Life, Death and the Hope that somehow something could survive

Persephone and Hades

I didn't want to write about this right now. Usually that's something I use to think about later in the year, not when the indian summer is that nice, when we are still enjoying the warmth of the sun and ignoring that the colourful leaves means that the wheel had turned again. But today someone passed away and that touched me very much, although I do not personally know him.

To be confronted with death is always a shock. And that everyone has to go this route, regardless of wealth, success, celebrity and genius frightens. You start asking yourself what the meanig of life is, this brief moment between the ages.

Will I be forgotten?
Who will remember me?
What will be remembered?
And ... is this really the end? Or what comes next?

Because death is a matter of living people, not the dead, many have already dealt with it. Where religion offered no solution, the mystery cults emerged.

Eleusian Mysteries

Well known is the regent of the Underworld - Hades.
The underworld - the world of the dead - is called Hades - like his ruler.
The ancient Greeks believed in the following concept: the dead people have their place in the underworld, as a shadow of their past existence, in the state of the moment they passed away, being aware that they are not alive, in full awareness of their weaknesses.
They are trapped forever.

But then something special happend: Hades felt in love with Kore (Persephone), Demeters daughter.
And bringing her in his kingdom and going to the story of loosing her for a part of the year over and over again brought compassion, empathy and hope - not just for him - for the living also.
Hades met the  love, and from now on he had to be patient in hope and in faith that he will see his beloved again.

Knowing Persephone and seeing her in the Mysteries was a grant for those who were alive to pass the Hades to the Elysion - "The Island of the Blessed" - where all the beloved of the gods are living as immortals in eternal youth.
This is the hope that all kind of mysteries offered (and still offers) - that death is not the end at all.
To go through the mysteries opens our hearts and plants the seed of hope, love and faith within us.
But the choice for this has to be made during lifetime.

We can approach the terrifying Deities and make them our allies - but not when we are dead already. We have to handle this when we are alive.

Therefore - behind all the shock and the grief - we should open our eyes and see death as that what it is: a part of the circle of life that reminds us to live and to make right choices by now.
Live in awareness that we will all see Hades and Persephone one day.

"But now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13

Dedicated to a great soul and to all who left the mortal world too fast.
Demetria, Oct 6 + 7, 2011

“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true. Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”  Steve Jobs, Stanford University, 2005

Sources:
http://mythologica.fr/grec/pic/hades-persephone.jpg
http://www.freitag.de/community/blogs/jan-jasper-kosok/steve-jobs-netzschau-der-tod-ist-die-beste-erfindung-des-lebens

Building a relationship is magical work already

Especially when you are building up a new relationship you are attracting something new in your life. What wasn't there before is becoming a part of the already existing. So to say you are manifesting something in your life that wasn't there before.

That's what we simply call Magic.

We are all longing for relationships that lasts as long as possible.
You don't want to spend your time with someone or something you don't really like.
Cause part of the energy you put in is based on love.

So building up a relationship with yourself is high magic work.
The only person you'll have to spend your whole life with is you.

If you ever had the feeling that nobody loves you, so why then should you love yourself - please ask in return: if I don't even love myself why should another?

Start building up a relationship with yourself. Then magic will happen.

The secret about Magic and Love

To love and the knowledge that you are beloved together forms the key to the door that let Magic into your life. To know and to feel that there are people who loves you could help a lot.
But there is a much bigger instance where there is overflowing, neverending love...

Don't seek this instance outside.
The right place to find it is within yourself.

The universe is not watching you from a higher place - YOU are carrying the universe within your heart.
No external love could feel as mighty as this inner love - cause to love means to know that you are beeing loved at the same time.

Start loving yourself.
Nobody could do better.

How can Magic happen

We all tend to think that Magic ist NOT for us. That Magic is someting for magicians, or witches, or others, for those who are trained in, or seek for. Maybe you think Magic is something about beeing surrounded by candles, burning down incense and mumble "hocus-pocus".

But what about, for example the magic of your first love?
Do you remember the feeling?
This special feeling, to have a secret that you'd like to spread all over the world, this feeling that you must be someone special if this wonderful person feels the same when looking at you?

This was Magic already.
Magic makes you feel special cause you ARE special.
There is no other person that is like YOU.
And falling in love often bring you back to this.
The other person is like a mirrow, showing you your beauty.

Magic is about feeling magic and feeling beloved.
If you are feeling magic you suddenly do things you would never belived you could ever do that.

Thats the whole secret.
Start feeling magic again, then you are magic.

You are beloved from what or who ever you would call this force - the great Creator, the Universe, the Diety, the Mighty Ones.

Belive.
Trust.
Magic is in you.

Haunted by crows

pic taken from wikipedia.de

First you have to know that they always find me. I mean: they ALWAYS find me. Sometimes it takes a while but at least they'll be there. Mostly disturbing my sleep. This time I really didnt think about them, but then, the 2nd morning in Italy when I was sitting outside there it was: a loud crooooow crooooow. I looked around but saw nothing. Then .- a big grey bird sitting on the top of a tree near the garden, starring at me.
Crooow Crooow. Ok. Must be something like a raven or a crow, it sounds like this. They found me. So the next morning, sitting on the chair in the garden, shouting at me to stand up. AW... So I have a daily reminder for my daily practise. The gods always send a sign!

P.S. after researching the internet: it was a Hooded Crow

August Esbat

I am so thankful for the dieties who gave me insight and inspiration. May they never stop to teach me lessons and show me the truth behind the things.

To be their children means to take responsibility about ones own life and reality, to be blessed by them means to be aware that one have to take good care after oneself and not blaming others for not being considerate enough.

I am the creator of my own reality!

Zunehmender Mond

Mir ist noch nie aufgefallen dass der zunehmende Mond soviel Energie saugen kann? Aber begonnen mit letzter Woche und dem Mond im Wassermann am Mittwoch habe ich das Gefühl dass hier an den Grundfesten gerüttelt wird. Alles, was nicht taugt, nicht echt, nicht wahr ist, stürzt plötzlich oder endlich? ein. Ich komme mir vor als hätte ich wieder einen Jump in eine andere Realitätsspur gemacht, Spurwechsel.
Gleichzeitig bin ich so unendlich müde...
Saugt Mutter Erde nocheinmal Kraft - um Energie für den Frühling einzusammeln?
Ich gebe gerne, lege mich in deine Arme, sinke in deine Erde und will nur - schlafen.

Avoid the word "initiation"

Kaum bekam ich diese Aufgabe, wurde ich auch schon umgeben von diesem Wort.
Ereignisse, die passiert sind, Fragen, die gestellt wurden, in allem was ich las schien mich dieses Wort gerade zu "anzuspringen".

Mysterien, Tradition, Religion, all diese Wörter tauchen im Zusammenhang damit auf.
Desto mehr man NICHT daran denken wollte, desto mehr scheint sich einem das aufzudrängen. Ist das die Absicht dieser Übung?

Wir werden sehen...

Journey to Babylon

"How Many Miles to Babylon?"

"Three score and ten"

"Can I get there by Candlelight?"

"Aye, and back again"

Nursery Rhyme, Anonymous

So beginnt Vivianne Crowleys Buch "The Magickal Life".

Ich liebe diese Sätze, da sie genau das beschreiben, was ich fühle, wenn ich an die Arbeit denke, die letztes Jahr geleistet wurde und was dieses Jahr alles noch getan wird. Es ist ein wundervolles Gefühl, ein Kribbeln wie kurz vor einer Reise, Aufgeregtheit in Verbindung mit Hoffnung und etwas Furcht. Wohin die Reise geht wusste ich schon lange, aber nun auf der letzten Zwischenstation die richtigen Reisegefährten gefunden zu haben, treibt mir die Tränen in die Augen, vor Glück. Ein paar alte sind geblieben, ein paar musste ich zurücklassen doch viele neue sind dazugekommen.

Am Schwersten fiel mir die Lektion: du kannst als Mensch nicht perfekt sein, dazu wurden wir nicht gemacht. Und da du selbst nie perfekt sein wirst, auch nicht wenn du 200% gibst, höre auf ungeduldig zu sein und von anderen etwas zu erwarten was du selbst auch nie wirst leisten können. Manchmal sind 90% mehr als genug. Aber benutze diese Aussage nicht als Ausrede! Versuche stets dein Bestes aber behalt den Spass dabei.

Ach, ich versuch's täglich von neuem, und täglich merke ich mein Scheitern.

Kehre erst vor deiner eigenen Haustür, bevor du mit den Fingern auf die Unzulänglichkeiten anderer zeigst. Sei stolz auf was du bist aber verwechsle Stolz nicht mit Hochmut.

Ich danke meinen wundervollen Lehrern, die mich auf den Weg gebracht haben.

The Journey goes on. To Babylon - by Candlelight :-)

Neujahr

So nun ist alles bissi ruhiger geworden, die Raclettes und heissen Steiners dieser Welt wieder eingepackt und meine Wampe schon wieder ein Stück größer (aber nur ein klein wenig) und der eine oder andere hat wahrscheinlich beim Blick in den Kühlschrank feststellen müssen daß er beim Sylvesteressen Einkauf wohl einen Notstand seitens seiner Gäste erwartet hat.

Kann sein daß einige schon mit ihren neu gefassten Vorsätzen kämpfen (schon wieder essen? Mmmh, lieber eine Rauchen oder doch ins Fitness) oder es doch lieber lassen (Decke übern Kopf, umdrehen). Andre müssen mit Augenringen aufstehen, da sie es trotz wiederholter Experimente nicht glauben wollen dass der Nachwuchs der erst um 3 eingeschlafen ist doch schon um 7 wieder fit ist.

Der Kaffee oder Tee will noch gar nicht schmecken und der Blick in den Spiegel *jerk* verrät dass man, mit so wenig Schlaf, durchaus noch Entfaltungsmöglichkeiten hat - am besten man ist alleine bis es soweit ist.

Die ersten hyperaktiven Freunde melden sich per SMS, verspätete Neujahrsgrüsse treffen ein und die Eltern wollen auch noch be-gut-neujahrt werden.

Ob wir noch zum Resteessen kommen? Aha - wir waren nicht so hungerleidig wie wir ausschauten? -haha- und das war's dann mit den guten Vorsätzen - schon wieder Essen- und Raclette und heissen Stein ausgepackt lassen.

In diesem Sinne - a guats neis :-)