Beltaine is almost upon us!

Good Afternoon, 

 May 1st is right around the corner, and this is our Beltaine Sabbat. It is a Greater Sabbat, celebrated by Witches and other magickal folks, and is seen as our first day of Summer. I have been celebrating this holiday since I was a little girl. I wasn't Pagan back then, ( or at least I didn't know I was) but come May 1st I would go outside and pick a bunch of Spring flowers and make a bouquet out of them and leave them by the front door. I would knock or ring the bell and run away, for my mother to find them. She must have told me about this tradition because I remember doing it when I was quite young. This day is also called May Day and Lady's Day.

Today we celebrate this holiday (holy day) with a ritual casting of the magickal circle, a dance around the May Pole (which at Enchantments is a living Rowan tree) and an outdoor pot luck feast. This year's Beltaine also marks the tenth anniversary of Enchantments! It will definitely be a day of great celebration. This Beltaine celebration is open to the public. We just ask that anyone who wishes to attend, to be at Enchantments by 10 am at the latest and that they bring a pot luck dish to share with others. The ritual will start at 10 am.  The day of our Beltaine Celebration this year will be Saturday, May 3rd at 10 am. Also, if you wish to dance around the May pole please bring a length of ribbon, 1 inch wide and approximately 9 - 12 feet in length. Any festive color will do (NO Black!!!)

Traditionally, Beltaine was a time of fertilizing the fields to nurture the fragile, new growth from the seeds we just planted at Ostara. Metaphorically speaking, what seeds have you planted recently. Are you trying to be a better person? More understanding, more kind, compassionate, less judgmental? Now that the seeds have been planted, how will you fertilize them? Opportunities always abound when we wish to be different. You will be given the chance to be that person you wish to be. But you must recognize the opportunity and make the changes you say you want. Just some food for thought.

Well we have just over a week until we celebrate Beltaine. I hope you do something to mark the day. It's one of the most special days of our year. A day to welcome in the Summer and finally rid ourselves of Winter. And a long Winter it has been.  I hope to see you at our Beltaine Celebration and if not, I hope you have a lovely celebration of your own.


Peace and Happiness





© 2010-2014 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.

 If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Answers to Last Weeks Test Questions

Good Afternoon,


Today I am answering the questions I posed last week.  The students of Enchantments took their tests and gladly everyone did really well. Here are the answers to last weeks questions:

Under History:

Archaeology is no longer using B.C. or A.D. to determine dates.  They are using instead B.C.E. and C.E.  Please describe what each mean. 

Archaeology is making an attempt to remove religion from the archaeological record of the world. In doing so they have replaced B.C. which stood for 'Before Christ' with B.C.E. which stands for 'Before the Common Era'. The Common Era starting with year 1.  They replaced A.D. which stood for 'Anno Domini', meaning 'in the year of our Lord' with C.E., Common Era. I personally like this better because the Earth is filled with so many rich, beautiful religions and no one religion is better or more right than any other. The history of the Earth should have no religious designation. (In my humble witch's opinion)

 

 Who was the first person put to death on Colonial American soil for the charges of Witchcraft? 

Her name was Alyse Young. She was 47 years old in 1647 when she was hung for the crime of witchcraft.

Where was this person put to death in Colonial America?

 Alyse was hung at the then, New State House, now the Old State House in Hartford, CT. She lived in Windsor, CT

How many people were put to death on Gallow's Hill in Salem, Mass? 

20 people  were put to death during the summer of the Salem Witch Trials. 19 hung on Gallow's Hill in Salem, and one person, Giles Corey was pressed to death under torture. 

What year was the Salem witch trials? 1692

What two parts of the year did the Ancient Celts recognize? 

They recognized two seasons, winter from November 1st to May 1st and Summer from May 1st to November 1st.

Spell Casting: 

How many total days of the month can one do full or new moon magick?

 A total of fourteen days.  For each moon, we teach, one can do moon magick three days before the moon, the day of the moon, and three days after the moon. Making it a total of seven days each moon, fourteen days for both the full moon and the new moon combined. The rest of the days, regular magickal workings can be done, just without the added punch of the moon's energy.

 

Ritual Workings: 

How many Sabbats are there in the Wheel of the Year?

 Eight Sabbats or Holy days 

• Samhain          November 1st         A greater or Major Sabbat 
• Yule                 December 20-24th The Winter Solstice, a Lesser or Minor Sabbat 
• Imbolc             February 1st           A Major Sabbat 
• Ostara             March 20-24th       The Spring or Vernal Equinox a Lesser Sabbat 
• Beltaine            May 1st                 A Major Sabbat the First day of our Summer season begins 
• Litha                 June 20-24th         The Summer Solstice a Lesser Sabbat 
• Lughnasadh      August 1st              A Major Sabbat 
• Mabon             September 20-24th The Fall or Autumnal Equinox a Lesser Sabbat

Peace and Happiness 

© 2010-2014 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited. 

If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Time to take a test!

 Good Afternoon,

It's that time of the semester again, Test time! True, many people dislike taking tests, but it still is the best way to determine how much information the student is getting from a course of study. I actually look at each test as MY test. What I mean is, if a student does well on a test, I know the material I try to teach every Saturday morning is getting across.

I thought you might be interested in seeing some of the questions that will be on the test. For my students that read my blog weekly, I can sense their ears perking up now. You see their tests are this Saturday. But to be fair, I will post the answers to todays questions next week. That way, I don't give away anything.

The tests this weekend will be first semester, mid term exams and final exams along with a Mastery Degree Program test for Herbal Studies.  Some of the questions that will appear on these tests are:

Under History:

Archaeology is no longer using B.C. or A.D. to determine dates.  They are using instead B.C.E. and C.E.  Please describe what each mean. 

B.C.E.

C.E. 

Who was the first person put to death on Colonial American soil for the charges of Witchcraft? 

Where was this person put to death in Colonial America?

How many people were put to death on Gallow's Hill in Salem, Mass? 

What year was the Salem witch trials? 

What two parts of the year did the Ancient Celts recognize? 

Spell Casting: 

How many total days of the month can one do full or new moon magick? 

 

Ritual Workings: 

How many Sabbats are there in the Wheel of the Year? 

These are just a few of the questions the students in Enchantments school for the Magickal Arts will be challenged with. 

For students taking the end of year exam they are required to get a 90% accuracy rate or better to pass the course.

Next week I'll post the answers to this weeks questions. Have a great week! 

Peace and Happiness

 






© 2010-2014 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.


 If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

My new class 'Practical Magick' at MCC this month!

Good Afternoon,

Welcome Spring! Oh my, take a deep breath, that would be Spring air you are breathing in. Feels good doesn't it? Well, it's also that time of year when I will be conducting my witches class at Manchester Community College this semester. I am only running this course twice a year, in the Spring and again in the Fall, so if you want to sign up for a fun class on magick, witchcraft and learning what it's all about, now is your chance!

This course is called 'Practical Magick' and the course description reads as follows:  "Have you ever wondered about witches or pagans and their belief systems? Maybe you have marveled at the full moon and wished you could do something to honor it, or celebrate in some special way the solstices, equinoxes and the four seasons.  This course will guide you on your way! Learn the history of the witch, The Wheel of the Year, Moon Magick, Candle Magick, and many other magickal topics. The final class will be a magickal potions workshop held at Enchantments, 349 East Center Street, Manchester during which time students will make and bring home their own potion and take part in a real witches magick circle ritual. Materials fee: $10 payable to instructor at first class."
Course Number: CRN 11871
Fee: $65
Held: 4 Mondays 4/21-5/12 from 7-9 pm in classroom LRC B209 (first three sessions); Enchantments (final session)

Instructor: Faith McCann is a third degree Wiccan Priestess. She is also owner of Enchantments, a Wiccan Metaphysical Center for the Magickal Arts, located in Manchester, CT

Sounds pretty awesome doesn't it? Well, it is! We have a lot of fun and everyone always tells me they wish the course were longer. Well for those that wish to continue their studies you can enroll in Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts for our Saturday morning classes. I can tell you more about them at another time, or you can check out my school's website for further details about the school. Here's the website: www.enchantmentsschool.com

Do you want to sign up for my class at MCC? Well, it's super easy. Just call this number and have a credit card handy. That's it. The number is 860-512-3232. They accept MasterCard, Visa and Discover. Please call this number between the hours of 8:30 am and 4:30 pm Monday thru Friday.

I hope to see you there!


Peace and Happiness






© 2010-2014 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.

 If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.