a threshold is a very import aspect of the legend. The ancient Celts were fascinated by in-between places such as shores, the instant of sunrise, the instant season change, doorways, and other places that lay instantaneously between two places while being in neither.

Despite her image as a mother goddess, Brighid is seen as the daughter of Dagda, "The Good God." She was married to Bres, who had a brief and tragic stint as the king of the Tuatha. Together, the two produced a son, Ruadan, who was slain by the goldsmith Govannon

Brighid is the traditional patroness of healing, poetry and smithcraft, which are all practical and inspired wisdom. As a solar deity Her attributes are light, inspiration and all skills associated with fire. Although She might not be identified with the physical Sun, She is certainly the benefactress of inner healing and vital energy. Called 'The Exalted One' or 'The High One', Brighid was known under several cognate names (see below) from ancient through modern times. She was perhaps the most widespread, ancient, and revered goddess in Celtic culture. She was a multi-faceted goddess probably most comparable to Rome's Minerva and Greece's Athena. The Romans recognized her as a celestial goddess, a deduction supported by Irish mythology. As the eponymous and tutelary goddess of the Brigantes in northern Britain, they equated her with their own Juno Regina or as Caelestis Brigantia. The latter was from neo-Roman goddess Caelestis who herself was inspired by other foreign goddess such as Carthage's Tanit (herself originating in Ishtar/ Astarte). However, a Romano-British sanctuary of Minerva's referenced by the Roman writer Solinus seems more probably to have originally been Brigantia's. In Gaul she was known as Brigindo, closely associated with fire and the hearth.

Her connections to healing connect her to waters, as does her cauldron of inspiration. It is for this reason that Celtic countries, particularly Ireland, are filled with springs and wells baring the name of Brighid. Offerings to Brighid, such as coins or rings, were cast into these wells (leading to the modern tradition of making a wish and casting a penny into a fountain) to bring luck and the lady's blessing.

One popular tale of Brigid's springs and her healing powers involves two lepers who came to one of her sacred wells to be cured. The goddess met the men and instructed that one was to bathe his companion until the other's skin healed at which point they would switch tasks. The first leper then bathed his companion until his friend's skin grew well again. However, the second leper was now repulsed by the disease that he had just been cured of and refused to touch his companion to bathe him. At this point, the goddess struck the man again with leprosy and cured his companion.

Also long known as The Mistress of the Mantle, She represents the sister or virgin aspect of the Great Goddess. The deities of the Celtic pantheon have never been abstraction or fictions but remain inseparable from daily life. The fires of inspiration, as demonstrated in poetry, and the fires of the home and the forge are seen as identical. There is no separation between the inner and the outer worlds. The tenacity with which the traditions surrounding Brighid have survived, even the saint as the thinly-disguised Goddess, clearly indicates Her importance.

The widespread number of tribes and place names that bore her name evidence Brighid's antiquity. These included the Brigantes of northern Britain and south-west Ireland, the Brigantii of Vindelicia (southern Germany), and Brigetio, her eponymous town in Pannonia and site of her sanctuary. She was also the goddess of such rivers as the Braint and Brent. As will be explored elsewhere, the early Iron Age Bryges of northern Greece were probably the first Celtic tribe known in history. This tribe came down into the Mediterranean from central Europe in the aftermath of the Late Bronze Age collapse, eventually continuing on into Anatolia as the Thracianized Phrygians

Brighid was one of the pagan deities so popular that she was adopted into Christianity as a saint, with the pagan holiday Imbolc continuing as her holiday and other characteristics and legends. The identity of her name with her functions even lives on in English words such as bride (from the household heath goddess), breed (protectress of the fecundity of flocks and herds) and brigands (her soldiers equipped with weapons from her forge).

Even in name Brighid spanned the length and breadth of Celtic culture, perhaps heralding the Celts into history as the Bryges/ Phrygians in the eleventh century BCE and surviving today as St. Brighid complete with her own holiday. She was a multi-faceted celestial goddess with close parallels in many of the Irish pantheons and beyond. She also seems to have been synonymous with the Danu, whose origin also seems to be found in the 'cosmic ocean'. Brighid's equation with Carthage's Tanit via Rome's Dea Caelestis and Juno Regina make the Danu/ Tanit connection intriguing.

Brighid's association with fire also has great antiquity. Her all-female priesthood and worship forbidden to men suggests women originated her (or at least her association with fire) perhaps as long ago as the Palaeolithic. After all, tending the hearth fire would have been a main responsibility of women while the men were out hunting. We should only expect that goddesses, not gods, were associated with the sacred and household fires as personified by Brigit, Vesta, and Hestia. It was from this identity as the goddess of the household hearth fire that she developed into the patroness of smiths (as the goddess of the smith's forge fire).

Brighid's ownership of the sacred apple orchard in the Celtic Otherworld, also known as the 'Land of Women' and the 'Land of Youth' also has parallels in Irish mythology. In addition to Hera's ownership of such an apple tree in the Greek otherworldly 'Land of the Hesperides', the Norse goddess Idun was the keeper of the apples of immortality. She gave one to each of the Aesir gods daily (we do not know where she got them from but we can guess) so that they would retain their ageless vigour. Amongst the Hesperides, meanwhile, included a number of nymphs whose details vary according to Greek author (no surprise). One of these, however, is Hestia. Though not the same as the Greek goddess of the hearth, it is strange that the Greeks would have a second Hestia located in the 'otherworldly paradise' -- a paradise in Irish myth owned by Brighid, the goddess of the sacred fire.

She began as a triplicity of sisters, not unusual to Celtic lore. She is the Daughter of Dagda and the Morrighan and sister to Ogma, a Sun God and the Creator of the Ogham. With Bres of the Fomorians, She had three sons - Brian (Ruadan), Iuchar and Uar - and Brian's actions in The Battle of Moytura figure largely in Her evolution to a Goddess of Peace and Unity.

To understand the significance of this battle it is necessary to know a little bit about Celtic tradition concerning family. Matrilineal, meaning ancestry was traced through the mother's line rather than the father's, the most important male in your life would be the oldest male kin to your mother, often an uncle and not necessarily a grandfather since his lineage to her may not exist. All blood relationships of any importance came through your mother‚s line. This tie was so tight that children of sisters were considered to be siblings rather than cousins.

Motherhood demanded the utmost reverence. Rape was a crime of highest severity, subject to the greatest punishments and not pardonable or subject to leniency. [Later, in Her evolved role as the Lawgiver, Brighid would make certain that women‚s rights were retained in some form within the new religion.]

The marriage of Brighid to Bres was essentially an alliance to bring peace between two warring factions. She was of the Danu and he of the Fomorians. With the intermarriage, war was hopefully averted. Ruadan, Brighid‚s eldest son, used the knowledge of smithing given to him by his maternal kin, the Danu, against them by killing their smith, a sacred position within the tribe. This smith killed Ruadan before dying himself. Brighid‚s grief and lamentations were said to be the first heard in Ireland and were not only an expression of mourning for the loss of Her son but also for the enmity between maternal and paternal factions of family.

This was seen as the beginning of the end for the Old Ways. And so, the Irish story of Original Sin‚ was the act against maternal kinship rather than that of sexuality since sexuality, which brings the sacred position of motherhood, was seen as positive by the Celts.

Her evolution from Goddess to saint linked Pagan Celtic and Christian traditions much the same way the Cauldron of Cerridwen and the Holy Grail were combined in Arthurian legend. She acts as a bridge between the two worlds and successfully made the transition back to Goddess again with most of Her traditions retained. The worship of Saint Brigit has persisted up until the early 20th century with Her Irish cult nearly supplanting that of Mary. She is commemorated in both Ireland and the highlands and islands of Scotland.

She possesses an unusual status as a Sun Goddess Who hangs Her Cloak upon the rays of the Sun and Whose dwelling-place radiates light as if on fire. Brighid took over the Cult of the Ewes formerly held by the Goddess Lassar Who also is a Sun Goddess and Who made the transition, in the Isles, from Goddess to saint. In this way Brighid's connection to Imbolc is completed, as the worship of Lassar diminished, only to be revived later in Christian sainthood.

Because of her many associations and attributes, numerous links with other goddesses in the IRISH mythologies can be drawn with Brighid. Some even see her appearance in Arthurian legend. There, as the celestial ocean goddess of smithy, she, as Lady of the Lake, forges and gives, then takes back the sword Excalibur from Arthur. Finally, as he lay dying, she, like a Norse Valkyrie, takes him to Avalon, the 'land of eternal youth' where he will live forever.

Variations of names for Brigit: Brigit, Brid, Brigentis, Brighid (Eriu), Bride (Alba), Bridgit, Brig, Brighid, Brigantia, Brigentis, Brigantis (Briton), Brighid, Brigidu, Briginda, Brigindo, Brigit, Breo Saighead ('fiery arrowhead'), Brigandu (Gaul), Brigan; Bricta, Brixia, Bricia (Gaul).

Stone relief of warrior Goddess Brigantia. She carries a spear in her right hand, an orb symbolising victory in her left and wars a crown. A gorgon's head adorns her breast, a symbol of Minerva. She is wearing Roman dress. The inscription reads BRIGANTIA SAMAADVS ...

From Birrens, Dunfriesshire, a Roman military site

Natural Cleaning

by Garnet Winddancer

There are a growing number of anti-bacterial cleaning products on the market every day. In fact, it’s difficult to find a cleaning product that is not anti-bacterial. Everyone wants to be super-clean and super-sterile. It’s as trendy as jelly shoes and mullets used to be in the 80s.

What’s wrong with wiping out all those dangerous bacteria that breed on our kitchen sinks, you ask? Well, nothing. Of course you want a clean home. But anti-bacterial cleansers are doing nothing to ensure the health and safety of your family. In fact, they could actually prove detrimental to your family in the long run.

When my niece was born, just four months after my own daughter, I offered my sister the use of my brand new bottle sterilizer. I was exclusively breastfeeding and didn’t really need it. My sister was confused and said nobody had ever told her to sterilize the baby bottles and so she asked her pediatrician. What he said made a lot of sense, especially in light of my own views on anti-bacterial cleaning. He told my sister that as long as the bottles were washed in hot, soapy water, there was no need for sterilization because babies need to be introduced to mild, minute amounts of bacteria from a young age.

You may gasp in horror but in reality, it is how our bodies work. We cannot build up a tolerable immunity to a substance if we have never encountered it before. Thus, a young baby, whose mother diligently sterilizes bottles, goes out into the world with no protection from bacteria that she/he will encounter every where, every day. Consequently, they get sick more often.

Now, apply the same principle to anti-bacterial cleansers. Not only are we inhibiting our body’s defense mechanism, we are also contributing to the creation of super-bugs because bacteria, as well as human beings, in time build up their own immunities. They become resistant to the substances that we use to kill them. Basically, they become even harder to kill.

You might ask what all this has to do with Witchcraft/Paganism and living a magical life. Arguably, what the multitudinous Pagan paths have in common is a reverence for nature. So adapting to a greener way of life will enhance your spirituality as you surround yourself with the essence of the outdoors in your living space.

Kitchen Spray Cleaner

Wrap the herb, either dried or fresh, in cheesecloth and put it in a pan with vinegar.  Gently simmer for 15 minutes.  Allow to cool thoroughly and then pour into a spray bottle.  Use to clean sinks and countertops.

Window Cleaner

Add the juice of one lemon to 2 cups of distilled vinegar in a spray bottle.  Shake well and use to clean glass surfaces and windows.  Someone once told me to use a crunched up piece of newspaper instead of a cloth when cleaning glass or mirrors.  I don;t know why it works but it really does.

Carpet Freshener

Add a handful of favorite mix of dried herbs and a few drops of a complementary essential oil to a box of baking soda.  Shake well and store in an old powdered cleanser container.  Shake onto carpet and vacuum up.  Lavender is always nice but remember that the pieces of herb must be ground very finely so as not to get stuck in the sweeper.

Wood polish

Olive oil is a wonderful natural wood polish.  Dribble a bit on a clean cloth and use on woodwork, cabinets and tables.  I use it on our oak dining room table and it leaves it with a gorgeous deep lustre.

For further cleaning recipes, try picking up a copy of The Naturally Clean Home by Karyn Siegel-Maier.  It has a ton of great tips and recipes.

From the archives
101 experiments in the philosophy of everyday life

Posted by Kookie Kit

I've certainly done this without realising it (and why i have a phobia of ants now....), i think its why i chose it as the first one to put up here:

(taken from 101 experiments in the philosophy of everyday life, by Roger-Pol Droit)

Experiment 29: follow the movement of ants
duration: about 30 minutes
props: an anthill (or a kerb where you notice ants are)
effect: reflective

We've all done it, but it still works. To spend a bit of time observing a column of ants is thought provoking. Attend to their dogged regularity. And note, even if you've done so a hundred times before, how they follow each other, construct the regularly moving thread of their passage. Grasp the general design of their journeys, with their tiny individual variations and momentary turning-backs. Spot the weary heroisms and the implausable ferryings.

And then take up thoise banal reflections everyone has already made. Ask yourself how such a life is to be conceived. Ponder the idea of a biological, of a society without language. Perplex yourselfs with imagining an inhuman city. Gulp in front of the depiction of an organism made up of a multiplicity of individuals. Re-read your Micromegas, you Fabre, your Bouvard et Pecuchet.

Finally, try and imagine yourself as an ant. Pushing a breadcumb, crossing a pebble, moving round a piece of broken glass. How do you know where you're going? Are you hungry? What does that mean? What are you thinking about? And what does that mean? What's it like- being an ant?

You know these questions have no answers. There do exist parallel worlds, opaque to each other, non-communicating, and wee really are in error when we speak of a single universe. Planet Ant is not Human Earth. It's not included within it, hardly situated within it. You will conclude that the plurality of worlds exists under our nose, is always there, and we still don't really understand the first thing about it, the why and the wherefore.

In short, you will find that the ants provoke in us no new ideas, and ceretainly no interesting ones.

(kookie's komments on this: actually, i'll let you in on a little secret.... to do this, DOES actually provoke new ideas.. or at least it did for me, causing my brain to do something funny, and become terrified of the non-communicative organisation of ants, and their behaviour.

Also, i came to the conclusion, that in a certain way, certainly at certain times of the day, we are like ants, non-communicative, yet organinsing ourselves into strewams going certain places (whether it be school, work or home, or even just for shopping.) when you look at tehse people, very rarely will you find people in deep conversation with each other, especially when driving and walking. its IS a very uncommunicative task.

And it does freak me out.)

In the news...

Alarm at new climate warning By Richard Black BBC environment correspondent

Temperatures around the world could rise by as much as 11C, according to one of the largest climate prediction projects ever run. This figure is twice the level that previous studies have suggested.

Scientists behind the project, called climateprediction.net, say it shows that a "safe" upper limit for carbon dioxide is impossible to define. The results of the study, which used PCs around the world to produce data, are published in the journal Nature.  Climateprediction.net is run from Oxford University, and is a distributed computing project; rather than using a supercomputer to run climate models, people can download software to their own PCs, which run the programs during downtime. More than 95,000 people have registered, from more than 150 countries; their PCs have between them run more than 60,000 simulations of future climate. Each PC runs a slightly different computer simulation examining what happens to the global climate if levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere double from pre-industrial levels - which may happen by the middle of the century.

What vary most between the simulations are the precise nature of physical processes like the extent of convection within tropical clouds - a process which drives the transport of heat around the world.

Lowest rise

So no two simulations will produce exactly the same results; overall, the project produces a picture of the possible range of outcomes given the present state of scientific knowledge. The lowest rise which climateprediction.net finds possible is 2C, ranging up to 11C. The timescale would depend on how quickly the doubling of CO2 was reached, but large rises would be on a scale of a century at least from now. "I think these results suggest that our need to do something about climate change is perhaps even more urgent," the climateprediction.net chief scientist David Stainforth told BBC News.

"However, with our current state of knowledge, we can't yet define a safe level in the atmosphere."

On Monday, the International Climate Change Taskforce, co-chaired by the British MP Stephen Byers, claimed it had shown that a carbon dioxide concentration of over 400 ppm (parts per million) would be 'dangerous'. The current concentration is around 378 ppm, rising at roughly 2ppm per year.

Dangerous warming

Next week the UK Meteorological Office hosts an international conference, Stabilisation 2005, announced by Tony Blair late last year.  Its aim is to discuss what the term "dangerous" global warming really means, and to look at ways to stabilise greenhouse gas levels.  Myles Allen, the principal investigator of climateprediction.net, said the focus on stabilisation might not be appropriate.

"Stabilisation as an exclusive target may not be adequate," he told BBC News.

"Stephen Byers claims to know that 400 ppm is the maximum 'safe' level; what we show is that it may be impossible to pin down a safe level, and therefore we should not focus exclusively on stabilisation."

Distributed computing has been used before, notably by the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence or Seti, where several million people have downloaded software enabling them to analyse data from observations of distant galaxies for signs of alien life. The scientists behind climateprediction.net believe their project, because it is distributed to individual PCs, can help inform people about climate change - and that, in turn could bring political change.

"It's very difficult to get politicians to collaborate, not only across the globe but also over sustained lengths of time," Bob Spicer from the Earth Sciences Department at the Open University, told BBC News.

"The people who can hold politicians to account are the public; and with this project we are bringing cutting-edge science to the stakeholders, the public."

Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/sci/tech/4210629.stm

Published: 2005/01/26 19:14:14 GMT

© BBC MMV

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TESTING THE FAITH
Wiccans meeting on Air Force base Gatherings get military's blessing as long as not contrary to 'good order'

By Ron Strom

© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com

Members of the U.S. Air Force stationed at a Texas base – which prides itself as being the most religiously diverse – are attending weekly meetings for devotees of the Wiccan religion at a base facility.

Though the Wiccan meetings at Lackland Air Force Base are not considered "services," since there is no official chaplain presiding, they do draw between 25 and 50 people.

"All individuals assigned to Lackland are free to worship the faith of their choosing, whether traditional or non-traditional, as guaranteed to each of us under the U.S. Constitution," Oscar Balladares, the chief of Media Relations at the base, told WND, emphasizing that "Wiccan meetings revolve around discussions of caring for the Earth and its resources and do not include any type of Satanic worship."

Though often associated with Satanism, Wiccans, known also as witches or neopagans, don't believe in Satan, according to one online description.

"This form of witchcraft has nothing to do with sorcery, and is instead based on a reverence for nature, the worship of a fertility goddess, a restrained hedonism and group magic aimed at healing," states encyclopedia.com.

Air Force regulations say: "The Chaplain Service accommodates requests of chaplain services and/or support for religious practices unless the specific accommodation is logistically impossible, or contrary to good order and discipline prohibited by law or policy. If a specific request is denied, Chaplain Service members remain responsible for pursuing alternative means for accommodation."

Balladares stressed that the base "prohibits discrimination based on religious preference or beliefs. Base policy also provides that any religious body that does not have an endorsing body may hold organizational and informational meetings on base in Chaplain Service designated facilities at the sole discretion of the Wing Chaplain."

Since Wicca has no "endorsing body" – it is a diverse movement with no central authority – it falls under the discretion of the Chaplain Service.

"At Lackland, Wiccans are provided the opportunity to meet for organizational and informational meetings and their activities are not deemed to be contrary to good order and discipline nor in violation of existing laws or policy," said Balladeres.

"We take pride in providing the most diverse chapel program in the Air Force, serving more faith groups than any other Air Force installation. In fact, approximately 18 different religious groups are represented on Lackland, and 38 worship services are provided any given weekend. Our base chaplains represent Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Jewish and Muslim faith communities. We try to ensure all faith traditions are treated fairly and equally."

Tim Wildmon, president of American Family Association, said he didn't see how the Wiccans' meetings could be stopped, as long as the participants are not "committing violent acts or subverting the American government," adding, "I disagree obviously with their faith … but I don't see it as a threat to the military."

Wildmon noted that he has a much bigger problem with Muslims in the military.

"They ought to say no Muslims in the American military," he told WND. "Wicca doesn't teach, as far as I know, what Islam teaches about killing the infidel. … Muslims in the American military are a much greater danger to the institution than is Wicca."

Concern over minority faiths receiving Pentagon approval has been expressed by various organizations for years. In 1999, the Washington Post reported that the Army's Handbook for Chaplains lists "Church of Satan" as a group that could seek approval. A Pentagon spokesman tells WND, however, that no representative of the Church of Satan has sought to have a chaplain installed.

Wrote the Post:

"Two summers ago, the Army approved the Fort Hood [Texas] Open Circle as its first official Wicca group. Without much fanfare, Fort Hood officials gave them a grassy campsite for their sacred ground, sanctioned their choice of high priestess – even lent them an Army chaplain for moral support. Twice a week, the Wicca's hold evening classes on subjects such as lunar cycles and the meaning of a coven. On full moons and eight sacred holidays, they and dozens more witches from the surrounding area watch the high priestess lift her dagger over a ball of salt and honor the blessed earth. The events are posted on base and open to anyone interested."

In response to the Fort Hood events, a group of 10 Christian organizations launched a boycott of the military, asking supporters not to join any of the services until the policy is changed.

Currently, there are about 190 religious organizations listed by the Defense Department that can endorse chaplains in the Armed Forces, including several separate Christian denominations. There are approximately 2,900 chaplains on active duty.

Will there be Wiccan chaplains in the military anytime soon? Not unless a specific "religious organization" applies for recognition, according to Air Force Col. Richard K. Hum, executive director of the Armed Forces Chaplains Board.

Hum explained the process for chaplain recognition:

"First the Religious Organization (RO) must meet the requirements listed in DoD Directive 1304.19 and DoD Instruction 1304.28 in order to become an endorsing agency. Then, when this qualified RO presents a candidate for the chaplaincy, the individual military service evaluates the candidate according to service need and the candidate's qualifications. If there is a need and the candidate meets the qualifications, the candidate may be offered a commission."

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