If you’ve visited the splash page we’ve had up on the web for the last couple of months (or perused the Table of Contents), then you have some idea of what’s in store for you ... Articles and Meditations and Ritual ideas galore! I am convinced that there is truly no other magazine like this one, and I’ve read more than a few. Best of all, I’m convinced that we’re offering a growing world community exactly what it needs and wants - a place to read and learn, to discover new ways of thinking and being and to connect with others of like mind and practice. As a child, I’d always known I was a little different from a lot of other people. When my family used to have to come look for me in thunder or snow storms, only to find me sitting beneath a tree in the backyard taking it all in, they knew it too. But I was different in a way that others in my family were different, and I’ll bet it’s something I share with you, too. You see, for as long as I can remember, Nature and Spirit have talked to me. Literally. The wind, the rain, the good dark Earth and the realms beyond the human plane have always felt like home to me and I have always heard and understood their subtle whispers. As a child, I mixed weeds and tree bark with rain water and rocks; today I might choose white sage and clear quartz to mix beneath the full moon instead. When I was eight, I pulled fallen tree branches into a circle to create what I called my fort; inside I imagined myself a powerful witch within her cottage. Today, I create sacred space and my fort is now a cast circle. Forever have people like us - you and I - been here on the Earth, intuiting Her ways and energies or maintaining the traditions passed down to us. Now, after years of silence or forced discretion, so many of us have awakened to the reality that it is once again safe to choose the ancient or pagan ways of old, once again good for us to practice this sacred kind of spirituality. Some feel the rise in those choosing earth-based spirituality directly reflects the fact that there are laws in place, protecting one’s freedom of religion. But others feel it’s much more than that; some believe that now, with the Earth at it’s most environmentally vulnerable and spiritually deprived, when the future of humankind seems most precarious, couldn’t be a better time for healers and wise folk and those willing to carry magic’s transforming torch, to make a come-back. And what a come-back it is! Mystery Schools have returned, apprenticeships are available and no longer are the terms “pentacle” or “Akashic” obscure. Now more than ever, books and web sites, shops and groups abound. To these good offerings, I humbly add Full Moon Rising Magazine. May you find on our pages all that is required for your enlightenment and your enjoyment, your empowerment and your inspiration. May you find what you need to feel secure with who you are and where you stand. And may you find the catalyst for growth or discovery. What an incredible collection of articles we’ve got for this premier issue! Allow us to introduce you to some truly interesting individuals: an artist who takes her inspiration directly from Spirit, a crone who convenes with both physical plane animal familiars and spirit realm shamanic animal allies! We’ll show you how the Tarot can be used to empower oneself and for the young ones in your life, we’re offering up some fun fairy crafts and enchantments! Check out our meditations, affirmations and charms for banishing negativity, connecting with nature and encountering your elemental wolf totem and have some fun becoming more familiar with the tricks and treats of today’s modern witch: this issue, the besom! Next issue, we’ll begin a new section in which you can introduce yourself to others in our region. Log on to FullMoonRisingMagazine.com and send us your name, a line or two about you and your chosen path; we’ll be glad to include it. While you’re visiting us, take a moment to get to know our writers a little better, check out how to submit your own articles and please let us know what topics you’d like to see in future issues along with ideas or suggestions you might have. We’ll be publishing four times each year, at the quarters. Look for us again when the solar blaze relinquishes to Autumn and Mabon draws near. Until then, may your journey and your path be filled with prosperity, balance and Light! Blessed Be, |
Greetings and Merry Meet! Welcome to
this, the Premier Issue of