Nyx in the House of Night

and human emotions are the gift of spirit, but how we choose to use them is entirely up to us.
    Circle is opened with a request for the elemental forms of nature to join in the ritual and closed by thanking the elements for their participation in the service. Beginning and ending with the elements is symmetrical, as is the circle itself, and polite, as more of us should be. I mean really, one does not invite someone to join in to something and then not thank them for being there when it’s time to leave.
    Vampyres feel the song of the elements, but most humans, with a few notable exceptions, seem to consider the immensely awe-inspiring miracle of the elements to be mundane and ordinary. Humans see the life-renewing gift of water freely falling from the sky and complain about how the rain is inconveniencing them. A flower bursts forth from the earth opening its petals to the sun, and a bee dances around it in thanks to the Goddess, while a human contemplates paving over it for a new parking lot. Humans become so wrapped up in their own cleverness that, like Narcissus staring at his reflection, they have become enamored with their own creations. Modern technologic creations have their uses and their place in the modern world, but they are not life; they have no spirit and do not touch our souls. On their side of the looking glass humans have forgotten this and decided that cars are more amazing than horses, buildings more majestic than mountains, amusement parks more desirable than forests, and computer screens more interesting than each other.
    There are some exceptions. Wiccans, Native Americans, and other Shamanic people still view the earth as their mother. Wiccans still see the Goddess in all things and view the elements as her elder children, who care for and protect us when we live in harmony with nature and chastise us when we cast nature aside. Of course Wiccans have the advantage of believing that the earth and all of nature is sacred. Like vampyres, they believe the Goddess wove the lessons we are to learn into the very fabric of nature. They believe that there are sacred lessons to be learned in the changing of the seasons, the fall of a raindrop, the rising of the moon, and the budding of a rose. To one who believes the world is our guide, the true meaning of life is found in our relationship to nature, not in our separation from it. If you want to understand the mysteries of nature, watch a caterpillar crawl on a stem, a spider build a web, an eagle soar on an updraft, or a mother hold her child. If you want to experience the Divine look at a mountain, wade into the ocean, or watch the full moon rise (although for humans the sunrise would probably be equally inspiring). If you want to understand yourself, know a deer. I’m not talking about knowing about it or what it eats but knowing why, why a deer, or why anything for that matter. Understand the existence of anything and you will learn something about yourself.
    Now, our next discussion will be here next week, when we will talk about the origin of that absurd idea that vampyres turn into bats and fly away.
BRYAN LANKFORD is the author of the book Wicca Demystified: A Guide For Practitioners, Family and Friends , which seeks to promote a greater understanding of the Wiccan religion by explaining many of the misconceptions about Wiccan beliefs to the public. Bryan is a Wiccan practitioner in the Dallas Pagan community where he lectures extensively about Wicca at colleges and universities, and he has been a guest on both secular and religious radio programs helping people understand the truth about Wicca. Bryan is a member of the Covenant of the Goddess and the Thanks-Giving Square Interfaith Committee, which promotes dialogue and cooperation among people of all faiths.

{ Misunderstood }

MULTIPLE PARTNERS IN OUR MATRIARCHAL (AND PATRIARCHAL) PAST

    Kristin Cast
    ZOEY REDBIRD takes a lot of crap for having multiple boyfriends. I’m sure, if she were sitting here next to me, she would be pretty upset about being called a slut, a tramp, a whore, and all of the other negative nouns that are thrown at her. I get tons of messages on Facebook from people who make hurtful comments, and I know that our administrative assistant Camden Clark, who keeps up with our House of Night Facebook, MySpace, and email, constantly has to stand up for Zoey. (I do want to point out that, in earlier novels, the guys in Zoey’s life should have definitely known about each