Author: Cat Cole

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MEETING THE MORRIGAN

MEETING THE MORRIGAN

Continued from “Meeting Manannan”

“You must seek the Morrigan,” he said then he released me back to the sea, a signal the event was over and I woke up.

Still and spent I sat before the altar catching my breath and contemplating my encounter. I find myself thinking if Manannan is this intense I should wait a while before encountering the Morrigan. I begin giving gratitude for the encounter with him by lighting sweet grass. I pour eclipse water and some water from Bridget’s well a friend brought me from Ireland in the chalice and think of how to proceed with the Morrigan. Then I take a sip from the chalice to her in acknowledgment thinking, “soon lady soon”

As I swallow the waters, I begin to feel an immediate psychic response and once again get transported back into trance. My consciousness is not in control. It is like I am observing myself. I pull the scarf over my head and put my head down with my hands up toward the altar. The Morrigan has arrived. I can feel her forceful power before me and within me. Clairvoyantly I see her in every detail standing before me. I lower myself in her mighty presence, hands up. She looks down at me and says “You will stand with me in sovereignty and she compels me to physically stand up.

My legs are asleep from being on the floor for the last hour or so from the previous working and do not want to work. All of this is going through my mind as I hear her command “You are Fae, you are Tuatha De Dannon you will stand! True to self and ancestor!

Shakily I rise. Once I am at full height and facing her she touches my chest with her spear. My chest thrust forward, my head fell back, my arms went wide. I feel her sovereign power coursing through me. Clairvoyantly I see her history running through my mind like a fast-moving film clip. My body is suspended that way as she transports me to her side in trance.

“Are you a sovereign being?” she asks. Yes! “Are you of the people?” She asks. I knew she meant her people. Yes! “ Are you a warrior of the people? Yes! I reply.

Suddenly my physical body collapses to the floor. In trance I am now face down at her feet. She stands above me with her spear pointed down at me and she commands me to swear fealty to her.

I cry out to Odin whom I had been very close with. I see him present behind her, he looks on quietly saying nothing, looking disappointed. She commands fealty again and my body feels pain as her spear touches me. I did not want to swear fealty, so I swear sovereignty with her. I feel the pain as she spears me again. She asks for fealty again and I say I will stand with you. In that moment I see Odin turn his back and my heart breaks at the gesture.

I thought swearing sovereignty with her and saying I would stand with her was a way around swearing fealty to her and no other. That might be so in the world of humans but apparently not so in the world of the gods.

As I lay l there crying from the experience and the pain still face down, I clairvoyantly see Odin. He says, “You cannot have us both, you swore an oath to her” and he leaves.

In my time working with the Morrigan she helped me be strong when I really needed it. She helped to keep me focused on what I need for success in life. When that work was done it was difficult to get released from her fealty/oath. But it was more difficult getting back into Odin’s good graces once I did. I had many trials to face, but that is another story.

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MY FIRST PUBLISHED ARTICLE

MY FIRST PUBLISHED ARTICLE!

Funny what you find when running down rabbit holes. I recently came across my very first published contribution to a book. I had completely forgotten about it! About halfway down the list, you will see my name as a contributor.

Book, Pagan Planet: Being, Believing & Belonging in the 21 Century by Nimue Brown (Goodreads Author) (Editor)

Contributors

Arietta Bryant (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) Jo Ashbeth Coffey (Contributor), John Halstead (Contributor), Laura Perry (Contributor), Brendan Howlin (Goodreads Author) (Contributor ), Rachel Patterson (Goodreads Author) (Contributor ), Morgan Daimler (Goodreads Author) (Contributor ), Robin Herne (Goodreads Author) (Contributor ), Sheena Cundy (Goodreads Author) (Contributor ), Yvonne Ryves (Goodreads Author) (Contributor ), Pete Jennings (Contributor ), Romany Rivers (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Hilde Liesens (Contributor ), Adele Sutcliffe (Contributor ), Mark Rosher (Contributor ), Calantirniel (Goodreads Author) (Contributor ), Crystal Rainfeather (Contributor ), France’s Billinghurst (Contributor ), Cat Gina Cole (Contributor ), Irisanya (Contributor ), James Middleditch (Contributor ), Jay Cassels (Contributor ), Ian Chandler (Contributor), Jenny Uzzell (Contributor ), John Awen (Contributor ), Lady Laeynarrie Auvresti (Contributor ), Lyn Thurman (Contributor ), Mabh Savage (Goodreads Author) (Contributor ), Marie Strang (Contributor ), Rosie Weaver (Contributor ), Talis Kimberley-Fairbourn (Contributor ), Rufus Brock Maychild (Contributor ), Samantha Leaver (Contributor ), Mike Stygal (Foreword), Oakwood Leaf (Contributor ), Simon Wakefield (Contributor ), Sindy Leah Coumes Fitz (Contributor ), Breaca Aranwen of Albion (Contributor ), Thea Prothero (Contributor ), Robert L. Scott (Contributor ), Lorna Smithers (Contributor), Fiona Tinker (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Hearth Moon Rising (Goodreads Author) (Contributor ), Edwina Hodkinson (Contributor ), James Nichol (Contributor)

This blurb follows the contributor’s list in the original post.

“What does it mean to live as a Pagan in this uncertain world of climate change, economic hardship and worldwide social injustice? What does it mean to hold nature as sacred when ravaging the land is commonplace? How do we live our Paganism in our families and homes, our communities and countries? Pagans are stepping up in all kinds of ways. This is a Moon Books community project, sharing the energy and inspiration of people who are making a difference at whatever level makes sense to them. This is a book of grass-roots energy, of walking your talk and the tales of people who are, by a vast array of means, engaged with being the change they wish to see in the world.”

Later as I poked around I found this article to go with it at…

https://www.johnhuntpublishing.com/moon-books/our-books/pagan-planet

Pagan Planet (new from Moon Books this month) is a community project, which means there’s a lot of contributors. Over the coming weeks we’re profiling contributors here on the blog, partly as a way of thanking them for being involved, partly to share something of the breadth of experience that has gone into this book. Over to Cat…

“Hello, I am Cat Gina Cole, a lifetime student of the Psychic arts and the Craft. I was trained by my Mother and Grandmother and was solitary until 2010 when I found Rowan Tree now I am team leader of Rowan Tree Spiritual Community in Medford Oregon. We are a small community our (website is (no longer an active website. You can currently follow us at Rouge Valley Pagans group on Facebook). We also have a very active group. We are an open circle, meaning all are welcomed. We are rooted in Paganism with Universal and New Age overtones. Our Rituals follow the Wheel of the Year and the Moons. Our school is non-denominational Spirituality. We encourage each person to find the spiritual path that works best for them and then take that into their own communities while exposing them to many paths and many modalities. We have a class site at xx ( No longer an active website) that further explains our program. Our Team offers, readings, energy work, crystal healings, and spiritual counseling. We welcome you all, blessed be.

Cat contributed to Pagan Planet with an essay about her experience of Eclectic Paganism as a path.

Here is the link where you can get the book and see the original post.

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/26716841

 

 

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My Green Egg Summer 2021 Article

A PEEK INTO GRECO-ROMAN MAGIC

Cat Gina Cole

(cover art by Pratima Sarkar)

In 2009 I joined a public magic school in our area. For one of my assignments, I had to pick a Pantheon I was familiar with, and write about its culture and magic. The following article is a revised copy of that paper, and I must say I found digging deeper into the old magic intriguing.

In my research, I discovered a document titled “ Papyri Graecae Magicae” It is the name given by scholars to a body of papyri, an ancient paper from Greco-Roman Egypt, which contains a number of magical spells, formula’s, hymns, and rituals. The materials in the papyri date from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD. The manuscripts came to light through the antiquities trade from the 18th century onwards. Many of these pieces are pages or fragmentary extracts from spell book repositories of arcane knowledge and mystical secrets.

As far as they have been reconstructed, these papers and fragments appear to fall into two broad categories; Some are compilations of spells and magical writings gathered by scholarly collectors either out of academic interest or a study into magic. Others may have been working manuals. The pages contain spells, recipes, and prayers, interspersed with magic words and often in shorthand or with abbreviations. These spells range from impressive and mystical summoning’s of dark gods and daemons, and include folk remedies, ominous fatal curses, love charms, cures for impotence and minor medical complaints.

What follows are excerpts pieced together from The PGM as well as other scholars’ opinions and theories as to the meaning to one of the most important pieces in the history of magic.

In magic, we have always tried to locate the secret forces in nature, their sympathies, and antipathies. In a sense, the magi of the time were scientists also known as alchemists. They were interested in manipulating the powers and dynamics of nature. At the same time, they explored the human soul, the conscious and unconscious states to see what they contain and how they work.

The first magical operation that was recorded in the Greek language is found in book 10 of the Odyssey in Odysseus’ meeting with Circe. Circe is a daughter of a Titan. Not only can Circe turn men into beasts but she can predict the future. Through her predictions and instruction, Homer links Circe with other magical motifs of the epic, specifically the necromantic scene in book 11 of the Odyssey. In which Odysseus following Circe’s instructions digs a trench, pours out as an offering to the dead a drink consisting of honey, milk wine and water. Then he slaughters two black sheep in such a way that their blood runs into the trench. This attracts the shade of the dead in flocks, and by drinking the blood they regain, for a short time, the ability to communicate with the living. One should note that Circe’s magic consists in the use of a wand and that Odysseus’ defense against her was an herb called Moly. An herb that was revealed to him by Hermes.

Several requisites of magic are combined in this story. A mysterious tool that looks like a stick but that is obviously endowed with special powers; an herb that was not easy to find; and a God who reveals to one of his favorites a secret that will save him. Thus, at the beginning of recorded Greek literature, we find three elements that will characterize magic as a system in the Hellenistic age; a magical tool; a magical herb; and a God who reveals a great secret. The magical acts and information gained by them was of great benefit to Odysseus in the end.

Then we have the miracles of Pythagoras. He is a philosopher accused of being a magician. He was accused of eight things. The first, being seen in two cities at the exact same time. Two; He had a golden thigh as if his leg were made of the metal. Three; he told Crotanite that on a previous existence he was King Midas, Four, a white eagle permitted him to stroke it. Five; a river greeted him, “ Hail Pythagoras!” Six; he predicted a dead man would be found on a ship entering the harbor. Seven; when asked for a sign he predicted the appearance of a white bear and declared it was dead before the messenger reached him bearing the news. Eight; he bit a poisonous snake to death. Pythagoras, through both his legend and his doctrine, had great influence on Platonism, as he does on the foundation of all magic.

Next comes Plato, who says little about magical practices. That he believed in astrology and other forms of divination is strongly suggested by Timaeus and is reasonable to assume he believed in daemons given what we know of the Platonic school of tradition. In Plato’s laws, he takes healers, profits, and sorcerers for granted. These practitioners existed in Athens and no doubt all other Greek cities. Plato felt they had to be reckoned with and controlled by laws. Plato does add that one should not be afraid of them, their powers are real, but they themselves represent a rather low order of humanity. This belief of Plato’s was also prevalent in many other cultures across time, and still continues to this day.

Later in the Hellenistic period, which is roughly the last centuries before Christ, there seems to be a new interest in magic. From this period, we have an abundance of texts in Greek and Latin, some are literary and some are for practical use. Of special interest here is, that the Magical Papyri that still exist were written in the first centuries after Christ. However, their concepts, formulas and rituals reflect a much earlier period when occult sciences were developed into one great system.

The syncrenistic urging of the Hellenistic mind produced a great body of occult lore. Syncrenistic means the amalgamation of different religions, cultures, or schools of thought. So, you see being eclectic and borrowing from other practices has been around a long time.

Following in the line of Greco Roman magic is Theocritus -310 – 250 BC. He is mainly known as a pastoral poet but he also wrote several pieces describing everyday life in the great modern capital of Alexandria. One of these has the title of Pharmakeutria, which is the feminine equivalent of Pharmakeutes and means witch or sorceress, it is derived from Pharmakon meaning drug, poison, potion, or spell. Any herb, chemical, or requisite used in medicine or magic could be called Pharmakon. This is the earliest recorded beginnings of herbalism as we know it today.

Another text involves a young Greek woman, Simaetha, who lived in Alexandria, and was in love with a young athlete, however he has not shown himself at her door for eleven days, and she decides to draw him back by magical means. She set up with a few fairly simple pre-requisites for a magical operation at her home. The ingredients she uses are, barley groats, and…

For the rest of this article and the full summer edition please go to  http://greeneggmagazine.com

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MEETING MANANNAN

 

I start my blog with gnosis because most of what occurs in the world of Psychism, Witchcraft and magic are UPG”s. In the event I describe below in “Meeting Manannan” you will get a firsthand look at what a UPG experience can be like. Many psychics call them spontaneous events.

UNVERIFIED PERSONAL GNOSIS

Gnosis is Greek for knowledge. Unverified Personal Gnosis refers to an experience that is spiritual in nature. One that helps clarify or add information to a person’s spiritual beliefs but cannot be verified by known mythology. A UPG can take many forms, trance, a gut feeling, a sudden revelation, a dream, an epiphany, or any form of a psychic or spiritual event. UPG can fill in the gaps that spirituality sometimes leaves. It is not something you make up or something you think is true. Rather, it is something you believe or know is true because you had the experience and you trust the source or event, even though you cannot prove it in any way. The majority of what occurs in magic, psychism, and witchcraft is considered a UPG.

MEETING MANANNAN

I remember working with Manannan or Manann (also known as Manannan mac Lir), the Celtic God of the Sea. I had been exploring my connections to the Fae through dreamwork. It began with a dream where my being a child of the oak was significant and I was trying to research it to see if it was a real thing or not. Prior to this event in my weeks of research Hecate, came to me and said, “Seek the Fae.” Then my spirit guide later came and told me to seek the Fae. With the message now clear I sought out the Fae.

I knew exactly where to go, to the Fae Goddess I had been to many times before. The home of the Fae Goddess is a place that holds all four seasons on an astral plane. When I visit there I typically arrive on a moonlit winter night. Soon after my arrival a horseman jumps over a snowbank in a bluster and guides me along the path. The seasons along the path change from winter to fall, to summer, and end with spring in a meadow. Typically, once I get to the spring meadow I get to speak to the Goddess.

It was not so this time. When I arrived, it was a bleak winter night without snow or moonlight. This was unsettling and I had to call for the horseman. When he did arrive, he just appeared behind me startling me even more. He asked what I wanted, and I told him I was here to learn about the children of the Oak. He pointed to the path which was unusually dark and formidable and I was uncomfortable.

Previously when I have walked this path there have been shadow people running alongside the path at some distance. They seem to be hunched over like Neanderthals and follow along and watch me. This time one noticed me the same time I noticed it and walked up onto the path before me. The horseman pulled up between us and asked me “What you want of them?” “To no longer fear them and give respect” I replied and the horseman withdrew.

In the silent darkness, I gazed at the shadow person for a moment. I was trying to scan the situation to see what I should do next. As I did I noticed I had no fear, so I told the creature, “I do not fear you old one, and I mean you no harm”. I felt a sense of relaxation from the creature and it straightened to its full 8 ft height. “What do you wish of me?” it asked” “Only to know you” I replied as I bowed my head slightly.

Then through telepathic clairvoyance, the shadow person showed me about its creation. It revealed that the shadow people are the original people of the chaos. The shared vision of their exit from the chaos was extraordinary. The shadow person telepathically implied that Manannan had brought them out of chaos with him and they are now Manannan’s watchers. They are how Manannan knows all, and he showed me a clairvoyant vision of how they watch people for him. Then it slowly walked off the path.

I proceeded down the path into the season of fall when I heard a voice below me. I looked down and it was a rock angrily screaming at me. “Do not kick me! you always kick me!” The rock has never spoken to me before. So, I knelt before the rock and made amends then moved on. I have never been so aware or involved with the journey as I have on this trip.

At the bend in the path, there is a place I have been told is forbidden. The horseman will not let me in there. As I pass by it looks like Fae are in there dancing and having a party. This time I asked if I could enter. “ It is not for you” the horseman replied. “May I at least see them?” I asked and he allowed this.

I was aghast at the creatures; they were not dancing Fairies! They were more like Gollums and it was clear they were not nice as they began approaching the fence. Suddenly I noticed the Goddess who usually in the meadow, was now between myself and the Gollums.

I began to feel a bubble of protection surrounding me as she stood there. She then informed me these beings were the darkest and most dangerous of the Fae. “We keep them contained and sup them with food and drink so they can do no harm,” she said.

The next thing I know the Goddess and I are in the spring meadow. It is a beautiful spring day, with plants all around and some of them are talking as we begin to chat. I ask the Goddess about the children of the Oak and she says, “You must seek Manannan and the Morrigan then return to the Oak from which you come.” Then I was released from the event.

The oak from which I come can only mean the Oak trees I spent so much time in as a child. The Morrigan? Well, books here I come.

I began this pathworking around 8:30 am. When I walked into the living room it was 1:45 pm. Below is my next working on my journey to find an answer about the children of the oak several days later.

I sat before a low altar in trance seeking Manannan and I was transported to a beach. It was a moonlit night and the sea was stormy. I looked out on the sea and felt beckoned to come forth. As my eyes searched the sea, I saw an old boat floating some distance away. I considered using it to travel to Manannan. However, I decided to jump into the sea.

I swam out and was met by a group of Undines, they are the Elemental spirits of Water. Most think of them as mermaids. I was filled with child-like awe at their beauty and overjoyed at the honor of being allowed to swim with them. However, my joy quickly changed to fear as their temperament changed and became aggressive.

I no longer felt safe and supported and stories of mermaids flooded my mind as the sea whipped angrily. Full of fear, the image of the boat came to mind and I struggled to swim toward it through the angry sea. When I was finally able to grab the boat my grip kept slipping. While struggling to get in suddenly a hand reached out and pulled me in. It was Manannan.

“Why did you jump into the water? He asked” “To be in your realm instead of my own” I replied timidly. “Few pass the test to reach me as you have. You knew the dangers of the Undines and the sea and still, you came. What is it you seek?” “To know the origins of the spirit within me” I replied. He told me the Tuatha Dé Danann were my people and showed me their stories of creation and war through clairvoyant visions, I could see it all. “You must seek the Morrigan,” he said then he released me back to the sea, a signal the event was over and I woke up.

In my next entry, I will tell the tale of meeting The Morrigan and the outcome of my search.

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Blog Intro

FROM THE CAT’S EYE

By Cat Gina Cole

 

Blog Introduction

Why did I start a blog? I wanted a place to write freely, and a place to reach the whole spectrum of people rather than a specific group.

I am almost 62 and at my age, I have few filters left so I am rather direct in my approach. I offer my insights and experiences because I think there are people who will identify and relate. People whom my experience might help, and for the people, it will simply entertain.

So, who am I and why would you want to read what I have to say? Well, I have lived a full and colorful life. Many of the things I have done may seem fantastic, shocking, or unbelievable, but they are verifiable in their own way. As you read keep in mind, that I have never been someone who feared much of anything let alone consequences or other people.

Much of my magical life is in my book Psychic Skills for Magic and Witchcraft, and magic and witchcraft will be a big part of this blog too because it is what I live.

In my personal life, I became a sexual survivor at age four. We lived in the country and I was raised like a boy. I raised rabbits for meat, I was in 4-H, I rode horses, and we had a food garden we all participated in. I hunted and fished with my dad and helped to butcher the dear. I learned to shoot a gun safely when I was 6. It was needed out there for many reasons. I even used to go under the house with my dad when there was a need.

That was all fine and I was happy until I was 13. One day I was so bold as to tell my mom that if I had been born a boy I would never be bored because I would have a certain bit of anatomy to play with. Well, that was that! I was off to conversion therapy to make sure I knew I was a girl. It did not go well, and neither did her attempt at putting me in catholic school the following year. Then when I was 15 mom encouraged me to get married and leave the house.

Over these many years, I have run with bikers, skinned mink for a job, been a truck driver, worked in caregiving, been a waitress, a bartender, a bouncer, and worked on the carnival. In one ten-year span, I held 100 jobs, because I often worked two jobs to get by. I have been a witness to a murder, been in protective custody, struck by lightning, and survived cancer. It is all part of my colorful life and what made me who I am, which I happen to be very happy with.

In the 90s I went to college and became a dual diagnosis counselor on the streets of Portland Oregon. I say the streets because I worked in places like the detox, and methadone clinics. I also worked at the Salvation Army men’s shelter that only took people from prison and the mental hospital.

To me, this is the street level and it is where I love being. It is also the reason I quit being a counselor in an office. I never felt those running the clinics and programs really understood what it was like being on the streets. But let me tell you when you are in a fleabag hotel in Portland with your 3yr. old son, eating at the Sisters of the Road Café on Burnside while you look for work, you get it.

While I have been through some very heavy stuff, there have also been some very wonderful and magical things that are equally fantastic. All of which make for some very interesting stories. I believe that giving them away freely gives it all a positive purpose. If my writing gives solace, laughter, understanding, enlightenment, love, and acceptance to even one person then I have succeeded. I hope you join me for the journey.

Many Blessings to all!