Sekhmet Rosary

Since being chosen by Sekhmet and dedicating myself to her as my Matron Deity, I decided to honor her and my connection to her by creating a pagan rosary.

The rosary contains 34 beads (not counting seed bead spacers)in a variety of reds, golds, oranges, and yellows with a central chunk of citrine and a fang pendant. Numerologically 34 is 3+4=7.
Sekhmet’s numbers are 7 and 5 so I did a series of beads in those numbers leading around to center on the citrine and fang. 5 red beads separated by 5 seed beads followed by 1 orange bead then 5 read beads then a yellow bead all ending in a yellow foil bead at the top.

Citrine
Citrine was one of the stones used in the breastplate of the High Priest.  In ancient times, it was carried as a protection against the plague, skin problems, snake bites, and evil thoughts. Gives physical aid in treating: Heart, kidneys, liver, digestive tract and muscle problems.  Balances thyroid; stimulates thymus.  Helps in overcoming depression, fears and phobias.
Solar Plexus Chakra.
Optimism. Confidence. Energizing, recharging. Promotes creativity. Mental clarity. Problem solving. Abundance ("The Merchant's Stone). Self-esteem.
Citrine is also associated with the Zodiac sign Leo, another association with Sekhmet.

Sekhmet’s Mantra

Sa Sekhem Sahu

(From Working with Sekhmet)

Sa: The Breath of Life
The Sa is the life force, the Breath of Life that comes into the human body at conception.

Sekhem: Power
The word “sekhem” is associated with power. This word has also been associated with energy, particularly the energy associated with the Indian concept of Kundalini. Sekhem is the power that animates the Sahu; it is the power that leads one to spiritual consciousness.

Sahu: The Spiritual Body
Sahu is the spiritual body, one of the Five Bodies of each human according to Egyptian cosmology. Sekhmet is associated with the awakening of the Five Bodies, particularly the Sahu. The Sahu is made conscious through spiritual practice. The awakening of the Sahu is the last stage of the integration of the Five Bodies, the final stage in becoming a Realized Human.

Other Mantras

Bless you for your anger
It’s a sign of rising energy
Direct not on your family
Waste not on your enemy
Ono, Yoko. “Rainbow Revelation,” from her album Star Peace, 1985.

Oh! Sekhmet, Eye of Re, Great of Flame, Lady of Terror, who surrounds her creator.
-Temple of Edfu

Wiccan Ethics: Learning from Others

Today I wanted to write a little bit about Learning from Others as a Wiccan. By Learning from others, today, I mean specifically Learning from Other Religions or paths or practices that may be similar to Wicca or may be very different.

I mostly wanted to share a few things I've read recently that resonated with me and encourage you, dear reader, if you are wiccan, to open yourself up to learning other truths from other paths even if they are not your own. Open your mind up to the universe and all the beauty and knowledge it can share.

The first thing I wanted to share with you is something I learned very recently - the lesson came to me in a form of a blog post by Karen Maezen Miller, author of Momma Zen and the blog Cheerio Road. Miller is a Buddhist and a Mother of a daughter and so her posts are usually about Buddhism, mindful parenting, etc.
The lesson I recently learned from her is about the Buddhist concept of Attachment that she wrote about in a blog post called the Rose Colored Carpet:

"Although I'm bothered to do so, I thought I would revisit the briar patch of attachment. We are so attached to what we think attachment means. We are always attached to what we think things mean, to what we think things are, and that is the cause of all suffering...

The truth is never the phony thing we attach to.

This is how Buddha saw the truth. He saw it as it is. This is the way we all see it, and although we may not want to accept it, we will experience it just the same.

1. Life means suffering. Things change.
2. The origin of suffering is attachment. It hurts when things change.
3. The cessation of suffering is attainable. Accept that things change.
4. There is a way out of suffering. You can change yourself."

This actually brings me back to a time not so long ago when I was doing a tarot reading for my girlfriend. I pulled out the major arcana card Death. She became worried and it took a very long time for me to explain to her that Death simply means CHANGE. Change can be good or bad but if we are attached to what is changing, it can hurt and cause a lot of fear and worry. I think this is the real reason this card has the grim reaper on it and says Death - change can cause a good deal of fear and there are very few people that do not fear Death or the concept of death.

Accepting change and accepting Death in all his forms is a way of releasing attachment, releasing fear, living with the flow of the Universe. This is something Wiccans, I think, can certainly resound with.

The other thing that I've learned recently comes from my new studies in Reiki with the Witch School sister site Reiki School.
It is from my very first lesson about the 5 Reiki Principles


I. Just for today, do not anger
II. Just for today, do not worry
III.Honor your parents, teachers and elders
IV. Earn your living honestly
V. Show gratitude to every living thing


I am trying to take these one at a time, even though they seem very simple. Do not Anger and Do not Worry Today are the two that I struggle with in the now. I've added 2 new mantras in my daily meditation and grounding practices that I also find myself saying throughout the day.

"I acknowledge my worry/fear and I release this worry/fear because it is not beneficial to me."
"I acknowledge my anger and I release it as it is non-beneficial to me."

I use the worry one in the morning because it seems lately the first thing I think of in the morning are all the things that stress me out in my life - all the things I have to get done or something bad will happen. I say my mantra as I ground myself and release any non beneficial energies for the day and seal up my aura to protect myself from negativity. I have found that less and less do I wake up to a stress-filled mind.

The anger mantra I find myself using when I am about to speak in anger to someone - more recently my husband or my mother or grandmother. I saw the mantra and try to take a moment to understand their view point. He is doing this because he too is worried about our situation and he is doing the best he can even though his focus is scattered and therefore forgot/ignored/etc what I felt was important. She wants what is best for me even though her view of what is best does not resound with my own desires or will. She believes with all her heart her own faith and I need to respect that even if she does not respect mine.

I tend to say my mantras three times with deep breaths and seeking stillness in my mind. By the end I feel better and can continue on rationally.

I hope that you, dear reader, may have learned something new from this post, even if it is that I have a mildly scattered way of writing.

Love and Light,
HedgeWife

Chakra Meditation 1

Hello Readers,

Today I wanted to post something a little different than the usual herbal banter - don't worry, there will be more in the future - and write a little about Chakras, specifically the meditations that I use to open up my chakras.

This first meditation involves 5 of the 7 Chakras and their connection with the 4 Dharmas.
I learned this meditation from Lissa Coffey, author of What's Your Dosha? and What's Your Dharma? I met her briefly at Coptic Conference 2012 and the following is from my notes from her short lecture on Dharma and the guided meditation.

The 4 Dharmas are Karma, Bhakta, Jnana, and Raja. We all have a certain Dharma, and some of us have more than one. Our Dharma is connected with our purpose in life - or, more closely with how we see our purposes and where we place importance in our lives.

Those who have Karma Dharma (yay a rhyme!) see their purpose in life as Service. They serve god, the divine, the earth, family, friends, humanity, etc. Their mantra is "I am a Karma Yogi and my Purpose is to Serve."

The purpose of those with Bhakta Dharma is to Love. They see Love as the most important thing in life. Their mantra is "I am a Bhakti Yogi and my Purpose is to Love."

Those with Jnana Dharma see their purpose in life as Knowledge. They love to learn and see out the Truth of things. Their mantra is "I am a Jnani Yogi and my Purpose is to Know."

And lastly, those with Raja Dharma desire to Be.
This was explained to me with a story - a group of students were taken to a mango farm and told to know the Mango. Many measured the mangos, the trees, the leaves. Some tested them chemically from soil to fruit. Others still drew the trees and studied their shape and color. The Raja Yogi went up the the mango tree, picked a mango and took a bite out of it, enjoying the mangos purpose. Their mantra is "I am a Raja Yogi and my Purpose is to Be."

Strangely, the best way for me to remember the Dharmas is by connecting them to the houses of Hogwarts - Karma is Hufflepuff, Bhakta is Gryffindor, Jnanni is Ravenclaw, and Raja is Slytherin.

The guided meditation:

After taking a few deep breaths and finding stillness...
"With your eyes closed, look up at your third eye chakra. See it as a window (mine happens to look like a white triangle at first). Start by bringing in yellow light and guiding that light down into your stomach, your solar plexus chakra. This is the seat of Karma Dharma. See your solar plexus bathed and fed by the yellow light. As it fills repeat the Karma mantra "I am a Karma Yogi and my purpose is to Serve."
When your solar plexus feels full, look back up at the third eye. Bring in green light this time and guide this light to your chest, your heart chakra, the seat of Bhakta Dharma. See the light filling the heart chakra and repeat the Bhakti mantra, "I am a Bhakta Yogi and my purpose is to Love."
When the heart feels full of green light, look back up at your third eye and see the light change to blue. Bring the blue light down into the throat chakra. This is the seat of Jnana Dharma. See your throat filling with blue light and repeat the Jnana mantra, "I am a Jnani Yogi and my purpose is to Know."
When the throat feels full, look back up at the third eye and see the light change to violet. Guide the violet light this time up to the top of the head. This is the Crown chakra and the seat of Raja Dharma. See the crown chakra fill with violet light and repeat the Raja mantra, "I am a Raja Yogi and my purpose is to Be."

After the meditation, relax, release, ground.

(sorry if this written guided meditation seems...not very guided. Its my first time really writing one.)

I hope that this meditation and short bit of information helps you as much as it helped me.
Feel free to use the links above to learn what your Dharma is.

Question:
What do you think my Dharma is?