Have you been wondering lately if you, or any of your friends may have turned into a zombie? Well, look no further. Take this test to find out if you may be a zombie.
TOP TEN SIGNS YOU MAY BE A ZOMBIE
1. Did you use to be a vegetarian, but lately have been craving raw brains?
2. Is your favorite breakfast food scrambled brains?
3. Are your favorite toys scrambled eggs and spaghetti, because they remind you of brains and intestines?
4. Does Fido suddenly seem like he would make a good late night snack?
5. Do you go to rave parties at graveyards, and end up digging up the graves looking for snacks?
6. Are you still infected by that "flu" you got 2 years ago?
7. Does the zombie death march describe your running and walking style?
8. Do you have a freezer full of body parts, just waiting for your next dinner party?
9. Did you recently survive a drive-by shooting, yet are still able to walk about despite that fist size hole in your chest?
10. Did you take part in a Vodou ritual on that Caribbean cruise you just got back from?
Zombie Test Results
Add up how many yes answers you gave to the above questions, to find out if you are a zombie, a poser zombie wanna-be, or about to become zombie bait.
1-3: ZOMBIE BAIT
Congratulations, you are still human! While you may have a penchant for zombie movies, you haven't turned into one yet. Buy plenty of canned goods, and lock yourself in your basement or attic, so the zombies can't get to you.
4-6: ZOMBIE IMPOSTER
You are a zombie poser wanna-be, trying to jump on the bandwagon of the popular zombie craze. Eating raw meat doesn't make you a real zombie. The REAL zombies will know that you are faking it, and they will find you, and EAT you.
7 or more: ZOMBIE
Zombilicious baby! Welcome to the cult of zombiedom.Your neighbors run and hide when they see you coming. You will be really popular at Halloween.
Take care,
The Horror Diva
These magical candle colors are from the book 'Earth, Air, Fire & Water' by Scott Cunningham. Pick the appropriate candle color according the type of spell magick you are going to perform.
* GREEN - Money; prosperity; employment; fertility; healing; growth; abundance. Green is the color of the element of Earth. Burn when looking for a job or seeking a needed raise.
* BLUE - Healing; peace; patience; psychic realm, happiness. Blue is the color of the element of Water. Blue is also used in the realm of sleep and of twilight. If you have trouble sleeping, charge a small blue candle with the visualization of yourself sleeping through the night. Burn it a few moments before you get into bed, then extinguish its flame. Blue candles can also be charged and burned to awaken the psychic mind.* BROWN - Burned for spells invoking animals, usually in combination with other colors. A brown candle and a red candle for animal protection; brown and blue for healing, and so on.
Take care,
The Horror Diva
I write for a variety of online sites including The
Pagan Path. Some of my pagan/new age articles appear on the Suite101
site under the Mind & Soul category.
The articles I've written for the Suite101 Mind & Soul category include:
Mind & Soul is divided into 20 topics including:
Alternative Spirituality
Astrology
Buddhism/Taoism
Kabbalah
New Age
Paganism/Wicca
Paranormal
Check out the many great articles on Suite101 when you get the chance.
Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Horror Diva
“In Sweden, old women who dwelt in the forest were
credited with powers of sorcery and were believed to have the wolves
under their control. Thus they were known as Vargamor or wolf-crones.”
-Alexander Porteous, The Forest in Folklore and Mythology, 1928
Costumes are often used by shamans to help them become more like their
animal familiar. A variety of animal parts are used to decorate the
shamans costume such as antlers, bones, claws, feathers, fur and teeth.
The shaman takes on the attributes associated with their animal
spirits. Shamans may use some or all of these tools to help them with
their shamanistic journeys.
The four elemental tools of the shaman are the spear or staff which
represent the element air, the sword which represents the element fire,
the cauldron which represent the element water, and the stone which
represents the element earth.
THE TOOLS
Amulet bag - a small pouch usually worn around the neck and
filled with one or more amulets to protect the wearer from evil forces.
Native American shamans use a similar object usually referred to as a
medicine pouch. Larger amulet bags made out of leather, suede, or heavy
cloth can be used to hold a variety of shaman tools such as rune
stones, herbs, stones or healing crystals.
You may want to design and create one or more amulets bags for your own
personal use. For example, I have created my own individual beaded
amulet bags to represent each of the 4 elements. I used a butterfly
pattern to represent the element air, a dolphin to represent the
element water, an iris to represent the element earth while I created a
sunflower amulet bag to represent the element fire.
Blanket or cloth or animal hide to sit or lay on. This gives the
shaman a comfortable place on which to conduct their shamanic journeys.
The shamans tools and a small altar can also be set up on and around
the blanket.
Cloak or cape - the shaman often wears a cloak or cape while
conducting their shamanic work. The cloaks can be decorated with
various feathers, shells, small gemstones, bits of fur, claws, and
other animal parts to help the shaman assume the form of their animal
allies.
Cauldron - represents the element water. A metal cauldron can be
filled with sand and used to burn a variety of herbs and incense.
Candles can also be placed inside the cauldron and burned as part of
the shamans rituals. An abalone shell can also be used in place of the
cauldron if desired.
Crystals - also called earth stars. Gemstones represent the
healing energy of the earth and can be used by the shaman to help heal
specific illnesses of their patients.
Dagger - used for cutting rune symbols into slices of wood, for tracing magical symbols into the earth, and for harvesting herbs.
Drum - used to produce meditative music to help induce the ecstatic trance-like state of the shaman.
Feathers - used to decorate the shamans masks, cloaks, capes,
and headdresses. A further aid to helping the shaman assume the form of
their animal allies.
Headdress or headband - made out of metal or cloth and decorated with items such as feathers, claws or teeth.
Mask - masks which have been decorated with feathers, claws, fur
or small shells help the shaman to assume the form of their animal ally
while conducting their shamanistic journeys.
Mortar & pestle - to finely grind any plant materials that are used as part of the shamans healing rituals.
Rattle - used to induce a trance-like state through the use of
the hypnotic, rhythmic sound produced by the rattle. Similar items such
as rain sticks and tambourines can also be used to great effect.
Staff or spear - the staff is commonly made out of wood and can
be carved and decorated with magical symbols and talismans which
further help to protect the shaman. The staff or spear represents the
element air.
Stones - a flat stone to work magic on. Imbued with magical
properties. A flat stone can be used as a makeshift altar by the
shaman. The flat stone should be placed on the northern most point of
the shamans blanket and represents the earth element.
Sword - represents the element fire. Used in spiritual battle
while the shaman is traveling in the other-world. The sword is used as
a protective tool by the shaman while undergoing their spiritual
journeys. The sword offers symbolic protection to the shaman and
doesn’t need to be sharp.
Wand - a tool which is used in certain magical rituals which
represents the element fire. Wands are often made from a fallen tree
branch, you should never cut a branch from the tree as this would upset
mother nature. A found, fallen tree branch should be thought of as a
gift from mother nature.
Take care,
The Horror Diva
The magic circle; also known as the sacred circle,
ritual circle or simply the circle, is a barrier of energy used in many
branches of Ritual magic, particularly in Wicca and other neo-pagan
traditions.
Creating a magic circle is known as casting a circle, circle casting, and various other names.
There are many different techniques for casting a circle, and covens
will often have their own unique methods. The common feature of these
practices is that a barrier of energy is traced in a circle around the
working area. Some traditions say that one must go around the circle
deosil (clockwise) three times. There are also various starting points
based on cardinal directions. A typical size for a circle is nine feet
in diameter, though the size can vary depending on the purpose of the
circle, and the preference of the caster.
Some practitioners choose to mark the physical boundary of their
circle, either before or prior to the actual casting. This can be done
using a cord, a chalk line, a line drawn in the soil, or small objects
such as stones.
Some practitioners mark the four cardinal points with candles, either white, or of colours representative of the elements:
North: green for the element of Earth
East: yellow for the element of Air
South: red for the element of Fire
West: blue for the element of Water
Generally, as with most magical practices, an incantation is recited stating the purpose and nature of the circle.
Purpose
Traditionally, circles were used by ritual magicians to form a
protective barrier between themselves and what they summoned. Nowadays,
the circle has taken on the more benign function of containing the
energy raised during the ritual that follows. As more and more energy
is raised from chanting and dancing the energy becomes more
concentrated. After the circle has been cast it is believed that it
forms a sphere of energy, which intersects the ground at its equator.
This shouldn't be confused with the cone of power, a method of raising
energy.
Circles can also be used as barriers for non-magical work such as meditation.
Cutting a door
The barrier is fragile and sensitive to things passing through it.
Leaving or passing through the circle often weakens or dispels the
barrier. This is referred to as "breaking the circle". It is generally
advised that practitioners don't leave the circle unless absolutely
necessary.
In order to leave a circle and keep it intact, Wiccans believe a door
must be cut in the energy of the circle. Using the athame, a doorway is
"cut" in the circle, at which point anything may pass through without
harming the circle. This opening must be closed afterwards by
"reconnecting" the lines of the circle.
Closing the circle
The circle is usually closed by the practitioner after they have
finished by drawing in the energy with the athame or their hand,
usually in a widdershins fashion (counter clockwise). This is called
closing the circle or releasing the circle. The term "opening" is often
used, representing the idea the circle has been expanded and dissipated
rather than closed in on itself.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Magic Circle"
Take care,
The Horror Diva
“…the old magical theory of the seasons was displaced, or rather
supplemented, by a religious theory. For although men now attributed
the annual cycle of change primarily to corresponding changes in their
deities, they still thought that by performing certain magical rites
they could aid the god, who was the principle of life, in his struggle
with the opposing principle of death. They imagined that they could
recruit his failing energies and even raise him from the dead. The
ceremonies (sabbats or fire festivals) which they observed for this
purpose were in substance a dramatic representation of the natural
processes which they wished to facilitate; for it is a familiar tenet
of magic that you can produce any desired effect by merely imitating
it.”
Wheel of the Year
-James Frazer, The Golden Bough
The wheel of the year, as shown in the diagram above, celebrates the
eight nature festivals of the year. These festivals, also known as the
sabbats or the eight holy days of witchcraft, are a time to celebrate
the changing of the seasons. They are nature based celebrations of
life, death, birth, and fertility.
The cross quarter days, which are the major sabbats of the year,
celebrate the four agricultural harvests of the year namely Imbolc,
Beltane, Lughnasadh, and Samhain. The dates of the cross quarter days
are the same every year.
The quarter days which are solar festivals are considered to be the
lesser sabbats of the year namely Ostara, Litha, Mabon, and Yule. The
quarter days occur on the spring and autumn equinoxes and the summer
and winter solstices. The dates of the quarter days vary from year to
year, consult a good reference book such as one of the yearly farmer’s
almanac to obtain the exact dates of the equinoxes and solstices.
The following section lists some of the traditions and celebrations
that have traditionally been associated with each particular festival.
Imbolc - February 2nd, this festival marked the beginning of
lambing season. In modern times this festival has evolved into
Groundhog Day. Imbolc has traditionally been one of the best times of
year for the initiation of a new witch but any time that is meaningful
can also be used such as during the full moon of the month you were
born in or on your actual birthday.
This is the time of year when spring cleaning projects are conducted as
a thorough cleansing of your house can be seen as a way to purify your
personal home environment. It is also a good time of year to plan and
design new gardens in anticipation of the reawakening of mother nature
as evident in the first flush of green growth that occurs every spring.
Go through any new gardening catalogs that you may have at this time of
year to plan what kinds of new plants and seeds you are going to plant
in your garden during the upcoming year.
Ostara - occurs between March 20th and 23rd - spring equinox,
the length of the day and night are equal, a time for the sowing of
crops. Eostre was the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring. Some of the
symbols associated with this festival include eggs, rabbits, and hot
crossed buns. Painted and decorated eggs were a symbol of life and
fertility. Witches were believed to be able to turn into rabbits while
at the sabbats in order to go undetected throughout the countryside.
Hot crossed buns symbolized a cross within a circle which was an
astrological symbol of the earth, the four directions, the four
elements, the four seasons and was considered to be a magical talisman.
Ostara has evolved into our modern holiday Easter. Easter is celebrated
on the Sunday closest to the first full moon occurring after the spring
equinox.
Beltane - May 1st - May day - the beginning of summer, festival
of life, a fertility festival for crops and animals. This festival has
traditionally been associated with fertility and healing along with
emotional and physical health.
One form of celebration that was common to this festival was to dance
around a colorfully decorated May pole. The May pole was an ancient
phallic symbol of fertility. Brightly decorated baskets full of fresh
flowers, flower arrangements, and small bouquets or tussie mussies are
also used as aids to celebrating this festival.
Litha - occurs between June 20th and 23rd - summer solstice,
midsummer day, longest day of the year, a time for the growing of
crops. This festival has traditionally been associated with love,
health, purification, and dedication. Litha’s association with love may
be why June weddings are so popular with brides.
Litha is the best time of year to harvest St. John’s wort and is a good
time for practicing magic. Gather St. John’s wort at midday to tap into
the plants healing abilities or as an alternative harvest the plant at
midnight to tap into it’s magical powers. To ensure a fertile growing
season for all your crops build a bonfire in which magical herbs such
as lavender, mugwort and St. John’s wort are burned. The smoke from
this magical fire can be used to ensure fertility to your livestock and
crops. People were even known to jump through these fires or the smoke
produced from the fires to ensure their own fertility.
Lughnasadh - August 1st - first harvest, sacrifice of the corn king. This festival was traditionally associated with transformation.
This is the time of year to celebrate the ripening of the grains. In
ancient times bread was a staple food source and a necessary part of
the daily diet. Help celebrate this festival by baking homemade loaves
of bread in honor of the Celtic sun god Lugh whom this festival is
named after.
Mabon - occurs between September 20th and 23rd - autumn equinox
- final harvest, the length of the day and night are equal, a time for
the reaping of the crops.
Mabon is sometimes referred to as the witches thanksgiving. This was
the traditional time of year that the Pilgrims celebrated Thanksgiving.
It wasn’t until the 19th century that President Lincoln changed the
date of Thanksgiving to November. Mabon is a great time of year to
conduct your own celebration of thanksgiving in honor of mother nature
and all her bountiful gifts. Gather a bunch of acorns or pinecones to
display in a decorative bowl in your home to represent the fertile
gifts of mother earth’s harvest which are plentiful at this time of
year.
Samhain - October 31st - Halloween, beginning of the Celtic New
Year. This festival is traditionally associated with rebirth and
renewal. On Samhain in ancient Ireland large turnips or even potatoes
and beets were hollowed out, carved into frightening designs and lit
from within using either a candle or a piece of burning coal. These
lanterns were placed in the windows and doorways of peoples homes and
served two purposes.
First, they were believed to scare off evil spirits and prevent them
from entering ones home. Secondly, they let the spirits of their
departed loved ones know that they were welcomed into the house during
this time of year. These turnip lanterns were the precursor to the
modern-day Jack-o-lantern. The larger, easier to carve pumpkins found
in the new world were used as a turnip substitute by Irish immigrants
arriving in America during the Irish potato famine of the 1800’s.
Yule - occurs between December 20th and 23rd - winter solstice,
midwinter, festival of light, the shortest day of the year, the longest
night of the year, a time for cleansing and the planning of next years
crops.
In ancient times a yule tree was erected in the home during this time
of year and was seen as a symbol of fertility. The yule tree was hung
with offerings made to the god and goddess. This tree evolved into our
modern-day Christmas tree which is festooned with lights and decorated
with ornaments. The star that is placed on the very top of the tree was
once a symbol of the pentagram. The 8 reindeer that pull Santa’s sleigh
can be seen as a representation of the 8 sabbats that make up the wheel
of the year. Bringing a sprig of holly inside to hang up in your house
on Christmas was thought to bring good luck to all members of the
household. Cutting the holly prior to Christmas eve was thought to be
bad luck.
Take care,
The Horror Diva
Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was an English
poet, scholar, and novelist. During his long life, he produced more
than 140 works. Graves considered himself a poet first and foremost.
Robert Grave's Book The White Goddess
The White Goddess
The White Goddess is a book-length essay based upon the nature of
poetic myth written by Graves. First published in 1948, and revised,
amended and enlarged in 1966, it represents an approach to the study of
mythology from a decidedly creative yet idiosyncratic perspective. It
proposes the existence of a European deity, the "White Goddess of
Birth, Love and Death," inspired and represented by the phases of the
moon, and who, Graves argues, lies behind the faces of the diverse
goddesses of various European mythologies.
Graves argues that "true" or "pure" poetry is inextricably linked with
the ancient cult-ritual of his proposed White Goddess and of her son.
His conclusions come from his own conjectures about how early religions
developed, as there is no historical evidence that the "White Goddess"
as he describes her ever figured in any actual belief system. However
given that the worship of the Goddess, as defined by Graves, took place
in pre-literate and pre-historical times the lack of such evidence is
not in itself evidence of lack.
Poetry and Myth
Graves described The White Goddess as "a historical grammar of the
language of poetic myth." The book draws from the mythology and poetry
of Wales and Ireland especially, as well as that of most of Western
Europe and the ancient Middle East. Relying on arguments from etymology
and the use of forensic techniques to uncover what he calls
'iconotropic' redaction of original myths, Graves argues not only for
the worship of a single goddess under many names, but also that the
names of the Ogham letters in the alphabet used in parts of Gaelic
Ireland and Britain contained a calendar that contained the key to an
ancient liturgy involving the human sacrifice of a sacred king; and,
further, that these letter names concealed lines of Ancient Greek
hexameter describing the goddess. In response to critics, Graves has
accused literary scholars of being psychologically incapable of
interpreting myth or too concerned with maintaining their perquisites
to go against the majority view.
Graves's The White Goddess deals with goddess worship as the
prototypical religion, analyzing it largely from literary evidence, in
myth and poetry.
Graves admitted he was not a medieval historian, but a poet, and thus
based his work on the premise that the "language of poetic myth
anciently current in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe was a
magical language bound up with popular religious ceremonies in honor of
the Moon-goddess, or Muse, some of them dating from the Old Stone Age,
and that this remains the language of true poetry..."
Take care
The Horror Diva
“So Moses and Aaron went to see Pharaoh, and they performed the
miracle just as the Lord had told them. Aaron threw down his staff
before Pharaoh and his court, and it became a snake. Then Pharaoh
called in his wise men and magicians, and they did the same thing with
their secret arts. Their staffs became snakes, too!”
-Exodus 7:10-12
Wands and staffs are special tools which are used in certain magical
rituals. They can be used to collect, store, direct, and finally
release energy to and from a certain point. Magic wands and wizards
staffs help to concentrate and direct your own personal power. Ancient
healers would often utilize a twig or small branch to help them cast
out evil spirits from the bodies of their patients. These evil spirits
were thought to be the cause of disease. Once the evil spirits were
cast out the healer could continue to heal their patients with a
variety of herbal remedies.
According to folklorists and authors Ernst and Johanna Lehner, the use of magical wands can be traced back to the bible: “In
the Dark and Middle Ages, when the professional sorcerers usurped every
bit of mythological belief and religious legend of miracles for their
own use, they choose the rod of Aaron as the symbol of the magician’s
efficacy. The rod became the magic wand for magicians of all times and
all peoples.”
Greek God of Medicine
Asclepius, a Greek god of medicine renowned for his great healing
powers, also had the power to bring the dead back to life. One of his
symbols, which is known as Asclepius’ rod, was a long staff made from a
rough hewn cedar branch entwined by a single snake. The caduceus, a
symbol of the Greek messenger god Hermes, is a wand or rod, often made
from a short piece of olive branch which is entwined by a pair of
snakes and topped by a pair of wings. Hermes, who was known as Mercury
in the Roman pantheon, used his magic wand to conduct the souls of the
dead to the underworld. The caduceus was also supposed to turn anything
it touched into gold.
A serpent encircled wand was a symbol often associated with herbalists
and healers during the early Middle Ages. The serpent, which
periodically sheds its skin to renew itself, is a symbol of immortality
and renewed life. Both Asclepius’ rod and the caduceus are symbols used
in the modern age by various medical organizations.
Take care,
The Horror Diva
Change is Good
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