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Welcome

Welcome to the personal web site of Starweaver, Wiccan priest, tarot and astrology practitioner, and dabbler in the visual arts. This site is an expression of my own personality: sometimes focused, sometimes fanciful, always fluid. I hope you find this a place of beauty, wisdom, and warmth.

Feature Article

The First Door: Beliefs Are Tools

For some people, the first barrier to setting foot on a spiritual path is being confronted with new beliefs one does not understand or accept. Must one accept a bunch of "crazy ideas" to become a spiritual person?

I have always had an active imagination. As a child, I read science fiction and fantasy voraciously. I created my own stories, too, and created whole worlds for my stories to take place in. There was, I am sure, an element of escapism in this. The imaginary worlds had vividness and meaning lacking in my own life, and I had a sense of control over what those worlds contained and what happened within them.

But these imaginary excursions were also educational. It is remarkable what one can learn about geography while mapping an imaginary world, or what can be learned about language by inventing the names of alien characters. I pursued a career in astronomy, motivated at least partly by a fascination with worlds orbiting distant stars...

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Subscribing to Starweaver's Gems from Earth and Sky

If you enjoy the material presented here and would like to receive each new issue as it becomes available, you are invited to subscribe to Gems from Earth and Sky. There are three formats available:

  • email notice: you will receive a short text-only email eight times a year to let you know that a new issue has been posted on this website (no charge)
  • email newsletter: you will receive a condensed version of each issue, including graphics, one or two articles, and summaries with links to full articles on this site (no charge)
  • print edition: you will receive a print copy of the entire issue by mail. The cost is $20 per year (eight issues) or $10 for four issues.

To subscribe, send email to starweaver at thekashi dot net, indicating which option you would prefer. If subscribing to the print edition, also include your mailing address and send payment to

Tom Waters
P O Box 201
Tesuque, NM 87574-0201
USA

Of course, your contact information will not be shared with anyone.

If you intend to read this website regularly, please do sign up for the email notice - it's simple, free, and gives me important information about the level of interest in this project. Thanks!

Pilfered Wisdom

Alice laughed: "There's no use trying," she said; "one can't believe impossible things."

"I daresay you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

In the next issue...

The next issue of Gems from Earth and Sky will be published on Samhain, November 7. Look for a Seasons of the Goddess story, a run-down of the magical energies available for upcoming full moons and dark moons, a bit of runelore, an article on creating sacred space for ritual, the magical powers of lavender, and more.

Starweaver's
Gems from Earth and Sky

Mabon 2007 Issue

Welcome to the first ever issue of Gems from Earth and Sky. Have a look around; there's a little something of everything here! This issue features the launch of four major regular features: Seven Doors, Celestial Gossip, Tarot Wisdom, and Seasons of the Goddess / Seasons of the God. You'll also find tidbits from my garden and kitchen!

There is something of a theme to this issue: the masculine pole of spirit, the energy of the God in both his Apollonian and Dionysian aspects: lawgiver and reveler. Many of the articles in this issue, in various ways, explore the questions of how we balance the needs of our reasoning, structuring minds with our needs for freedom, creativity, and spontaneity.

Mabon: The Victory of Darkness

At this time of autumn equinox, the labors of summer wind down and harvest brings many pleasures. In this parable of autumn, Hollyhorn, grown to manhood, defeats the aging tyrant Goldhelm, ushering in an age of revelry and feasting.

It had been a hot, relentless summer, and all the people of the land were weary. King Goldhelm, whose reign had begun with such promise, was now old and brittle in his ways. He tolerated no violation of his law, however minor. Food and drink were hoarded in his castle, and the people subsisted on rations of bread and water...

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The Emperor

In the tarot, the Emperor card is typically associated with rulership, power, control, authority, and the imposition of law and structure. It tends to be viewed in a skeptical or negative light by many modern Pagans, being a symbol of patriarchy and its rigidity.

As an archetype, the Emperor is a father figure. Real-life fathers, of course, come in all the great variety that humanity exhibits. The father archetype, however, speaks to our earliest interactions with adult authority and the boundaries imposed on our imaginations and impulses...

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Celestial Gossip for October, November, and December

Starweaver's down-to-earth look at the doings of the heavenly gods and goddesses in the months ahead.

Saturn moved into Virgo on September 2 and will remain there for the next two years. He's relatively comfortable here, a capable task master teaching us how to stay organized and produce tangible results for our labors. Picture him as the chief butler for a well-to-do Victorian family, determined to keep everything running without disruption or flights of fancy...

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Upcoming Events

Ardantane Samhain Ritual
Friday, November 2, 7 pm
at Ardantane near Jemez Springs

All things have roots. All things grow from what has come and gone before. At Samhain, we mark the beginning of a new cycle of darkness and light as the earth plunges into winter. At this time, ancient traditions hold, the veil between the Living and the Dead, between the Seen and the Unseen, is thin and tenuous, and our spirits may pass between the worlds. Join us for this ritual to commune with those who came before us and to celebrate and honor the deepest of Pagan sacred days, the sabbat of Samhain.

This ritual is open to the public and free of charge. If you plan to come, please email starweaver at thekashi dot net so that we will know to expect you.

From the Hearth: Overgrown Zucchini with Tempeh Barbeque

In the Garden: Relaxing with Rodents

The Imaginarium: A Walk in Hendir

Copyright © 2007 Tom Waters