Post by KittyLane on Feb 4, 2007 1:06:39 GMT -5
EarthGuard Wicca
History:
EarthGuard Wicca is a tradition that began in 1998. Its founder, Lady Cara, a Gardnerian High Priestess for over thirty years, felt a calling to put Traditional teachings in a form that would benefit the masses without giving away any oathbound material. Over the years she traveled extensively throughout the USA, UK and Europe. She met and worked with Priests and Priestesses of many different traditions that felt this would be a good thing to happen. She also attended many festivals where people who crossed her path were looking for serious teachings, but didn’t want the priesthood. They also had a problem with skyclad, so she decided it was time to create EarthGuard Wicca. The book The Witches Heart: A Book of Shadows of EarthGuard Wicca was written in 2004. At the time she felt that the information that was coming through her was of divine inspiration. As she began to write the book it felt as though someone else was writing it. The book is being published by Capall Bann Publishers in London, England. It is filled with all the rituals, meditations and magickal workings of the Tradition. Book two is in the process of being written and contains all the advanced meditation workings. It will be finished sometime in 2007.
When the tradition first began in ’98 there were about sixteen people who found it to be more what they were looking for. They met in a local park on Sunday afternoons where they worked with the trees and the earth directly. They formed their circle and decorated their altar with the vegetation around them. And they wore their street clothes. They invited family members and friends for the Sabbats. It was something they could share with them. They also found that everyone had a similar experience when they shared what they experienced during meditation. It was amazing. Since then groups have formed in Florida: Orlando, Pembroke Pines, Pinellas Park, and EarthGuard has begun to spread to different parts of the country. It has now gone on beyond what Lady Cara had dreamed for it.
Core Beliefs:
The Wiccan Rede is at the core of EarthGuard, and we believe that there is spirit in all of Nature that has life. If it exists it has life. We compare ourselves with the earth in this way: the center of our life force is somewhere in the center of our bodies. It is located in the area of the solar plexus. The chi center if you will. Our bodies have arteries and veins as channels that allow for the transportation of our blood fluid, chemicals and enzymes throughout our bodies. The earth has a sun-like force in its center, its chi center that is similar to our own. The earth has caverns and tunnels that allow for the transporting of water, gases, and molten lava throughout its body.
If you look at the animal kingdom they also have the same. Now let’s take it to the next level and compare ourselves to the plants, trees and vegetation. Everything in nature is alike and interconnected. They use energy to draw in fluids and transport it through vessels. There is a transfer of gases as well. All life as we know it is connected. All life affects the well-being of each life from the smallest to the largest life form. We all have other live organisms that help the process of digestion within our bodies and on the surface of our bodies. The process of transformation goes on daily without notice within the earth, in all humans, and in the animal kingdom. Together we have a consciousness as well as a spirit within. All is connected with a force greater then ourselves but equal in value. We also believe that we can connect with each and everything in nature and learn directly from them. One of the first steps in working within EarthGuard is connecting with your Inner Earth guides. We believe everyone has their own guides that are there for guidance. We do this with meditation. We work with these guides both as a group within circle and on our own. We follow the cycles of the earth, worship the Gods and Goddesses of the Universe and celebrate the eight Sabbats and come together in harmony.
Role of Clergy:
Traditionally speaking there is a High Priestess and a High Priest that run a Grove. But in this tradition a single High Priestess or High Priest can run a group if they do not have a working partner at the time. But they are encouraged to train a partner when the right person comes along. Like in all families it is best worked with both a mother and a father when possible. The clergy are looked upon as parents of the Grove. They are there to guide the group, and council the people in their group when needed. If a group has Gay leaders the High Priest/Priestess and partner can be the same sex.
Organization of Groups:
Groups can form one of two ways:
1. A couple wanting to form their own family by hiving from the Mother Grove. Once a new Grove has formed it is completely autonomous from the mother group. The mother group is there only to give advice if asked.
2. Another way would be people who are practicing solitary, and through meeting other people who are also solitary decide to bring it together and form a family. In this case there is no Mother Grove, but the group can grow in that way if they choose to.
Holidays:
Since we are very family-oriented the neighboring groups usually come together for the Sabbats. Keeping that connection of children, cousins, etc., is extremely important in this tradition. We come together for the eight Sabbats during the year. We also meet with other traditions for the major holidays.
Standards of Conduct:
Within the circle all are equal. But respect is always shown to the leaders for their knowledge and direction. We always walk clockwise when we are within a worshiping circle. There is an order to Ritual and it is followed always to keep with tradition. The erecting of the temple is never changed but can be added to. This is always to keep the same energies flowing and building within the tradition. When the neighboring Groves come together it keeps that familiar family energy flowing. Everyone is expected to memorize the erecting of the temple at their own speed because everyone takes part in the erecting of the temple. We feel that if you have to read from a paper you cannot focus on the emotions needed in forming the temple.
If there is a problem between people in the Grove it is expected of them to have counseling with elders. Then they are expected to resolve it among themselves. If the problem persists then the person who is not willing to resolve the problem is then asked to transfer to another Grove. This is only done in extreme cases.
Ways of Worship:
EarthGuard has traditional energies similar to Gardnerian Wicca, but it is more for the masses than for the priesthood. Its groups can vary in size from three to twenty-three. There is no limit to the size of a group. It can also be practiced solitary. Its teachings are more earth combination moon oriented. We worship the gods and goddesses of the universe. The Deities we use in EarthGuard are three instead of two: Goddess Gaia - the earth, Goddess Diana - the moon, Herne - the father god of humans and animals.
We wear street clothes when worshipping outdoors and robes when in our homes. There is a freedom that comes with wearing street clothes in parks. No one looks at you as if you are doing something strange. No one complains about your activities. It seems to work well for us. EarthGuard also can be taught and shared with your children, families and friends. With the priesthood and Witchcraft, that isn’t possible. It is a secret society as it should be. EarthGuard is meant to be open in ritual and teachings.
The focus is on working with nature, its cycles and energies combined with your own. As you begin to tune into nature you will find yourself tuning into yourself as well. The growth cycles the earth goes through, people also experience. We don’t normally notice this growth from day to day. Wicca helps us tune into this growth pattern. It also teaches us how to make adjustments when we feel out of balance. One of the keys is within the pentagram. As we work with this symbol it teaches us about the importance of balance within our lives. The pentagram is a symbol of balance and protection. We view it not only as a shield of protection but the containment of the four elements, including spirit in perfect balance within a circle that has no beginning or ending. At the top of the four elements is the spirit of man or woman in complete balance maintaining that elemental balance. To experience balance in one’s life is to experience power. To strive to understand oneself is to connect with the pentagram.
An example of a normal meeting:
All meet at the park with their tools and notebook and pen. Everyone brings something to share for lunch. After greeting time everyone goes out in the park and finds things to mark the circle and decorate the altar such as stones, vines, wildflowers, etc. The High Priestess and High Priest put the altar together. One of the leaders calls everyone together to lie on the earth and then all are taken through a balancing meditation with the earth. Prior to this each person takes a part of the temple erecting to perform. All in the Grove help to form the temple.
This tradition has five levels of learning with a dedication, initiation and three elevations.
The Five Levels of Knowledge in EarthGuard Wicca:
Level One: Dedication to the gods, goddesses and nature.
* Discovery of self through the elements.
* Creating and working with rituals.
* The gathering of your personal tools.
Level Two: Initiation through the inner earth.
* Working with your inner guides and the Faery world.
* Journey with the Goddess Gaia.
* Connecting with the earth’s core in conjunction with your own core.
* Learning self-healing.
Level Three: Elevation into the earth’s vegetation and tree energies.
* Experiencing the worlds of wood Faeries, gnomes and dryads.
* Finding and journeying with your Faery guides.
* Journeying with the Horned God Herne.
Level Four: Elevation into the oceans, rivers, streams and lakes.
* Working with the undines.
* Journeying with Moon Goddess Diana.
* Working with your own ancestral system.
* Learning how to heal others.
* This is the level of elder.
Level Five: Elevation into the microcosm.
* Experiencing the planetary forces.
* Working with the ancient teachers of the craft.
* This is the level of teacher.
www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usfl&c=trads&id=9821
History:
EarthGuard Wicca is a tradition that began in 1998. Its founder, Lady Cara, a Gardnerian High Priestess for over thirty years, felt a calling to put Traditional teachings in a form that would benefit the masses without giving away any oathbound material. Over the years she traveled extensively throughout the USA, UK and Europe. She met and worked with Priests and Priestesses of many different traditions that felt this would be a good thing to happen. She also attended many festivals where people who crossed her path were looking for serious teachings, but didn’t want the priesthood. They also had a problem with skyclad, so she decided it was time to create EarthGuard Wicca. The book The Witches Heart: A Book of Shadows of EarthGuard Wicca was written in 2004. At the time she felt that the information that was coming through her was of divine inspiration. As she began to write the book it felt as though someone else was writing it. The book is being published by Capall Bann Publishers in London, England. It is filled with all the rituals, meditations and magickal workings of the Tradition. Book two is in the process of being written and contains all the advanced meditation workings. It will be finished sometime in 2007.
When the tradition first began in ’98 there were about sixteen people who found it to be more what they were looking for. They met in a local park on Sunday afternoons where they worked with the trees and the earth directly. They formed their circle and decorated their altar with the vegetation around them. And they wore their street clothes. They invited family members and friends for the Sabbats. It was something they could share with them. They also found that everyone had a similar experience when they shared what they experienced during meditation. It was amazing. Since then groups have formed in Florida: Orlando, Pembroke Pines, Pinellas Park, and EarthGuard has begun to spread to different parts of the country. It has now gone on beyond what Lady Cara had dreamed for it.
Core Beliefs:
The Wiccan Rede is at the core of EarthGuard, and we believe that there is spirit in all of Nature that has life. If it exists it has life. We compare ourselves with the earth in this way: the center of our life force is somewhere in the center of our bodies. It is located in the area of the solar plexus. The chi center if you will. Our bodies have arteries and veins as channels that allow for the transportation of our blood fluid, chemicals and enzymes throughout our bodies. The earth has a sun-like force in its center, its chi center that is similar to our own. The earth has caverns and tunnels that allow for the transporting of water, gases, and molten lava throughout its body.
If you look at the animal kingdom they also have the same. Now let’s take it to the next level and compare ourselves to the plants, trees and vegetation. Everything in nature is alike and interconnected. They use energy to draw in fluids and transport it through vessels. There is a transfer of gases as well. All life as we know it is connected. All life affects the well-being of each life from the smallest to the largest life form. We all have other live organisms that help the process of digestion within our bodies and on the surface of our bodies. The process of transformation goes on daily without notice within the earth, in all humans, and in the animal kingdom. Together we have a consciousness as well as a spirit within. All is connected with a force greater then ourselves but equal in value. We also believe that we can connect with each and everything in nature and learn directly from them. One of the first steps in working within EarthGuard is connecting with your Inner Earth guides. We believe everyone has their own guides that are there for guidance. We do this with meditation. We work with these guides both as a group within circle and on our own. We follow the cycles of the earth, worship the Gods and Goddesses of the Universe and celebrate the eight Sabbats and come together in harmony.
Role of Clergy:
Traditionally speaking there is a High Priestess and a High Priest that run a Grove. But in this tradition a single High Priestess or High Priest can run a group if they do not have a working partner at the time. But they are encouraged to train a partner when the right person comes along. Like in all families it is best worked with both a mother and a father when possible. The clergy are looked upon as parents of the Grove. They are there to guide the group, and council the people in their group when needed. If a group has Gay leaders the High Priest/Priestess and partner can be the same sex.
Organization of Groups:
Groups can form one of two ways:
1. A couple wanting to form their own family by hiving from the Mother Grove. Once a new Grove has formed it is completely autonomous from the mother group. The mother group is there only to give advice if asked.
2. Another way would be people who are practicing solitary, and through meeting other people who are also solitary decide to bring it together and form a family. In this case there is no Mother Grove, but the group can grow in that way if they choose to.
Holidays:
Since we are very family-oriented the neighboring groups usually come together for the Sabbats. Keeping that connection of children, cousins, etc., is extremely important in this tradition. We come together for the eight Sabbats during the year. We also meet with other traditions for the major holidays.
Standards of Conduct:
Within the circle all are equal. But respect is always shown to the leaders for their knowledge and direction. We always walk clockwise when we are within a worshiping circle. There is an order to Ritual and it is followed always to keep with tradition. The erecting of the temple is never changed but can be added to. This is always to keep the same energies flowing and building within the tradition. When the neighboring Groves come together it keeps that familiar family energy flowing. Everyone is expected to memorize the erecting of the temple at their own speed because everyone takes part in the erecting of the temple. We feel that if you have to read from a paper you cannot focus on the emotions needed in forming the temple.
If there is a problem between people in the Grove it is expected of them to have counseling with elders. Then they are expected to resolve it among themselves. If the problem persists then the person who is not willing to resolve the problem is then asked to transfer to another Grove. This is only done in extreme cases.
Ways of Worship:
EarthGuard has traditional energies similar to Gardnerian Wicca, but it is more for the masses than for the priesthood. Its groups can vary in size from three to twenty-three. There is no limit to the size of a group. It can also be practiced solitary. Its teachings are more earth combination moon oriented. We worship the gods and goddesses of the universe. The Deities we use in EarthGuard are three instead of two: Goddess Gaia - the earth, Goddess Diana - the moon, Herne - the father god of humans and animals.
We wear street clothes when worshipping outdoors and robes when in our homes. There is a freedom that comes with wearing street clothes in parks. No one looks at you as if you are doing something strange. No one complains about your activities. It seems to work well for us. EarthGuard also can be taught and shared with your children, families and friends. With the priesthood and Witchcraft, that isn’t possible. It is a secret society as it should be. EarthGuard is meant to be open in ritual and teachings.
The focus is on working with nature, its cycles and energies combined with your own. As you begin to tune into nature you will find yourself tuning into yourself as well. The growth cycles the earth goes through, people also experience. We don’t normally notice this growth from day to day. Wicca helps us tune into this growth pattern. It also teaches us how to make adjustments when we feel out of balance. One of the keys is within the pentagram. As we work with this symbol it teaches us about the importance of balance within our lives. The pentagram is a symbol of balance and protection. We view it not only as a shield of protection but the containment of the four elements, including spirit in perfect balance within a circle that has no beginning or ending. At the top of the four elements is the spirit of man or woman in complete balance maintaining that elemental balance. To experience balance in one’s life is to experience power. To strive to understand oneself is to connect with the pentagram.
An example of a normal meeting:
All meet at the park with their tools and notebook and pen. Everyone brings something to share for lunch. After greeting time everyone goes out in the park and finds things to mark the circle and decorate the altar such as stones, vines, wildflowers, etc. The High Priestess and High Priest put the altar together. One of the leaders calls everyone together to lie on the earth and then all are taken through a balancing meditation with the earth. Prior to this each person takes a part of the temple erecting to perform. All in the Grove help to form the temple.
This tradition has five levels of learning with a dedication, initiation and three elevations.
The Five Levels of Knowledge in EarthGuard Wicca:
Level One: Dedication to the gods, goddesses and nature.
* Discovery of self through the elements.
* Creating and working with rituals.
* The gathering of your personal tools.
Level Two: Initiation through the inner earth.
* Working with your inner guides and the Faery world.
* Journey with the Goddess Gaia.
* Connecting with the earth’s core in conjunction with your own core.
* Learning self-healing.
Level Three: Elevation into the earth’s vegetation and tree energies.
* Experiencing the worlds of wood Faeries, gnomes and dryads.
* Finding and journeying with your Faery guides.
* Journeying with the Horned God Herne.
Level Four: Elevation into the oceans, rivers, streams and lakes.
* Working with the undines.
* Journeying with Moon Goddess Diana.
* Working with your own ancestral system.
* Learning how to heal others.
* This is the level of elder.
Level Five: Elevation into the microcosm.
* Experiencing the planetary forces.
* Working with the ancient teachers of the craft.
* This is the level of teacher.
www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usfl&c=trads&id=9821
