FogHorn #37
Tony Navarra
June, 1993
Issue #37
The Official Newsletter of the Fog City Nest
A Church of All Worlds Congregation
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Business Meeting
by Radion
On Saturday, May 22nd, we had a business meeting at Katrina's
house. Yay! There were 5 of us at the meeting. It started with
Tony showing us his wonderful file of newsletters. They included
many copies of our own worthy publication, as well as issues of
Reclaiming, Spiral Path, etc.
We also determined there'd be 6 people going on the camping trip.
We were looking forward to hiking, camping and 2 hours of brush
clearing. We'll be doing various rituals including the first
performance of Tony and Katrina's weekly worship service! Later
this month there is also the Equinox campout with Valley of the
Moon Nest (July 19 & 20). Talk to Toni if you're interested
(415-282-1872).
Next we discussed possible future rituals in an astrology vein.
It was decided that an astrology workshop would be useful. I
have since spoken to an Astrologer friend of mine, with 20 years
experience, and we tentatively agreed to hold it in August.
Speaking of August, the 1st is Lammas and is it going to be big!
Tony Navarra is scheduled to be scionized on that date. And if
that isn't enough for you, we're also having a Fog City Nest
party, afterwards. The details of the party are being worked out
by Dave and Katrina.
Getting back to the weekly services, they are officially starting
June 13th. That's right, they're on Sundays! I've seen the text
of the ritual and I am very excited. The weekly worship services
are open to the entire pagan community, and may eventually be a
major SF pagan gathering.
Our next topic discussed was quite interesting: it seems that
someone has built a major temple on the site where Hetch Hetchy
Reservoir water is piped to our fair city. This entails many
future ritual possibilities; Tony has the details and a newspaper
article about this spot. Tony has also discovered a labyrinth in
Sibley Park, and we plan to do something there this July 8th.
The last topic we talked about was a future rune workshop. Don
Eigenhauser is currently working on the details, and will be
asking Archdruid Stephen Abbott to be our speaker. There is no
date set yet. Anyway, that's all for now. Have fun!
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Weekly Worship Service
The Weekly Worship service begins June 13th. It will take place
every Sunday at 6:30 pm at the Gifts of the Goddess at 973 Valen
cia between 20th and 21st Streets.
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Labyrinth Walk
Date: Thursday, July 8th, 1993
Meet at Muddy's Cafe at 24th St. and Valencia.
Rendezvous at 6:30 pm
Cost: $3 to cover gas and bridge toll
We will carpool to Sibley Park. There will be a short session on
what a labyrinth is, their meaning and history, and how to make
one. There is a short hike to the location.
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Business Meeting
The next business meeting is Friday July 16th at 7:00 pm at Toniy
Haven (That is 692 San Jose Ave #6 at 29th Street). Information:
415-282-1872
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Aeona Silversong Interview
by Tony Navarra
Dear Reader, I want to introduce to you Aeona Silversong. She
has been a member of the Church of All Worlds for 8 years and, at
the Convocation last year, announced her candidacy to Clergy.
Aeona and I talked twice over the period of two months. Since
these conversations, Aeona has gone on to priestess the 1993 CAW
Beltane ritual. She did a magnificent job. Here are the high
lights of our conversations:
Tony Navarra: Tell me a little bit about the Faerie tradition.
Aeona Silversong: There are a lot of different Faerie tradi
tions. I came out of a group called the Elf Queen's Daughters.
That was my first connection with Faerie and I have been there
ever since.
There has been a lot of good written material put out on faerie
lately. "Earthlight" and "Underworld Initiation" by R.J. Stewart
are great books. R.J. Stewart has done some large group rituals
using trance journeys to get to faerie. Faerie is a wonderful
experience. It contains many realms and is different for every
one.
TN: Sounds like there is a lot of different flavors.
AS: Yes and a lot of people, initiated by Victor Anderson, are
teaching Faerie. Like Starhawk, Francesca Dubie, and Adian
Kelly. Adian is getting more active in CAW.
TN: He did something for the Convocation, if I remember correct
ly. Isn't he also doing a ritual for Star City Nest in Los
Angeles this weekend?
AS: Yes.
TN: You once said wild places are important to faerie. Could
you elaborate?
AS: I feel wild places are where faerie exists most easily.
Faerie being a mirror image of our physical world. It is all
inter-woven with the flora and fauna - they need that wildness.
Wild magick is important to the faerie tradition. It has to do
with the Gaian concept of the world as a living being.
Years ago one of the people who started the Elf Queens Daughters
came up with the image of the Earth being a woman with trees for
her hair, rivers for her veins flowing through. That was one of
the first to use the image of earth as a physical Goddess.
TN: You live on a piece of land near Ukiah. What do you do
there to foster the wildness of the place or to encourage faerie?
AS: We rent a house on 7 acres and there is a seasonal creek on
the place. We have been very fortunate that the landlord does
not do much with the land. You can walk a long way into the wood
and have it be very natural. Of course it was logged a long time
ago, but it has grown back. There is a lot of wildlife; wild
turkeys, deer, fox raccoon and occasionally a mountain lion.
There is just an incredible abundance of wildlife.
There are special spots on the land we go to. We have been
faerie-led to find them and we are very blessed. We built a
ritual area and put in an oak altar. It is a very natural place
to do magick.
TN: How is the altar made?
AS: There was a live oak tree on the land that had been hit by
lighting and split into three pieces. It was really an amazing
experience. Eventually the landlord cut the tree down. The base
of the tree was in the shape of woman in birth position. One day
Willowoak was visiting and called her Oak Woman, and that became
her name.
We moved her to our ritual area. She was heavy and it took a lot
of work to move her. She is now our altar and we use her bir
thing power for our magick.
TN: How did you get involved with the Church of All Worlds?
AS: I was really drawn to the rituals at first. I was on the
periphery for a long time, for several years I did not get in
volved. I am real slow to getting committed to a group. I don't
usually join organizations. This is the first organized group I
have joined.
TN: Not being a joiner, why did you join CAW?
AS: I believe in what we are doing; working magick, experiencing
self-empowerment, and loving in an extended family. I really
like the magick we do. I felt as an Elf, where else could I fit
in but at Annwfn? Faerie is strong there.
TN: Yes it is. Annwfn is very special. You were on the Land
Council of Annwfn for a few years. What was it like?
AS: Well, meetings...
TN: The Church of All Meetings?
AS: Yes! I did the bookkeeping, correspondence and help organ
ize things. The real mundane stuff.
Annwfn is really important to me. It is very magickal.
TN: Why is that?
AS: It is the sacred land and it is kept in that consciousness.
It is good to know that you have a safe place you can go to and
you will not be interrupted if you do not want to be.
TN: Now you are not on the Land Council. You have become a
member of the Rites and Festivals committee.
AS: I would like to put out the word that we need people to help
support the work of the committee (Rites and Festivals Committee,
CAW, P.O. Box 212, Redwood Valley, CA 95470).
We want people to join the committee and have fun creating the
space for rituals. We work hand in hand with the clergy to do
the logistics of the rituals.
TN: I understand that you are working on a Book of Shadows for
the CAW.
AS: The Book of Shadows is a project I am doing as part of my
advancement to clergy. There are a lot of people putting energy
into it and it will take a year or two to get it out.
This project is important because it provides a resource for
Nests and people. Standard CAW rituals would be included, as
well as guidelines on how to create your own rituals, because
eventually everyone winds up creating their own rituals anyway.
I think it will be important to have an archive that people can
tap into.
If people want to contribute CAW rituals please send them to P.O.
Box 212, Redwood Valley, CA 95470. Please also send a note
saying we can publish it. If people can put it on Mac disk
(Microsoft Word), that would be good also.
The church is growing and we need things we can share with people
outside of Northern California. It seems to be the challenge
right now - how do we deal with people outside the immediate
area.
TN: We are not just in Northern California any more.
AS: That's right. It is growing across the country and the
world. And how do you share the flavor of CAW that is realized
when you come into direct contact with it and attend a CAW ritu
al?
Maybe the Church needs a traveling fund so that clergy can go
around and meet people. We need people outside of Northern
California to experience that personal contact.
There is a possibility that some of the clergy might go to Aus
tralia this year. It is important that we have that one-on-one
contact.
TN: What do you think about this explosive growth?
AS: I feel that growth is happening in Paganism. It is obvious
that growth is going to happen to CAW. We need to decide how to
handle the growth because our resources are limited. Hopefully,
as our numbers grow, more money will be available. For example,
I don't think most people realize that it takes a lot of money to
do the mailing that everybody gets. It is important to keep the
resources flowing in to keep it going.
I personally find that the energy is changing with the church
growing like this. It seems that once upon a time it was just a
group of folks in the woods running around naked. There were
maybe thirty people showing up, and that was a lot of people.
Now, when an event takes place, seventy or a hundred people might
show up that are part of CAW. It makes it harder to make those
intimate connections. At festivals I find I hardly connect with
people on a really intimate basis because there is so much going
on all the time. I don't sit and really get into long conversa
tions. Or just sit back in the sun and bask for a few hours. So
for me it has lost some of that intimacy.
On the other hand it is wonderful that a lot of people can come
together to celebrate the Goddess. That is really important. I
am really happy that there is a surge of Goddess movement taking
place worldwide.
You still get to know people, it is just different. It is not
like sitting down and having dinner with six people.
TN: How do you feel the reorganization is going? You are right
in the middle of it.
AS: I think that the church needed a reorganization. I think it
is going to take awhile to see how all of this is going to flow.
It is always very difficult to change a structure. I think some
of the changes have been very positive because they open up room
for growth. It is also spreads out the work amongst more people.
Rites and Festivals is one of the new subsidiaries that has taken
on the work of ritual logistics. It is a lot of work to organize
a large ritual and/or festival.
It has also changed because we have Support Services for communi
cation. Everyone was doing their own mailing. Right now Support
Services is a central point for information. We have a new voice
mail box to centralize communication (510-549-777).
TN: What do you see as the role of the Nests?
AS: The Nests are the very opening where people get involved
with CAW. It is really important that the nests be happening and
creating that link. It is also important for the people who
participate in the nests to eventually come and do some large
ritual.
TN: That gives people a sense of greater community. It is easy
to be insular.
AS: What we are shooting for is for people to do most of the
eight sabbats in their own nest and then Rites and Festivals will
sponsor four major rituals of the year.
This year Ostara and Beltane will happen at Annwfn. Then Samhain
will probably happen in the Bay Area. The other major ritual we
will do is the Elysian Mystery, which is by registration only.
Beltane and the Elysian are for members only.
TN: I am glad to start seeing rituals happen at different
places. You mentioned earlier that you were working of the Book
of Shadows as your clergy project, what motivated you to become a
candidate for clergy?
AS: There is a difference between being a priestess and being
clergy. A lot of people are priests and priestesses.
Magick doesn't flow around that piece of paper hanging on your
wall. But that piece of paper can open doors in society so
certain things can be done.
TN: You have said that you see yourself as a background person.
What do you mean by that?
AS: I guess I feel that I am more of a background person because
I don't see myself doing radio interviews, or going on TV.
I would rather be in the background where I help with rituals,
Rites and Festivals, the database, or other organizational things
that are happening. I am not so much a public figure. I do love
ritual and that is the point where I put myself out in public. I
am a real ritual junkie. Ritual is a really important way to
share God and Goddess energy and to have everyone plug in at that
level. That is really important to me and that is where I will
put myself out in public.
TN: The first time I saw you as the Priestess of a ritual was
the "Turning the Wheel Toward Gaia" ritual at Ancient Ways a
couple of years ago. You did a spectacular job.
AS: Thanks, that was the first major ritual I had ever done. It
was an incredible experience for me. I grew a lot from it.
TN: Thank you Aeona, for talking with me. It has been enjoy
able.
AS: Thank you Tony, I enjoyed myself.
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Working Magick with
Hexagrams and Heptagrams
Part II: Using the
Hexagram in Our Rituals
by Don Eigenhauser
The differences between playing regular chess and playing multi-
grid, three- dimensional chess are that the latter is harder,
allows more variables in strategy, and takes even longer to
simply set up. So it is with using the unicursal hexagram in our
Craft-work!
In the first article of this series, I promoted a Mercury-centric
ordering of the planets on the hexagram. To appreciate how the
six planets other than Mercury are logically assigned to the
outer six points of the hexa- gram, I urge you to read The New
Magus: Ritual Magic as a Personal Process by Donald Tyson (esp.
pages 118-122). This is the way the planets are assigned in the
system I am currently working in.
With this arrangement, Tyson takes into account how the astrolog
ical symbols of each of the planets contains the composite of the
cross (Earth and balance) with one of the following: a circle
(for Sun and thus Fire corres-pondence), or the lunar crescent
(for the Moon and thus Water correspondence).
Moreover, by drawing on the traditional masculinity of Mars and
Jupiter and the traditional femininity of Venus and Saturn in
magick, Tyson easily places them in the innermost four points.
These four planets are also arranged so that they partition the
polarities of Light and Dark, as well as Male and Female.
To set aside the common "Star of David" hexagram in favor of the
unicursal model (a 20th-Century improvement on the magickally
clumsy original) can be likened to replacing our two-dimensional
chessboard in favor of a three-dimensional chessboard (also a
20th-Century renovation).
Now here's how Tyson explains the dynamics of the unicursal
hexagram: Picture two sigel runes, (you know, the SS symbol the
Nazis polluted like the swastika?) viewed at 90-degree angles to
each other and in third dimension to each other. Yep, it's the
unicursal hexagram!
Our 3-D hexagram becomes the sigel ("lightning bolt") and its
reflection; the magickal symbols of descending and reascending
force with AC/DC Mercury in the middle.
Imagine how you might use such a "current" symbol for planetary
recircuitry in your Sacred Space...but imagine the possibilities
in 3-D! Would you invoke the directions using the pentagrams as
normal, but casting the Center with the hexagram? Or would you
superimpose the hexagram over each directional pentagram-
doorway?!!
"Whoa-a-a!," cries our multi-degreed Magus, "You're going way too
fast" (and I was, for effect). Using the hexagram at all does
require some serious study, ritual premeditation and very gradual
usage, but study, forethought and practice do not require a
degree, folks.......
For starters, I recommend reading the chapters of Magick in
Theory and Practice by Aleister Crowley and The Golden Dawn by
Israel Regardie that deal with planetary mag- ick and the partic
ular planetary hexagrams. If possible, talk to friends who have
used the hexagram in ritual to gain insights from their personal
experiences. Heck, it takes practice just to draw a unicursal
hexagram with an athame!
I have talked with several witches and/or magickians who had read
my last article and had given me varied reactions. The remark
that most mirrors my attitude toward using the hexagram was that
of CAW Scion and cere- monial magickian James Assad, who said,
"If you resonate with the system, I think you should go on ahead
and explore it." 'Nuff said.
Close your third eye for a moment and imagine yourself in a
magickal Creative Cookery class. A large spice-rack is filled
with jars containing fresh unicursal hexagrams.
With the culinary knowledge "that planetary forces are invoked by
drawing a line of psychic fire from the planet's position on the
hexagram in a clockwise direction," you grab the most applicable
and potent planetary hexagram for your Work from the rack. Add a
unicursal pinch to each elemental pentagram.
What does that planetary spice add to each particular direction?
What does it smell like and taste like? Have you fine-tuned your
Sacred Space just right, or have you over-done it? Remember, as
in real cooking, too many varied spices make the flavor muddled
and indistinguishable. Ahhh, just right. Open your third eye.
Next issue? Part 3: Final Remarks on the Hexagram and The
Dynamics of the Heptagram. Blessed Be!
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Camping Trip
Radion Matrix Testada
How can I describe Emerald Earth to my friends who are surrounded
by concrete and cars every day? Suffice it to say it is almost
200 acres of mother's green caresses. Our trip up went well. We
gratefully stayed clear of heavy traffic (mostly). Our numerous
pit stops included the Anderson Valley Brew Pub which brews and
distributes some of the funnest beers I've experienced. When we
arrived at the site, the smiling presence of Connie and Jim
welcomed us to settle in to the luxurious cabin. With a 16+
sleeping capacity, hot running water, kitchen and fireplace, we
had no trouble settling in!
The first night we all were up past midnight drumming and talking
(of course we'd brought drums!). (Editor's note: You forgot to
mention the massages, Radion.)
Another exciting part of the weekend (for me, anyway) was the
successful first run of my new Tarot layout. Neither Jim nor
Tony had any complaints. So if anyone is interested, I am now in
business.
Speaking of successful first runs, we also did our new weekly
ritual in a sacred grove. How was it you ask? "Ecstatic!" I
reply. We can thank Katrina and Tony for designing a well round
ed, powerful format for raising energy, getting high, and effect
ing change all at the same time!
Among our other fun activities were clearing deadwood, cleaning
the cabin, hiking to the waterfall, and surviving a plumbing
emergency! The irregular rain patterns didn't get us down. We
felt blessed by our sister Water.
By the end of the trip, I felt much closer to everyone and it's
almost scary how grateful I felt for all the gifts I received.
Until later......Have Fun. ***
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FOGHORN RECIPE OF THE MONTH
FRIENDSHIP INCENSE
4 parts Rosemary
4 parts Dogwood
2 parts Acacia
2 parts Frankincense
1 part Elder
Mix the above ingredients by hand, visualizing the friends you
are having over that day.
Burn the mixture on a charcoal briquette, so that the incense is
burning as they step in the door. Enjoy the time with your
friends (a bit of Rosemary in the food also re- enforces the
friendship)!
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The Moon
by Patricia Croteau
The Moon card is concerned with rhythm and cycle. The Moon
undergoes change but she does so in an orderly fashion. Her cycle
is always twenty-eight days long and she waxes and wanes at the
proper times and in the proper order.
The Moon itself represents the connection to the higher self that
lets you find the way through the dark mysterious unconscious.
Everything is different at night. New possibilities arise. Magic
is real. The Night Kitchen, a children's book by Maurice Sendak,
expresses this feeling well. The Moon shaman finds her lonely way
through the night guided by her feelings and intuition.
Having undergone the transformation of the Tower and the resting
place of the Star, you have come to a place where you can rely on
your own inner voice to guide you. You are very open and in tune
with the natural rhythms of your environment. Your psychic
senses and dreams are useful to you right now. Water and female
body rhythms are also important with this card. Now is a time to
understand and honor your emotions. Listen to your heart, not
your thought process.
For me this card also connects with the wild side of the femi
nine. It is that which has not been domesticated in 5,000 years
of patriarchy. Wild women still dance naked in the woods. The
Moon shaman relies on her self and needs the permission of no man
to go where she pleases.
---------------------------------------------------------
For comments on this article or information on classes or read
ings, Patricia can be contacted at 415-252-8520
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Nearly-Scion's Corner
by Tony Navarra
A few months ago there was a lot of talk about a mission state
ment for the Nest. For some reason, when the topic was brought
up there was a lot of fear and uncertainty. Maybe because people
do not know what a mission statement is or they feel that having
one would be too confining.
Whatever the reason, I have been doing a lot of thinking about a
mission statement for the Nest and here it is - "The Fog City
Nest exists to promote the spiritual development of its members."
Simple, straight forward and elegant. And it has a lot of room.
If this were our mission statement, how would it change what we
do? It would mean every time we came up with a project, the
first question we would ask is, "Does it promote the spiritual
development of our members?" If the answer was no, then we would
drop it, if the answer was yes, then we might go forward with the
project. It would be a touchstone for our activities.
Sometimes I think the Nest is floundering because it lacks focus
(I do not know if it really is floundering, just that I feel that
way sometimes). A mission statement can add some focus and
purpose to our activities. It can also help our members focus in
on what their spiritual development is. After all, before you
answer, "Does this activity promote my spiritual growth?", you
have to know what you need to grow spiritually.
Maybe at the next business meeting we can discuss this more
fully. If you want to talk with me before that, call me or write
me.
**************************
What is a member of Fog City Nest? Somebody who shows up?
Somebody who pays dues to CAW? Should we have a Nest membership
that people pay for? In addition to CAW dues? Instead of CAW
dues? Should we have cool membership cards/certificates? What
is a persons relationship to the Nest and CAW?
Inquiring minds want to know. Contact me with your ideas.
**************************
You can contact Tony Navarra at 415-282-1872, by mail at 692 San
Jose Avenue #6, San Francisco, CA 94110, or electronically at
nav...@well.sf.ca.us
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Send Donations, Articles and Letters to the Editrix to:
Toni Spizman
692 San Jose Ave. #6
San Francisco, CA 94110
or electronically:
Tony Navarra
Dear Mary,
This is the newsgroup that the Church of All Worlds uses to post things.
Sorry you do not like the FogHorn. Please include it in your kill file.
Tony