Out of the Mists Yule 2011

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1 Winter 2011

Pumpkin Funat Samhain

Introducing OA’s Oak Scouts

Out of the MistsOzark Avalon Church of Nature

Pg 10

Pg 5

Yule 2011Out of the Mists2

Published by Ozark Avalon Church of Nature

26213 Cumberland Church RoadBoonville, MO 65233[660] [email protected]

Our mission is to provide access to nature, a safe place for outdoor worship in an earth-centered, earth-honoring spiritual context, to promote community among persons with these beliefs and to further environmentalism and appreciation for nature spirits and the earth. Ozark Avalon's 160-acre nature preserve is located only three miles off I-70 between Kansas City and St. Louis. We are 18 miles from Columbia, MO near the Overton Bottoms South Conservation Area. We have beautiful woods and meadows with hot water showers, fire rings, hiking trails, a spring-fed lake, established camping areas and a small swimming pool. Drive-Up and hike-In Camping, small RVs allowed (no hookups). Our artistic Frog Bog Shower House has indoor composting toilets, solar-assisted showers and solar lights. This newspaper is published by the community and for the community. If you would like to contribute articles, ideas or photos, please send them to [email protected]. We reserve the right to edit articles for grammar and space. All work must be original. Photos published only with the express permission of those appearing in the photos and photos of minors with the permission of their parents. Out of the Mists respects the privacy of those who attend events at OA and elsewhere in the community.

We’ve all seen the Ozark Avalon group on Facebook. We’ve all been reading along and watching a number of events unfold in our public forum. I’ve noticed that what has actually come from what could have been considered a commu-nity-wide disagreement is a renewed vision for our church. It allowed people to see that in most cases we all want the same thing for the church. We have learned that whatever happened before is in the past and the rebirth of Ozark Avalon is on the hori-zon. People have been coming out of the woodwork and discussing the reasons they left -- and with everyone weighing in, we have started to craft an idea of what we want Ozark Avalon to be as a community. I am so excited to see what the next year brings to Ozark Avalon. I already see the beginnings of a scout troop for our children, groups forming to plan festivals, a sisterhood developing among the women of the community and of course a rebirth of OA’s newspaper! And that is just in the past month. I can’t wait to see what we come up with next month! My family is currently living in the retreat center, and I’m hoping to see much more of all of you in the coming year! The community has this beautiful space and I’d love to see it used a lot more this winter. I am looking forward to alot of fellow-ship and community building. I would love to hear ideas from everyone about what kinds of events and gather-ings people would like to see at the retreat center. We had two awesome drum circles to send energy to Grant Withers in November. The way everyone came together to send energy to one of our own in need was just incredible. You could just feel the energy swirling around the retreat center and out to Columbia to the hospital. There is still alot of work to do. There is still a lot of healing to be done and alot of disagreements settled between people, but I think for the first time in a long time the community really has the opportunity to give birth to a stable, happy church for us and our children. Let’s keep it rolling and try to remember that we haven’t suc-ceeded until we have a place for EVERYONE.

“For there is no greater magic than love.”

A New Day is Dawning...by Nancy McGee-Lee

My Opinion The future of this space:We welcome your opinions and letters! What is a newspaper without a space for opinions?

In the future, this space will be reserved for opinion columns, letters-to-the-editor and things like that. We would love to hear from you! Please submit letters or opinion columns to [email protected] at least two weeks before the changing of the season. In other words, spring starts March 20, so the deadline for the next issue will be March 6. We also welcome articles by ANYONE in the larger pagan community. If you have stories, poems, illustrations, recipes or anything you’d like to share, please feel free to send them to us! We reserve the right to edit for space and grammar. We ask that all work be original and that any pictures come with a release signed by everyone in the picture. (Local OakSpir-its can give verbal consent.) We don’t want to “out” anyone acci-dentally. If you would like to advertise with us, please drop us an email at [email protected] and we will be glad to send you a rate sheet. Our advertising is very reasonable and our readership is a very specific target audience!

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Ozark Avalon has a number of groups on Facebook to keep our mem-bers informed and allow them to help with the planning and execution of festivals. Please feel free to join us in any of these groups!

Yule 2011 Out of the Mists 3

The original reason for the season is the Winter Solstice. Solstice is a Latin word meaning “stands still.” At this time for 6 days the sun appears to stand still on the horizon. This was a time of uncertainty and mystery as people wondered if the sun would return. When it did, year in and year out, festivals grew up in just about every place and culture. Even today in our modern indoor society the Solstice continues to be a time for celebration across the world. The theme of light emerging from darkness is universal at this time of year. In primitive societies the priests and shamans were most certainly the astronomers. Knowledge of the math-ematical calculations needed to calculate the time of the Solstices would be seen as high magic in these cultures. In locations across the world from New Grange in Ireland to Chaco Canyon in New Mex-ico, to the great solar temples of Egypt, people developed elaborate sites to track the times of the Solstices. Stonehenge is the most famous of these solar temples and its construction from massive stones is one of the great unsolved mysteries to this day.

The celebration of Horus or Ra the Sun God in ancient Egypt involved decorating with greenery -- especially palm branches -- with twelve fronds and directly linked the Sun God to the natu-ral rhythms of the Sun in the sky. The Soltice time in Babylon was Zagmuk. The Babylonians incorporated their Sun god Marduk, who defeated the Monsters of Chaos during this dark and shadowy time. This holiday introduced the idea of the struggle between good

and bad; continued today in magical per-sona of a Santa Claus who uses the grant-ing of presents or coal to judge children. The festival of Sacaea continued this theme. The Persians and later the Greeks celebrated the reversal of order that was stirred up by Kallikantzaroi, mischie-vous imps who roamed about during the twelve days of Sacaea. These imps had a darker side than the elves Santa associates with today. In Rome the major festival for this time of year was Saturnalia, the birthday of the Roman God Saturn. This festival was celebrated December 17 - 24. This holiday included a pig sacrifice and gift exchange and was followed by the Kalends, and early January celebration of the New Year where houses were decorated with green-ery and lights. Both of which are usually still up on New Year’s Day in modern America. The Norse arrived independently at a similar holiday that bears the closest resemblance to the modern celebrations and, unlike the Celts and many others, made this a major holiday. We can thank them for the word Yule, which is still used interchangeably with Christmas by many contemporary persons. We can also thank them for the traditions of caroling, the Yule log and the first custom of bringing an entire evergreen into the house. It is fitting that this would be a major holiday for those who lived so far north that the winter nights literally swallowed the days in the time directly before Solstice.

Modern Solstice Celebrations

Christmas The earliest record of a Christmas celebration was in Rome in 336 CE Pope Liberus in 354 CE placed the holiday on December 25th. The Armenian Church still celebrates on January 6. The holiday remains an almost universal celebration around the World. Many people partici-pate in the cultural elements of Christmas to a much greater extent than the reli-gious. Joint celebrations allow us to expe-rience the diversity of spiritual experience as well as the good will and magic of the season. Even as Christmas seems to be everywhere it is important to remember that other solar festivals remain and new ones have been established.

Pagan Yule The word Yule is from the Scandina-vian word Jul, meaning “wheel.” Many pagans honor the turning of the wheel at this time. Many Wiccans honor the theme from the Celts: they see Yule as the time of battle between the aging Holly King and young Oak King. Others may use the Greek myth of Persephone and

the Underworld to enact the theme of dark giving way to light. Still others see the waning God passing to the waxing Goddess. For many Wiccans Yule is a lesser Sabbat: with Beltane and Samhain being more significant. Common celebrations involve all-night bonfires, Yule log ritu-als and rituals celebration the return of the light with large numbers of candles. Drumming, chanting and ecstatic danc-ing are often a part of these rituals as they tend to be in all Wiccan and Neo-Pagan rituals. Many Norse Pagans, on the other hand, see Yule as the major festival, a time for searing oaths, toasting and bless-ing.

Solstice/Midwinter Night Celebrated by many neo-Pagans, New Age spiritual seekers and even by some atheists we see new traditions are arising out of the old. They may borrow liber-ally from many older traditions and add to them with new traditions. It may be elaborate ritual or a simple bonfire to celebrate the returning sun. It may have religious or spiritual connotations or it may just be a cultural celebration. People are finding old and new ways to celebrate with friends and family.

Hanukkah (Chanukah) This eight-day festival of lights cel-ebrates a victory by a small Jewish army, led by Judah Maccabee over the Assyr-ian Greeks in the second century BCE. After regaining their right to worship in the temple they had only enough sacred oil to last a short time. Myth has it that the oil miraculously burned for eight days straight. The festival is celebrated by lighting the menorah candles each night until all are lit. Gifts are exchanged and seasonal food shared. Gelt, which is chocolate or real money is often given. A dreidel or four-sided top is also a popular gift and a game to

Yule celebrations new and old

be played with the Gelt. Latkes or potato pancakes are often served.

Kwanzaa This modern holiday was created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, an Ameri-can academic to celebrate the African roots of African-Americans. The word is from Swahili and means “first fruits.” Seven candles; one black and three each of red and green are lit each night for the seven principles of Kwanzaa. These principles are unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, co-operative economics, purpose, creativity and fath. Other symbols are the colors of red (struggle), black (unity) and green (future) from a flag created by Marcus Garvey at the beginning of the century, the unity cup and the candleholder, which is called the Kinara.

SOURCES CAMPANELLI, Pauline: Wheel of the Year: Living the Magical Life, Staint Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications 1989. JACKSON, Ellen; The Winter Solstice. Brookfield, CN: Millbrook Press 1994 MATTHEWS John with Caitlin; The Win-ter Soltice. Weaton, IL: Quest Books 1998 MORRISON, Dorothy; Yule: A Celebra-tion of Light and Warmth, St Paul MN: Llewellyn 2000. SANTINO, Jack; All Around the Year. Chi-cago, IL: University of Illinois Press 1994. VAN RENTERGHEIN, Tony; When Santa was a Shaman. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications 1995.

by Rose Wise

Yule 2011Out of the Mists

Zeus The Cat came to Ozark Avalon in 1998 when his human cat daddy, George Walks Between moved to urban Kansas City. At the time he was around four years old and had lived in Columbia as a mainly outdoor cat. He was a large, blue-grey fixed male. I was warned that he was not real friendly, would not let you pick him up, and not house trained. George agreed with my suggestion to rename him “Zeus”. His original name was Jinx but at this time he was a magnificent creature and the God name seemed to encourage him to live up to the image. Zeus blossomed; while I always took care of his food and vet care, Zeus was truly his own cat. He loved gatherings and was a well known lap lover. Sometimes more than one person would claim he slept with them all night the same night. He was perfectly house trained and would even ring a bell at the square cave when he needed out. Un-like other cats he understood the dangers of coyotes and bobcats and stayed close to home unless in the company of his people. One day Zeus accompanied myself and others down to the lake, up the far side to the End of the World and up the driveway to the front yard. He walked and kept up the entire way but meowed loudly at each creek crossing until lifted up and across. With careful nurturing Zeus claimed his name; ruling the hill and running off strays. In 1999 he acquired a sister feline and loved beautiful Isis until her death in 2010. Al-though he did well with these cats he made it clear that he was in fact the mighty Zeus, taking on all competition from other cats

Doreen Edith Dominy Vlachopoulos Valiente was born January 2, 1922 and is consid-ered by most the Grandmother of modern Wicca. A psychic from early on, she began to explore the occult until her research put her in touch with Gerald Gardner. She was initiated into Gardner’s coven in 1953 and took the craft name Ameth. Col-laborating with him, she rebuilt the structure of the craft, most of the modern form of Wicca we use today is from her influence. In 1957 she left Gardner’s group and began to work with many other British traditional-ists including Ned Grove and Robert Cochrane. One of the main defenders of Paganism, she was quick to point out early on the Wicca was not Satanism. Writing such books as An ABC of Witchcraft, Natural Magic and The Rebirth of Witchcraft made her well known inside and outside the craft. She successfully lobbied the British government in the 1970s when they considered passing new anti-witch legislation. After a long struggle with cancer she crossed over on September 1, 1999 in Brighton. She changed our world for the better and her influence will be felt for centuries to come.

and when they understood letting them co-exist. He enriched our lives greatly through the years and I had the joy of being his human caretaker for most of his ap-proximate eighteen years. Shane came into his life during my absence and with Orpon and Sorsha cared for him until my return. We were worried about how he would survive another cold winter now that his bladder had failed him and Shane and Danny made him an insulated bed. It was in this warm bed that he found him: he had the perfect end that we all would like. Zeus died of old age in his sleep. He was buried in the cemetery in a circle of his human friends; he is missed but his spirit lives in the hill, meadows and woods as well as in our hearts.

-Rev Rose Wise

Happy Birthday Doreen Valiente

Zeus

4

OakSpiritsMichael Heidler -Questor Elf - aka Fairie Mike Mike was a wonderful person with many sides. He was a leader on our Board of Directors, a frequent and very skilled volunteer on construction proj-ects, one of the first to learn and teach fire spinning and an amazing artist and jeweler. I think he died in early 2006. We held his wake in the manner he had talked about wanting in the Em-bracing the Dark workshop in October 2005. It was a cold February night but close to a hundred of us circled around a huge bonfire in Moon Meadow with drumming and fire spinning. There is a small memorial to Mike at the Memorial Spirit Garden.

Robin Quint - MarriahA quiet person who was always kind and sharing of her many talents. Many remember her art through her vend-ing business Indigo Moon Children which featured traditional dyes and techniques and a lot of blue. Others remember her great cooking- it was always great to see her bringing in a potluck dish. She was also a very spiritual person and an elder in the Good Medicine Society. She was John Quint’s beloved wife and the mother of three sons and the stepmother of a fourth. She died in June 2010 and is very much missed

Remembering our Beloved DeadOthers who passed through

Ozark Avalon and Enriched our Lives

Diana Nomad (Cloud) Known to many circles including Good Medicine and traditional Lakota worship she was a Native American, political and spiritual leader. She trav-eled around the country taking supplies to Native groups and protesting war and other forms of violence. She loved Ozark Avalon and visited many times but was never around to be presented an Oak-Spirit certificate. We are honored that she and her close family decided to be buried here. Her body rests under the rock mound at the Memorial Spirit Gar-den and her spirit is with us constantly.

Laughing Starheart This national known bard visited sev-eral times during the early days when the rental gathering- Harvest of Light and Balefires of Beltane took place. When it was decided that the land, Renaissance Ridge Subdivision, needed a magickal name he thought of Ozark Avalon which the founding OakSpirits agreed upon immediately. He really died several years after we originally thought of HIV complications but we still sing many of the chants he taught us.

Lynda Songbird This lovely lady and songstress per-formed at several of our gathering and those of Mid Missouri Pagan Pride. She died this spring of a pulmonary embo-lisms. She was in her early 40’s

Pictured below is our Ancestor Altar from this year’s Samhain celebration. Many of our beloved friends and family were memorialized and their presence could easily be felt.


Orpon & Sorsha make up a plate for our honored ancestors

Mark led a great workshop on making worry baskets that resulted in some absolutely beautiful work!

We can’t tell who this is, but she sure is going to town on that pumpkin!

Mairead is sure we’re not supposed

to be cutting the tops off the

pumpkins -- she kept putting the

tops back on!

Ozark Avalon’s Annual Samhain festival delights young, old and ancestorsby Nancy McGee-Lee

Ozark Avalon’s Annual Samhain festival allowed us to both solemnly honor our ancestors and celebrate the childhood joys of Halloween. There was fun for every age with workshops for the young, old and in between and wonder-ful musical guests! The fellas of Romani Blue joined us and rocked out the front yard, followed by the rockin’ stylings of Sede. There were a number of workshops including craft workshops for both adults and children. The children made scrying mirrors (with the adults, too!), and Mark hosted a workshop on making worry baskets. And I’m not sure how they did it, but there were a very large number of pump-kins carved in no time at all! One minute

the front yard had a huge pile of uncarved pumpkins and the next minute it seemed like we had two dozen Jack O’ Lanterns lining the path to Community Meadow. There was a wonderful tarot workshop, and of course a workshop on scrying by the fire late into the night. We set a place at supper for the ances-tors and “chowed down” on an absoultely wonderful feast! The kitchen crew tirelessly kept us fed all weekend and really did a wonderful job. We had a beautiful main ritual by Orpan and Sorsha out in Community Meadow. It was magical to walk up the road to see dozens of Jack O’Lanterns lighting the way up the path to the circle. As if the ancestors were all watching us (well, they were, weren’t they?). Everyone had a fabulous time and the kids got to spend a lot of time jumping into the big piles of leaves they raked up!

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The Church of Gallatia and the Temple

of the Way

We are now accepting membership into our open Temple. We are a traditional Temple and degree - based

Celtic reconstructionist church offering classes, dedications and initiations into the ancient mysteries as of Imbolc 2012. Our Temple will be hosting open Sabbats

and New Moons. anyone interested should contact (314) 570 – 4945 or [email protected]

The Temple has been in operation since 1984, was relocated to Missouri in 1998 and currently is centered in Saint Louis, Mo. We observe the Sabbats, Lunar holidays and other religious events unique to our Temple. We worship an Insular Celtic Pan-theon in a structured environment. The Temple of the Ways path can be incorporated into any existing system and individu-als coming from a Wiccan or Heathen background would find the Temple very familiar. We are a Celtic reconconstuctionist teaching and worshipping temple that seeks to rebuild the old ways as best as possible while at the same time moving our Church into the modern era. Our members often are involved in community service and the church believes in giving to

those in need. This is the first time the Church has opened up its doors to the general public .The Church of the Gallatia and the Temple of the Way is inclusive, egalitarian and does not discriminate on any basis.


Cernunnos, the stag-antlered god rendered on the Gundestrup Cauldron is a mysterious God that little is known about. Aside from various altar stones and pieces that have been dug up that bear his image (some were used as founda-tion stones by the Christians in building their Cathedrals) there are a couple in-scriptions that name him, most notably a metal plaque from Luxembourg. This inscription read Deo Ceruninco, “to the God Cerunincos”, assumed to be the same deity. The Gaulish inscription from Mon-tagnac reads αλλετ[ει]υος καρνονου αλ[ι]σο[ντ]εας (alleteiuos karnonou alisonteas), with the last word possibly a place name based on alisia, “service-tree” or “rock” (compare Alesia, Gaulish Alisiia). The “os” at the end of course is a Hellenization of his name which makes perfect sense seeing that Greek was not only used by the Druids, but also generally by the Celts since they began regular contact with Greece from the fifth century BCE. The origin of his name is mysterious for Kamon (Keras in Greek) is the Celtic word for horn or trumpet and some say his name is actually more a title than anything else. The name is also found on a stone called the Pillar of the Boatmen now dis-played in Paris. Constructed by Gaulish sailors probably in 14 CE, it was discov-ered in 1710 within the foundations of the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris site of ancient Lutetia, the capital of the Celtic Parisii (from which Paris gets its

name). The distinctive stone pillar is an important monument of Gallo-Roman religion and the God is also depicted on the stone wearing two rings or pos-sibly torcs in his antlers. He can also be found on a few other reliefs and engravings that have been unearthed. Some say he is depicted in Paleolithic cave paintings found in France that depict a stag standing upright or a man dressed in stag cos-tume seem to indicate that Cernunnos’ origins date to those times. He also shares an association to Pashupati, an ancient Hindu God represented on a seal seated in a very similar position to one that is view on the Gundestrup. Romans sometimes portrayed him with three cranes flying above his head. Known to the Druids as Hu Gadarn, God of the underworld and astral planes and the consort of the great Goddess. He was often depicted hold-ing a bag of money, or accompanied by a ram-headed serpent. Since his earliest origins as Lord of Hunt, he has been associated with animals, abundance, good fortune and virile fertility. Cernunnos is often depicted seated in the lotus position or enthroned and is usually flanked by animals both real and supernatural. He is a complex and powerful god,

though he may not have been the head of the Celtic pantheon. Cernunnos is recognized as both the God of Death and guardian of the underworld. In this sense, as well as being a giver of earthly riches, Cernunnos could per-haps be compared to the Hades. Irish stories describe Cernunnos (Uindos) as the son of the high god Lugh. He is called a wild hunter, a war-rior and a poet. Similarities between the Celtic and Germanic pantheons explain why the Romans identified both Lugh and Wodan with Mercury (Hermes). Lugh and Odin share many attributes, suggesting a common mythological descent. He has also been linked to the God Nodens and was probably worshipped by the Celto-Germanic tribes such as the Batavi and others on the British Isles. Analysis of Cernunnos shows some of the same traits and symbols in common with the patron God of physicians, healers and magicians. The Greeks called Hermes Psychopomp (conductor of souls), the very same title given to the Lord of Death (whom the Celts recognized as Cernunnos) in his union with the Lady of Life. His cult had a strong following and persisted far into the Christian period and he was used as a model for the

Christian devil. The modern Wiccans and Pagans align him with Herne the hunter from the Berkshire forest and the Green man in all of his forms. Many place names in Celtic Europe bear the name Herne. Historians spec-ulate that it may have been derived somewhere in prehistory by hearing the cry of deer in the rut which makes a sound similar to Herne that some interpreted his name that way. No doubt aligning him with such a sound was probably a way the ancients were inspired by hearing the deer themselves “cry out” for their lord. Known to the Gardnerians as Kernunos or Kerne, he is the supreme God archetype embodying their idea of Lord. The Alexandrians list him as Karnayna, but that form is found nowhere else but in their works and some feel it might have been an error copied by Alex Sanders himself. Originally in traditional Wicca he (like the Great Goddess) was never named outright, but is now known universally as the most widely used Wiccan God. Often the song of Amergin was used to invoke him as well as the legendary Bagahi incantation. Some modern Wiccans use only a set of deer antlers to represent him, opting out of a more traditional idol representation. Many beautiful statues of the God are now made and sold and those that choose to worship him are not at a loss for variety. Although many Wiccans worship a variety of Gods and chose to have whomever they want as their lord, some old tradionalists still flock to him. To look upon his image today is to see the God in his primival form ancient and mysterious.

“Great God Cernunnos, return to Earth again!

Come at my call and show thyself to men

Shepherd of goats, upon the wild hills way,

Lead thy lost flock from darkness unto day.

Forgotten are the ways of sleep and night –

Men seek for them whose eyes have lost the light.

Open the door, the door that hath no key,

The door of dreams, whereby men come to thee.

Shepherd of goats, O answer unto me.”

-a traditional Wiccan invocation to Cernunnos

by Walker

A history of the God Cernunnos

Cernnunos from the Cathedral stone at Rheims.

The Seal of Pashupati


Holiday Dreaming

If there was peace on Earth, would we still need a virgin birth?

In a world with love for our neighbor, could there be war, slavery -- forced labor?

What if all God’s angels held hands - with the Gods and spirits of all lands?

And every child born was the special one - we loved all the children under the sun.

Could pain and suffering possibly remain -- or would goodness finally reign?

What if this world was that heavenly place and we were finally the real hu-man race?

Rose Wise ® 2010 Used with permission

Cedar of YuleSurrounded by bare naked trees - rough crones crinkled with the aged skin of bark bodies. In this time of winter’s approach only the cedar is glowing, growing green.

The lone cedar shouting aliveness and joy to the world. Even as the sun has retreated and dark-ness threatens to shallow the light she brings hope.

Decorated by ornaments of blue berries and hardy small birds she waits for the frost to add a seasonal sparkle -- a touch of magick is on its way. The light will return.

Cedar dances in the North wind’s breeze firmly rooted, her branches opening to the Goddess and the return of the Sun King.

Cedar is a humble tree -- most will not cut a cedar to bring inside -- still she knows that she is the true Yule tree -- the only greenery of the December landscape.

Rose Wise ®2010

GivingThe stores are aglisten with magical sights,The children awiggle in expectant delight.Yet out on the branch a cardinal sings,Show them your heart, they won’t remember those things.

So sit by the fire, sipping your brewTell them a story about just being youHold them close, don’t forget to sayWhat’s held in your heart, it won’t go away

I can give you a gift that I bought in a store,I can bake you some cookies, fudge and more, I can rub your shoulders, write you a poem.

Make what you give, give from the heartShow them to share what was theirs from the startGive them the gift of seeing the eyes Of a young sad child light up in surprise.

Rev Lady Storm “Taz”

Good Medicine S O C I E T Y

The Peaceful Way to Health and Happiness

We are now accepting students.Honey Rose and Circling Heart

573-268-8921 • [email protected]

Our lovely Nikki Dodd drew this Goddess for us to color. It is a wonderful project because it gives you a basic shape and you can really make yours a representation of how you see the Goddess.

GoddessColoringProject

Poems and ArtSubmit yours for next issee.

Email [email protected]

Nikki Dodd

Happy Yule to you and yours from everyone at Ozark Avalon! We hope more of you will get a chance to

come out here and see how things have changed!


A Treatise of Karmic Mechanics

When all fails to make sense and the world appears to be just this side of de-ranged, I will often fall back upon gems of wisdom that I have been fortunate enough to glean over the years. As a pagan thinker my perspective is just as any others but it has been tempered by a series of life mold-ing events that give me an identity. A slow and intentful flame has crept upon me and given me who I am. My life and identity is a gift from the Gods that was mine from the moment that I drew breath. We all are born with this entitlement. Ours is the divine right to be within our universe. If we can imagine it, it is. If we imagine it long enough, it will manifest. As above, so below. From the ether to our laps. But how could this be? Isn’t it just a little too convenient that what we imagine and dream of for just long enough will become a reality? Doesn’t it seem that this might well be a load of proverbial crap? Maybe so. Maybe not. Maybe by believing we begin to create that mental space in which the things that are conceptual find ways to be indepen-dently of the conscious mind. Maybe that act of dreaming and knowing that it maybe causes our collective subconscious to become a collective manifestation engine. Call it karmic mechanics. What we do comes back to us threefold... what we dream comes to us too. If we surround our mental space with dreams of “item A” then “item A” will become a reality for us. Just like surrounding ourselves with nega-tivity will cause negative things to occur to us. If we can see it in our minds and will devote ourselves to the dream, the dream will become reality for us. So what shall we dream of? Pagan Unity? World peace? End to hunger? Saving dolphins? All of this is great but time has shown the wisdom in choos-ing the middle path. Too much pagan unity would degredate the soul of our identity. Too much peace ends our drive to push forward. Too much satiation can be a health hazard. Saving dolphins... ok, saving dolphins might be great, but remember that dolphins are highly intel-ligent creatures. Evolution happens. Take a moment to imagine “Planet of the Apes” but with dolphins. Ok, stop throwing tomatoes, I kid. But seriously, what? Our diversity is what makes us strong. A million minds thinking along a million different veins. What do we settle on as a vision? ...or have we already settled on it? Did we settle on it ages ago? It would seem that we are in fact ex-actly where we wish to be... and are doing

exactly as we wish to do. If we are discon-tent it is because we wish to be discontent. If we are poor and desolate, it is because that is where we need to be. If we are on top of the world, it is because we where there long before we actually arrived at the summit. We choose our reality. Like it or not, we do. Be it because we where pro-grammed into a reality, or the reality was beat into us by some outside source, we choose to be who and how we are. This is where majick steps in. If we can see beyond our present situ-ation and into a better situation, and then begin to take steps to manifest - majick is being worked... and at its highest level. This is beyond spiritual favor, this is beyond an independent strain of energy, this is the whole of the universe being adjusted to suit one’s individual dynamic. This is manifestation that echoes to the farthest reaches of all that is. This is the self-induced reformation of an indi-vidual into its greater divinity. We are all divine. But we all too frequently seem to operate under the assumption that what we are taught is all that we are. This is rub-bish. We are and always have been. For our true identity, spinning a toy top is as natural as spinning a galaxy. Our hearts reach into the utmost extremes of existence. Our minds are not restrained by the confines of our brain. Case in point. Have you ever known someone who was a victim of brain damage? Most likely, after their injury, their personalities and/or appearance changed dramatically. But their identities remained the same. Not just their name, but also their person, their fire. When you look into their eyes, it may be dimmer or brighter, but they are definitely still there.

Their brain may have suffered injury but their flame remains the same. Similarly, when a body ceases to function and a soul returns to that hence it came... When the soul returns for a second round it may have a new name, a new face, a new nationality. But the soul remains the same, because the source does not change. It as you is forever. Your present condition is of your own making. You, at some level, chose it. But you may also choose to change it. This is the power of knowing who you are. If you are still being “Joe Klienshmidt of Acron, Ohio, son of a mill worker” then you have chosen to face that. At some level, you have chosen this. At your highest level you know what you need. When freed from consciousness you understand why you are where you are. If you are a CEO of a multi-national

banking corporation, you know that you have something to learn from that. If you work as a Certified Nursing Assistant, you know that you have something to learn from that. If you where born to a body that is only able to muster an IQ of 12, you know that you have something to learn from that. But when you realize that you are intimately a divine figure within the grand scheme of existence, you will change. You may still call yourself Joe, but you will know who Joe really is. You will know that when you speak to the Gods, that you in fact speak to your higher self. You will know that you are Divine. All that is, is all that you are. When you gaze up at the stars and question the meaning of existence, you will realize that you question yourself. That you and every being that floats along in this cosmic transcendental existence was innately born with every answer that has ever been or that could ever be. We are not striving to understand, we are sim-ply attempting to bring that understand-ing to our conscious state. We all know, we all understand, we just need to find a way to accept it. We have the wisdom of ages ingrained in our very existences. The Great Mother, the Great Father, East, South, West, North, and Center. We are intimately all that is and have been from the beginning and to the end of time.

Blessings,sede ~ http://www.sedemusic.com

“We choose our reality. Like it or not, we do. Be it because we

where programmed into a reality, or the reality was beat into us

by some outside source, we choose to be who and how we are.

This is where majick steps in.”

by Sede


Merry Meet!We are pleased to announce the Ozark Avalon is starting our very own scouting troop for boys and girls of all ages. The Ozark Avalon Oak Scouts will have four levels;

OA Acorns - up to KindergartenOA Sprouts - 1st-3rd gradeOA Leaves - 4th-8th grade

OA Branches - 9th-12th gradeAll adults participating

will be known as the Oak Trees The Oak Scouts will be earning badges and certificates in many areas such as; camping, healthy eating, music, first aid/cpr, drug awareness, comparative reli-gion, circle casting, caring for our earth and many more! We will have fundraisers and reason-able dues to finance our activities. We will meet once a month (weather permit-ting) at the OA retreat center. When possible our meetings will coincide with the Sabbats. Different members of our community will be hosting workshops to help our scouts earn their badges. Anyone who would like to host a workshop is encour-aged to do so. This is a family scouting troop and parents, aunts, uncles and cousins are welcomed with open arms! The Oak Scouts will have a Badge/certificate ritual at Harvest where they will be doing the entire ritual themselves. This is sure to be a very magical circle considering the pure energy of children! We will be having our first meeting at Ostara so sign up now! If you would like to sign up please visit us at www.facebook.com/groups/250546345005253. You can also reach me at (314) 221-9544 or Nancy at (516) 368-2436 or email us at [email protected].

In order to get our self-funded Oak Scouts up and running we are having our first fundraiser in conjunction with www.eclecticbydesign.com. You can order in person or online. When ordering online please put “oak scouts” in the notes so we can still get our commission. Please support our kids by ordering Pagan wrapping paper for Yule or anytime of the year! The scouting program will receive 40% of the price of all orders using “oak scouts” in the notes. Everyone who orders something will receive a pin that reads “I support the scouts.” They have the most adorable line of children’s t-shirts as well. Make sure you take a look at all the different lines. There is a little something for everyone on the site. Please go to www.eclecticbydesign.com and have a look, you are sure to find something you like and help the kids too!

Thank you,The Oak Scout Leaders

“We are a circle within a circle. No be-ginning, never ending.” This chant never sounded as sweet as it did coming from the children at Harvest. The children of OA were as cute as fairies as they dusted the land with flower seeds and healing water. They kept a beat on their homemade drums adorned with symbols of heal-ing and peace. A corn doll was charged and returned to the Goddess, burned in the fire as our offering of thanks for our Harvest. A Pentagram made of grape-vine was hung from the porch as kids and adults hailed “Bless OA, Bless OA, BLESS OA!!!” Samhain comes and it is time to reflect, to look through the veil and commune with those who have gone

before us. We made Magikal Mirrors for the children to use as catalysts, helping the kids see past the veil. We lit candles on the Ancestors Alter in honor of our loved ones who are no longer with us. Filled with warmth from the love we once shared. With longer nights and shorter days Yule is here. This year will decorate ornaments with acorn, bay, cloves and more! We will beautify our Yule log fill it with our hopes and dreams of spring and burn it in the children’s circle. As our Yule log burns we shall all look around from person to person and know that the greatest of the Goddess’ blessings are here in this room tonight…our Family!

Imbolc is just a stones throw away…wonder what we shall do

that day????

by Kerry KastenChildren Bless OA at Harvest OA Launches NEW

Scouting Programby Kerry Kasten

Scan this code to take you directly to

our Oak ScoutsFacebook group.

www.melissatarot.wordpress.com3 & 6 Card Readings • Celtic Cross Readings

Available in the St. Louis area for in-person readings, events, and tarot parties

[email protected]

Kristin Brown, LPC, NCC, CHt, BCPC

Licensed Professional CounselorCertified Hypnotherapist

314-406-9310Hypnotherapy for Self-Change

Past Life RegressionsOutpatient Counseling


The wheel turns from the solemness of Samhain to the celebrations of Yule. Soon the snow will be falling and we shall honor the deities of the winter. The snow goddess of the Norse tradition is Skadi. She lived high in the mountains where her it is written among her favorite activi-ties are skiing and snowshoeing through her domain. She is only happy in the coldness. The gods killed her father Thjassi, and Skaldi armed herself to travel to their home in Asgard, she was set upon vengeance for her father. Even alone, she forced the gods to make peace with her. She had two conditions in which to have peace. The first of which was that they had to make her laugh. The second was that they had to let her choose a mate from among them. The first task was accomplished by Loki. The trickster tied his testicles to the

beard of a billy goat. It was a contest of screeching, well until the rope snapped and Loki screeching in pain landed in on the knee of Skadi, thus making her laugh. After the first task of making the god-dess laugh, the gods all lined up. Skadi’s eyes were masked. She had wanted to select her mate by simply examining his legs from the knees down. When she had found what she thought to be strongest of them, she flung off her mask and found that she had picked the sea god Njord. She went to live in the sea god’s ocean home, but was very unhappy. They agreed to split their time in 6 month in-tervals between his home by the sea, and her home in the mountains. Each in their own time were unhappy when they were away from their homes. They agreed to amicably split and she then took a new mate Ullr the god of the skies who is more suited to her mountainside lifestyle. Skadi is also known as huntress similar to the goddess Dianna. She is portrayed

in many pictures with a bow in hand and a quiver of arrows on her back. She was a fierce warrior. It is said to snow on earth when she awakens in the winter and shakes out her blanket. The flakes of snow are the result of her shaking the ice and frost off from the time she rested through the warmer months. The god-dess is the very embodiment of strength, courage and patience. As our own weather starts to chill, and we once more break out the sweaters and mittens, let us take a lesson from this stoic goddess. Let us find out own inner strength. She found a way to turn the tragedy of her father’s death into some-thing positive, even though her marriage to Njord did not work out she did find her happiness with the god Ullr. There are times in our lives when deity does give us what we ask for and we then find it isn’t really what we need or desire. Now is the time to reflect upon the transformations that you wish to manifest

in your own life. Find the strength and courage that resides within to actually take the steps forward to bring about those transformations. It is perfectly fine if along the way you find that what you thought you once desired is not really what will work for you. It just means that it is time to re-evaluate the situation and come up with a new plan. Turn to Skadi for guidance and strength to see you through this magical time of year. Let Skadi give you the cour-age to manifest the things you have been putting off. So when the snow starts to fall outside your window, instead of grumbling about how cold it is, thank Skadi for the blessing of sharing her beloved snow with you. Give honor to her for the courage and strength that she gives to you to carry on through the tough winters of your life. Find the blessings that are around you. Know that you are loved and a child of the divine.

Sisters o

f AvalonJune 1-3,

2012Join us for a weekend of

sisterhood & Goddess worshipOzark Avalon Church of Nature

Workshops & Rituals$40 Per Person includes weekend camping

Women over 13 or nursing infants only

See web site for details

& What to bring [email protected]

Email us at [email protected]

to be added to OUr Facebook group!

by Butterfly

Women’s Group Forms

Sisters of Avalon is a group of the women of Ozark Avalon and the surround-ing areas formed to promote unity among the women of the community and help empower us as individuals. We are hosting a festival in June and have been having great conversations in our Facebook group! We are also talking about offering women’s rites of passage all year long as “the women of the village” and doing many other projects together. If you’re up for a little sisterhood and haven’t gotten into our Facebook group, please email us at [email protected] and we’ll add you. The group is a “secret” group so if you’re not in the group you can’t see it or see who is in it. This has been done to protect those who are concerned about being “out of the broom closet” in this area. We would love to have all the ladies in the community in the group. We are also talking about what we’d like to see at the festival. So if you have ideas, now is the time to let us know! We’re going to have a great time at the festival and I hope to see you all there!

by Nancy McGee-Lee

Sisters of AvalonJune 1-3,

2012Join us for a weekend of

sisterhood & Goddess worshipOzark Avalon Church of Nature

Workshops & Rituals$40 Per Person includes weekend camping

Women over 13 or nursing infants only

See web site for details

& What to bring [email protected]

Email us at [email protected]

to be added to OUr Facebook group!


WINTER CALENDAR

From the President: It has been an eventful year and a half since our High Priestess emeritus entered retirement, and the rest of us had to start doing our jobs instead of leaving everything to her. I’d like to let our congregation and our friends know what we have been up to, and what we are hoping to be up to in the future. Bottoms up! With the loss of Interfuse which had been our financial salvation in recent years, and with huge financial commitments to festivals we no longer had the personnel to organize, we knew our revenues were going to be cut in half, even while our members were suffering from the terrible jobs situa-tion and were struggling to find gas money to get out here, much less be able to afford festival prices they felt were higher than others. So I immediately put us into “hunker down” mode, cutting prices on festivals(and making them like our Open Full Moons) and cutting down on festival expenses such as free meals (we were about the only place in the country doing that), and expensive entertainment (even when we didn’t pay them, the expenses we paid took out most of our festival revenues). Some folks begrudged the loss of extrava-ganzas, but we survived a very lean period, and now we can look forward.

As Sorsha and I started planning our calendar of events for this year, I was struggling for ideas of what to do, when she said, “Tom, people have been asking for some festivals like we used to have. How about we try to have a few?” So we planned on it. And since she and I were both working full time (and we were not event planners anyway) she suggested we ask the community for help organizing these festivals. So I have to give Sorsha the credit for the concept of “Bottoms Up” fes-tivals, where the whole festival is planned, organized, and run by our community members instead of by one person. So we put out the word, and commu-nity took up the idea and ran with it, in-spiring others to join the Beltane planning committee, and organizing and running Beltane by consensus. They decided to charge only ten dollars for the festival, and it was so popular that it brought more revenues than many of our festivals that charged much more, and it brought in seven dollars of revenue for every dollar of expenses, something I suspect no other Pagan festival in the country has achieved. And everyone, especially me, was inspired to continue using the bottom up concept for future festivals. We started learning some lessons quickly. Life happens, and people who were able to step up one time cannot the next, and we need backups for every role. And we also discovered that mixing bot-

toms up and top down festival organizing tends to lead to miscommunication and other problems, so it is best to choose one or the other. But I think we have a winner, and are continuing with the experiment. In fact, the Bottoms Up idea has inspired still more initiatives coming up from our community, who are now restarting our beloved but long out of print “Out of the Mists” journal, And a wonderful group of organizers is starting up the Ozark Avalon Oak Scouts for our kids and the whole fam-ily. In fact Ozark Avalon is steadily increas-ing its emphasis on, and its ministry to, our families.

Openness: As a 501(C)3 church and Missouri nonprofit, we are obligated to be a trans-parent organization. I especially want our financial records to be transparent, but it took a long time to just get them in order, and getting things in an easy to understand format is even more slogging work. Any-one who wants to help us to meet our mis-sion of transparency is urged to volunteer, especially if they have accounting skills or experience doing the books for a small organization. But everything we do should be trans-parent, because that shows the public that we are a church and not a private little cult, which is how too many people view Pagan-ism. We need to be a model for others to

follow. One way to make what we do be more visible is to use social media, such asFacebook, which nearly everybody (wheth-er they like it or not) seems to be using. Our beloved Mike Heidler got us started in social media when he started our Tribe.net group (now virtually unused), but now our Facebook groups (many, many of them) are getting an enormous volume of messages, and allowing our membership to feel they can be actively involved in planning and organizing what is going on in our church.

The Future: Although some of us are uncomfortable blowing our own horns and doing lots of ribbon-cutting, still much has changed over the last year and a half, and with luck and with a lot of help from our membership, much more will be changing. We have tried to be a welcoming group, and especially in welcoming back so many who have fallen away over the last fifteen years. From the first, we have always depended on the contributions of our members, whether of money and fees, or work and skills, or of ideas, to fulfill our mission of minister-ing to our congregation and to the greater Pagan community. Come be a part of it.

Tom Chapin, [email protected]

Subject To Change! Always check www.OzarkAvalon.net

for the updated calendar

Off to the right on the trail to Glen Avalon sit a pair of small clearings dedi-cated to the God and Goddess. Akelarre, or “the field of the he-goat,” also known as The God’s Grove, is the northern clearing and is dedicated to the Horned One. The area has the quarters marked and anyone is welcome to leave offer-ings. A new totem for the North is being planned for this spring.

Just to the south, accessible from the God’s Grove, is the Goddess’s Grove. Some of the first flowers of the year can be found in this nook in the woods. An altar sits in the South, awaiting any offerings or prayers you may want to leave there. Idols are present for wor-ship and prayer. Please go and seek out this sacred corner of Ozark Avalon. While you’re there, also look in on the circle of Glen Avalon, an area known for its fairy activity.

by Lady Nyne

Hot Water Heater For Retreat CenterUse of a Bobcat for Lake Dam RepairNew Ramp for Children’s Play Yard

Timbers for Children’s Swing Set(We have some 8ft 4x4s and 2 Slides already Thanks to Sheridan and Sasha!)

Materials for Fence Repair for Children’s Play Yard

Off the Beaten Path

December 9 Tree TrimmingDecember 10 Yule CelebrationDecember 11 Year-and-a-Day Class Starts 10 AMJanuary 7 Open Full Moon and Potluck DinnerFebruary 3-5 Imbolc Celebration

Out of the Mists Yule 2011

Documents

Transcript of Out of the Mists Yule 2011