Rev Janet Callahan

Priestess and Author

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What is Clergy, Anyway?

January 2, 2019 by Janet Callahan 1 Comment

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what our initiations mean, and what “being clergy” means when you’re not part of an active, structured worship group (like a coven, or kindred, or church, or whatever). Christian folks use minister, clergy, pastor, and a few other terms almost interchangeably, and priest is only used in a few specific situations….but we’re different.

priestess in a circle of stars and swirling colors

We talk about everyone being a priest or priestess – everyone is capable of reaching out to the divine and interceding for themselves, without someone standing in between them and a specific deity.

We also talk about priests and priestesses serving specific gods, the way temple keepers would have in the old days. It’s a form of dedication to that specific deity, in service to them.

We talk about clergy when we mean, “able to serve as clergy in the legal sense” – weddings, mostly, but sometimes funerals, hospital visits, and maybe house blessings. Sometimes we use the word ordained here, or ordained minister, because it’s “official”…but anyone can be ordained by the ULC, so I often wonder what this word really gets us [1]

Ministers…minister. They tend to the spiritual needs of the flock. They do sick calls, they pray with people, they help people who are struggling with faith.

And as pastor, they’re also the leader of the congregation. That’s a lot of jobs to put on one person, and it’s no wonder that so many Christian groups struggle with finding people who can really do all these things.

One of the things that we don’t talk about is teaching. In most other religions, those who are worship leaders are also teachers of that faith. Our teaching is more decentralized, more squishy. Frequently, students are asked to teach as part of their training – learning how to teach by example, and learning more about their subjects as they teach. Even when our working group teaches, we learn at festivals and at events and go to individual workshops and read books and websites – so many incoming sources of information!

And teaching is one of the things I’ve done a lot of over the years. It’s become a focus of mine over the last few, because I so often feel that those formalized learning opportunities are missing as we Pagan folk become less centralized and more and more solitary with occasional group rituals.

It’s one of the reasons I’m opening Lady Arianrhod’s Magical Academy – teaching is a passion of mine, and while there’s lots of good information out there if you google, you have to sort through and figure out what’s credible (just today, someone asked about runes in one of the groups I’m in, complaining that different sources say different things, and how do they figure it out?)

So, head on over, check out the classes currently available, and consider our introductory offer – I’ll likely do a sale for a year’s worth of membership later this year. There are more offerings coming for members too, which will not be released as separate courses.

This is my focus this year – the Academy and the Magical Moms Club – so let’s make 2019 a great year!

[1] Which is not to detract from the ULC, mind you – they serve an important role, and now that the circle that initiated me as a high priestess, capable of running a circle, and capable of legally acting as clergy no longer exists, I have an ordination from them to help manage the state’s requirements.

Check out my new energy work page, http://www.facebook.com/GoodVibrationsEnergyStudio

Filed Under: classes, Essays, Magical Moms Club, MoonDay School

Review: Rock On!

February 12, 2018 by Janet Callahan Leave a Comment

So, I’ve been on the hunt for things for us to do as a family on the weekends.  Weekends around here are challenging – the adults want down time, the kids struggle with unstructured time, and we don’t always share the same ideas about how to have a good time.

To that end, I’ve been reading books on doing yoga with special needs children, got certified to teach kids yoga via Pretzel Kids, researching games that are cooperative and less turn-based and less counting based, bringing snow into the kitchen as a sensory bin, trying to figure out how to store all the puzzles the kids have gotten over the years and….trying not to pull my hair out.

One of the games we picked up recently is called Rock On. It’s a geology-based game, but parents could quite easily add on metaphysical properties, and it’s a great teaching tool for stone and crystal identification.

There are different levels of play for kids who are more or less skilled in geography – we’re still working on the easiest “matching” level, which doesn’t require any questions. There are full color charts for both the main unpolished stones and the tumbled stones that are used as markers.

All in all, a fun time all around, and a great collection of crystals to get started learning about them.

 

Rock On game box

 

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As is almost always the case, I bought this product myself, and the review represents my opinion.Check out my new energy work page, http://www.facebook.com/GoodVibrationsEnergyStudio

Filed Under: Magical Moms Club, MoonDay School, Reviews

Maybe We Don’t Need MoonDay School

October 1, 2016 by Janet Callahan Leave a Comment

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately.

Part of the difference than Pagan religions and Abrahamic religions is that the Abrahamic folks (Jewish, Christian, Muslim) base their faith on words in a book. To follow their faith, they have to read it and learn what it says. Reading sounds a lot like school, don’t you think?

Think back: how did you really learn about your faith?  If you say “reading a book”…..ok, you read it, but then what? Did you do a ritual? Create an altar? Go outside and talk to the trees or the moon? You did more than just read a book, I’d hope….

Our faiths are about experiencing the divine. That’s part of the mystery – I can tell you all day about the great ritual I went to, about an experience with a Goddess, but until you experience it for yourself, you won’t actually know what it’s like.

I did some reading – it turns out Christian Sunday schools were largely a reaction to public schools – they were not teaching religion, so families needed another way to do it.

Here’s the thing, though. We have everything within us to know what to teach – we know how ritual works, we know the cycles of the moon, we know our gods and goddesses and their stories. We have incense to smell and fire to watch and crystals to feel and so many parts of our rites are active, not just standing around….so many experiences.

And what if they’re not understanding us and we have to keep trying to explain? Then we’re talking too much – go and DO – show, don’t tell. Light the candles. Burn the incense. Have FUN.Check out my new energy work page, http://www.facebook.com/GoodVibrationsEnergyStudio

Filed Under: Essays, MoonDay School, parenting

The Color of Magic

July 12, 2016 by Janet Callahan Leave a Comment

At some point before I had kids, I went through a phase where I used nail polish constantly.  And then I got a job as an engineer, and mostly stopped, for a combination of practical and perception reasons.

But…one thing that I did after I stopped wearing polish all the time, was that I occasionally used it for magic.  And with it being summer, a time when it’s common to wear sandals and show off our toes, I thought it might be a good time to share this idea, because it’s something you can easily do with your kids too.

First, you’ll need a variety of nail polish colors.  At the time, I went for the tiny cheap bottles that come in a multi-pack, frequently available in typical big-box discount stores. Having lots of different colors to choose from means you can choose your result, and then pick the color you need, without having to plan to go to the store each time you think of something new.

Next, go find a list of color correspondences. Candle magic books frequently have them, or you can use your trusty internet connection and google. Decide what you’re planning to do with your spell work, and pick the appropriate color of nail polish.

Now, using your preferred ritual format, charge the bottle of nail polish for your desire, and then paint your toe nails. You can use different colors if that suits your purposes. Each step you take continues to charge the spell.

Let your nail polish wear off – paint over it with another color if you like, but don’t strip it off until you’ve either achieved your purpose or it has grown out completely (this is why I like toes nails for this – they grow fairly quickly and can always be covered by a pair of socks).

So, enjoy your summer and have fun with all the colors available to you!Check out my new energy work page, http://www.facebook.com/GoodVibrationsEnergyStudio

Filed Under: Essays, MoonDay School, parenting

Into the Summer We Go

June 15, 2016 by Janet Callahan Leave a Comment

School is finally coming to an end here, and the wheel turns toward summer. It’s always interesting how quickly the kids take the idea of nice weather and run with it (sometimes literally…all the way to the park).

We’re always trying to figure out what to do for Litha (summer solstice, which has a lot of different names). Lots of people suggest sun themed crafts, and eating oranges. But fairy wands would be good too – think of the happenings of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”  Maybe it’s a good time to start learning about tarot or some other form of divination…or about the herbs in your back yard.

Play some sun-themed music, and dance!

But usually, here, we celebrate in truly local fashion – we enjoy the weather, have a BBQ and maybe a bon fire, and enjoy the warm weather, which we know will be short lived.  We often have birthday cake (my son’s birthday is the week before solstice), and the kids enjoy bike rides and playing in the sprinkler. The weather in most of the spring Sabbats here doesn’t match up with the descriptions, but at least Litha comes close.

 

(P.S. – Are you following me on Pinterest? I’ve got a whole board of Litha ideas….)Check out my new energy work page, http://www.facebook.com/GoodVibrationsEnergyStudio

Filed Under: MoonDay School, parenting

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