Wheel of Wonder October 13, 2013

As we know, Humans come in gender forms of Male and Female, so do the other mammals, most animals , and some plants have been attributed with these genders as well (i.e Apple trees are considered to be sexual reproducers, that's why there has to be more than one alone, another needs to be nearby).  For many modern spiritualists there are male energies and female energies, or polarities, some will say.  Among modern Neo-Pagans, there are paths that focus wholly on one of these energies, and some which make a point of training priests and priestesses to work with both.  In the Anderson Feri Tradition, as I understand they see genders and gendered energy as mutable.  This is the thing though, we as Humans live in relationship to others, we're a cooperative species.  Many spiritualists and animists find it easier to relate to one energy or another, but as they learn  and grow on their spiritual paths they find balance between these two polarities, allowing them to feel whole and complete.  I have to say the most worthy Druids and Priestesses I have met have achieved that, yet this male /female dichotomy does still exist.
Having travelled the Wheel of the Year last week through the images of the Green Man (male embodiment of nature), this week we'll explore the triple Goddess as the female embodiment of Nature, in order to keep a sense of balance in our explorations.  I'll share information drawn from Wicca, and some from the cauldron of Cerridwynn, and I hope you will join me this week on Wheel of Wonder (kaosradio.org).  The Picture below is by Constanza Ehrenhaus and found on Elfwood Art

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Wheel of Wonder, Lughnasadh through Alban Elfed

Time has flown and the seasons have turned, sometimes I feel I'm "back in my element" as it were, when Autumn comes blowing out of the north, and the leaves just begin to start turning.
 Lughnasadh and Alban Elfed are the Druid names for the holidays of August 1st (sometimes called Lammas, but usually by witches/wiccans in my experience) and the Autumn equinox (sometimes called Mabon by those who are also partial to the name Lammas). Lughnasadh celebrates the time of the metaphorical sacrifice of the Oak King, Corn King, or John Barleycorn as he is variously known, according to the Druids.  It is seen in the harvest of corn, the cutting of the grain, and the leaves beginning to fall from the branches of the trees; deaths to continue the cycle of life, as shown through the plants and trees.  Alban Elfed or "Light of the Water" marks the balance of the dark and light before the dark starts to take over the light, as shown by the shortening of daylight and the distance of the sun from the northern or southern hemisphere of the Earth.  It is also "Pagan Thanksgiving" a time to be thankful and celebrate the bounty of the harvest and the food we gather, can, and store for the winter.  Yes these days most developed countries have supermarkets through which to acquire food, but the prices of various items will change with their season of harvest (especially if you buy organic, or local; a generally good thing to do in order to move towards a sustainable future with our Mother Earth). More information on the Druidic observances of these holidays available on the OBOD site.
This picture of the Harvest Lord was found on this site

For the length of this past Summer, I've been living 3/4 time on the Pacific Coast, traversing the forests, beaches and lighthouses of an area they call the Long Beach Peninsula.  I spent my days in the places of the Land and The Sky and The Sea.  No easily available Internet, but I did have the opportunity to write, hike and visit Historical sites of the Chinook people and the earliest overland settlers of European ancestry in North America.  I was surrounded by many stories and great beauty.  Pleased to be back to focus on Wheel of Wonder and independent, community radio!

Shedding light on Spiritual paths and sustainable living!

Wheel of Wonder July 14,2013

Vendana Shiva says, in her article for YES! magazine "Everything I need to know, I learned in the Forest."

This week, we'll explore that idea on Wheel of Wonder.  What does the Forest teach us?  Well, first off its a closed system, a cycle if you will, the Forest wastes nothing all that dies adds nutrients to the soil that all the still living lifeforms (in this I am referring to plants too) utilize for food and often shelter (for example, insects and animals inside the hollow log).  We can also see new trees growing on the remains of rotting stumps or logs:  nurse logs.  Even the old and strong trees can on occasion, be completely burnt through the middle and still live and grow, and even offer homes to Bats and Owls.  I know of at least one cedar tree just like that, it stands near a stream, and on occasion I've been known to go set within it, gathering my thoughts.  So what does a Forest teach us about life?  Its very existence is a living expression of the interconnected web of all life, and isn't Human society a lot like that too?  Something to think about next time you're in the Forest.  Or
when you listen to Wheel of Wonder,  I hope you'll engage the Journey.

Wheel of Wonder June 9, 2013

I know what your thinking;  "Radio Ray why have you gone a month without posting on the blog?" Well, its been a time of transition in normal life for me, I'll be working this summer on the Pacific Coast, and I've been deeply involved in setting everything up for the experience.  Those of you who've listened know I've never missed being present for Wheel of Wonder every week, and I'll be there this week too.  Next week KAOS breakfast Special DJ "Lady Ace"  will be sitting in for me, and I hear she's planning to create an episode about "The Festival of the Sun" in Peru.  She's been there to experience it first hand as a part of a study abroad program through The Evergreen State College!  I'm excited to hear it as that's the Wheel of Wonder episode closest to Litha, Alban Hefin, or The Summer Solstice. The next week; June 23rd I'll be present with Caer Cormorant for their Alban Hefin event, so there may be a substitute for that Sunday too.  I'm not dropping Wheel of Wonder though, I'll continue coming North by Northwest every Sunday to join you on the journey we call Wheel of Wonder.
On to very important things.  As you may have heard; tragically, the Final Death Toll for the garment worker's in Bangladesh, as of May 13th, when they stopped searching and began the morbid work of trying to identify the dead and clean up the wreckage on May 13, 2013 was 1,127 lives lost.  As I helped with the remembrance tree project for the dead we did indeed tie 1,130 tatters to the tree at the Eastside Food Co-op.  1,130 because three Bangladeshi people who were in Olympia, two from the very same area of Bamgladesh that the tragedy took place in came to add tatters too.

 The tatters still weep color in the rain and wind and sun for now, and some of the Larger (mostly European) companies that received their clothes from that factory in Rana Plaza have signed on to a charter that they will no longer accept garments from factories in Bangladesh that don't meet proper fire and safety regulations, and the owner of the factory and some the engineers are in Jail in Bangladesh facing harsh Prison sentences (The owner of the factory is facing a life sentence in prison ), look forward cynics, things can change for the better!

According to some Druid Traditions, Gwynedd is a name for the garden or the sacred grove, the starting place for the spiritual journey of learning from nature, engaging the spirits of nature, and learning to hear the song of the plants, trees, and animal spirits.  Some druids will say it is preliminary to the Shamanic journey into the world of spirit, or the world of "The Dreaming."  That along with remembrance of the ancestors played its part in the last few Wheel of Wonder broadcasts.  This week, this month really, I've been hearing the sirensong of the Sea, calling me to the shore as I get ready to spend my Summer at the beach, so this week you can expect to hear the songs of the Selkies, and the voice of inspiration from the Sirens and the Celts on Wheel of Wonder.  Thank you for joining me on the Journey!

I found this Image, called "Selkie" on a neat blog, which you can connect to here.  I did not create this picture, but I think its beautiful.

Wheel of Wonder May 5th, 2013

Because May 1 is such a great holiday, I'll say Happy Beltane again this week!  But that's only one small part of it.  This week I was also witness to the birth of Caer Cormorant; a Gorsedd, or gathering of Bards (doing it Druid style) in Olympia.  May day is also often recognized as a holiday intended to rally for worker's rights, in America, and across the world.  So I'm going to take a moment here to address the worker's tragedy that just recently occurred in Bangladesh.  During the last week of April a large crack appeared in one of the buildings in Dhaka, Bangladesh.  This crack was several stories long and the building it was found on was used as a garment factory (ever noticed how many of your clothing items say "made in Bangladesh?"), it employed several hundred (if not thousand) very low wage workers, mostly young women between the ages of 15 and 20.  Dhaka authorities ordered the building evacuated as it was deemed unsafe.  One factory owner sent his employees to work in the building anyway, threatening them with loss of one months wages if they didn't work in this building which he and the engineers he paid said was not going to collapse on anyone.       Within two hours of these workers starting their shifts the building did collapse.  The death toll now stands at 580 workers!  Rescuers have given up on finding any survivors any more as they continue to dig through the rubble.  Until recently, hardly any news outlet at all even mentioned this tragedy.  Amy Goodman reported it on Democracy Now!  a news show broadcast on KAOS and some other Pacifica stations.  Aside from Amy Goodman listeners almost no one had heard of this tragedy.  To raise awareness of this tragedy myself and a few others, working with are local food co-op, tied tatters of cloth on the branches of a tree in their parking lot, when last I checked, only about 220 tatters had made it onto the branches of that tree, but it did make people stop and ask"what are these tatters about?"  When they heard they were understandably appalled by the conditions these Bangladeshi people are forced to work in and they became aware of these injustices that still occur in the world time after tragic time.  Those tatters waving silently on the tree?  Each one represents another life lost for the comforts of western consumerism.  Hopefully, we will reach 580 tatters before the co-op members, or their representatives, ask for them to be removed.

Music wise, this week on Wheel of Wonder, we'll have a few new Beltane songs and in the 9 o' clock hour we'll have a special Interview with Peter Mayer, an inspired and universally spiritual singer songwriter from Minnesota.  To hear some of Pete's great songs, go to his website, or listen on YouTube.  I look forward to bringing you this week's Wheel of Wonder!
Picture Credits:  Picture one is a double-crested Cormorant from Wikimedia Commons, the second picture is the tatters on the tree, by me.

Wheel of Wonder April 28th, 2013

Last week on Wheel of Wonder we spoke about Celtic Faerietales.  Yet this through the lens of how these Pre-Christian era tales show the beliefs and values of the ancient Kells. It seemed to me that there were some recurring themes:  The Giant as an apparent symbol of Nature's wrath and from the "Cailleach of the Snows" The Crone, or bitter wise woman as the danger, of the harsh winter but eventually overcome by the Maiden of Spring.  The Giants seemed to always be masculine, and as antagonists; overbearing and Patriarchal.  Hunters of souls and individual.  In many Celtic Faerietales they could only be overcome by bold and clever men, working in concert with wise and brilliant women (who the men usually had the good sense to listen to).  Another recurring theme was in the advantages of always being nice to strangers and animals, as they would do you a good turn in response, most especially when you needed it.  Recurring Archetypes in the Celtic Tales of the Pre-Christian world included:  The Mystic (or Shamanic) Hero and Adventurer, The Magical Woman, The kind and wise elder male (or Sage/Druid),  the Wise Woman (Or Crone), Animal Spirits (sometimes shown as Humans transformed by Magic), and Faerie helpers or foes (who weren't always understood, but respected).  If one ever studies folktales and faerietales, one should go back as far into history as possible, to understand the values of a culture, modern retellings are often just modern (did you know Cinderella was a woman versed in magic and soothsay, and not just some hapless girl a Fairy Godmother took pity on?)  Go to The Source.

For this week though, the Wheel turns and we'll talk about Beltane and about this incredible event in Olympia Washington called PROCESSION OF THE SPECIES, which took place Saturday.  I was there did you see me?  I was The Green Man (picture above).  Hope you join me this week on Wheel of Wonder!

Wheel of Wonder April 14, 2013

Hello, well its catching up time again!  Week before last on Wheel of Wonder we completed the Elemental Episodes with the fifth Element:  Spirit.  Or as we saw defined on the website gnosticteachings.org:  spirit: mid-13c., "animating or vital principle in man and animals."  In the belief systems of the five spiritual Elements (Air, Earth, Fire, Water, Spirit; sometimes called Ether). Spirit flows through everything, often when I think about the Pentagram, I think about it as the Fifth Point, it could also be represented by being of the place that is the center in the sacred circles some earth spiritualists call forth in ritual.  It was interesting to look at the online gnostic teachings available on this subject.  Gnosticism is of course Christian Mysticism, and some say relate to very powerful energies, so be aware and proceed with respect and caution if you should choose to investigate them.
The week that followed as I was running through my thoughts on what should be our next topic of discussion, eventually I decided to grab a deck of Celtic Tarot Cards, do an Alchemists spread and see what came up.  The overall message I found in that Tarot drawing involved many "swords" cards but almost all in relation to the signifier card of "The Sun." because of that significator, it was overall about as positive a message as you can get from 5 cards, three of which are swords.  The message I found was one of Humans becoming more aware of, or  perhaps, remembering the spiritual dimension of we Human Beings, and using that knowledge to create a better world.  That is the time this reading said we live in.  What a wonderful message!
This week is very important though, because this week is the week of the KAOS membership drive.  KAOS gives me a medium through which to share these neat Pagan, Indigenous, Sustainable, and New age ideas live on FM radio!  The only reason I can do that is because KAOS remains a non-commercial radio station, it doesn't matter if corporate media does not see Wheel of Wonder's message as important or profitable for there bottom line, because the people who listen to KAOS ("One of the top 10 non-commercial stations in the USA" according to Performer magazine, and The Princeton Review) donate actual money to support it.  There are not very many fully independent media outlets left in this country and I hope whether you enjoy listening to Wheel of Wonder, or just reading the blog, or if you are indeed one of the select and wonderful artists I play the music of, or one of the great thinkers I direct traffic to the websites of, that you will consider donating money to KAOS,  this week.
Blessed Be
---Radio Ray