Sian SibleyWe held our first open ritual yesturday since the pandemic and it was truly lovely
A chance to discuss and talk about our different points of view and to do ritual with people from outside our group was a wonderful thing.
Just a few photos to give you a flavour of the day.
We stand at a time when it is clear that we need to make a change in our society.
We need to move our psychology as a species from the idea that the world is set around us to serve our needs and is our playground and resource to the place where we acknowledge the right of all living things to live in their own right without our interference or our exploitation.
No matter what they tell us, there is only Earth and our ability to live on it depends on ALL other species on the planet.
One of the major issues facing us, and its caused by the idea that we can have it all, with no thought for our ecology is the degradation of our food chains.
This is caused by the idea that we can control the environment to the extent that all other "Pests" and environments that are not of use to us can be done away with with no consequence to anyone.
Here are the facts
As you can see the majority of the food chain degrations are caused by human activities.
Solutions such as Veganism and monoculture farms are not the answer because they remove humans further out of nature rather than engaging with it further.
Its all about the money, money money C'ching
Thats what our society sells us. Its all about what we own and how expensive it is.
I am thinking more and more about where we stand and how we exist in a world that we are in the process of destroying for the sake of the God Money.
Your people are driven by a terrible sense of deficiency. When the last tree is cut, the last fish is caught, and the last river is polluted; when to breathe the air is sickening, you will realize, too late, that wealth is not in bank accounts and that you can’t eat money.
This quote is by Alanis Obomsawin published in the volume “Who is the Chairman of This Meeting?”
This is a quote from 1972 - that is now 40 years ago!!!!! and we are still not listening!
How do we change our culture from one that sees the natural world as a commodity and only of worth for the worth it has to us. We must move away from the current ideology and I honestly believe that the soul of humanity as a race depends on it.
The obvious draw back is the existence of the poles of our society. Some are hideously rich with far more than they can ever need and some are so poverty stricken that they are at the point where they can no longer exist.
The more I research the more I have come to believe that the way forward is to take advice from and give more power to our indigenous peoples.
The problem of greed in government - which was are seeing first hand at the moment with the Boris Johnson, Rushi Sunak and Liz Truss debacle, is one of selfishness and pulling the ladder up.
In 1977 a presentation was made in Geneva, Switzerland by a group of indigenous people called "A basic Call to understanding" I really would recommend reading it.
I quote the peice that is applicable to our current situation and I leave it to you to look at all of our leaders from all political parties in all countries and see if any of them follow this model.
In my political belief there should be no such thing as "politcal Elite", all service in government should take the form of jury service. A person should be called to service for the duration of a government. We should have permenantly hung parliments so that all perspectives get a say in how the country is governed and compromise must be made Those on governing service should get a basic living wage in order that they look after those that are most vulnerable in society, instead of the current situation where they just look after those that give them money.
Personally I cannot ever see this type of governance coming into focus as we are too self focussed and blind to the ridiculous situation we find ourselves in.
To see others for their worth as equals (and this includes our brothers and sisters who are not in our species, the four legged, six legged and green ones) will take a massive shift in consiousness.
Can we do it?
If we can put down our tribalism, our racist belief, our anthropocentric religions and our entitled colonialism, maybe?
I think that if we listen with our souls to the animists, to the indigenous cultures who have a more ethical and ecological view of our amazing and One of a kind Earth, maybe?
Until we can see the others that share our earth as equal and important in their own right rather that as what they can give us. I Doubt it.
Meditations on the forest
We are the foundation of the Earth We are the air that you breathe We are the food that you eat We are that which gives beauty to the soul
We are the green The first life Crawling in green sentience from the depths of the ocean We oozed across the rocks are created the world in our image We are the green guards of the forest and the plains We exist for ourselves, for the sweet joy of life,light,growth and communion with the earth we are not here to service you Slaves in monoculture rows, mutated into something new, our reproduction laid bare and forced against our will It is our diversity that feeds the Earth And when we are gone Thanks to your selfish desires and monumental greed So shall you follow
Sian Sibley
Well it finally got me. After two years of escaping its clutches I went down with the new surge of CoVid in Wales.
I had to stay home for a week and spent much of it in bed.
I lay there in a rather sweaty state and I began to run through all the changes in my magical world over the last 40 years.
From beginnings where I practised alone to running a thriving group of very different individuals, who have their own way of doing things along with the DragonOak way of doing things.
From being worried about "doing it Right" to not really caring as long as the magic works.
From being Heirarchical in my practise with Gods,Angels and kabbalistic to being animisitc in my practise and then realising that you can have both practises and one does not wipe out the other.
From abiding by rules like the Threefold Law and Harm none to realising that these rules are control mechanisms that stem from a belief that there is a good and a bad way to use magic. That magic for the self is black and magic for others is white. That magic for removal or destruction or binding is evil and magic for growth and increase is good.
From reading a book which tells you how to do something to using my experience to construct my own work.
From valuing others experience over my own to realising that your own experience is the only one that matters.
From dismissing writings that are "Channeled" to realising Its all channelled :)
From fearing change to understanding that change is a necessity for there to be any sort of growth. This includes change in your philosophy, understanding of the world and also the focus of your magic. I am not the same practitioner that I was 10 years ago that doesnt make it better or worse just different.
I wrote this a while back when I was in the midst of some major changes which at the time I felt were not good. But turns out they were essential in the development of both my group and my own magical direction and focus
Change.
When your ego says zig and life says fuck that zag bitch.
When you get in your groove and your groove opens into a chasm which has you falling
Or is it flying
Depends on how you view it
Change makes thought
Thought begets growth
Growth begets new cycles
New cycles begat new learning
New learning makes for a bigger life
All hail Eris, maker of change
Defeater of plans and maker of new ones
Change is a constant in the craft, people may tell you that you need the old ways and yes you do but unless they are in line with your current thoughts, they won’t work. Embrace change in you and in your world.