Journal of the Council of Magickal Arts, Inc.

by Rhavyn Redfeather

Once upon a time, at a sacred space, long ago, I was taught the power of the spoken word and instant manifestation by witnessing over and over again the appearance of that which was both wished for/needed and dreaded in the span of one magickal weekend.

It struck me how, as a community, we are made stronger and more susceptible to the weaknesses of our neighbors all at the same time. How one who is not aware of the concept of 'power of spoken word,' can be a detriment in a circle of sacred space until they are taught the genuine power of the words and thoughts which they give voice to. Sort of like the concept of a chain only being as strong as its weakest link. And be impeccable with your word.

This is the preamble to another popular concept I bear witness to in our extended communities—and that would be what I have come to call "the Karma of Lack" or—the fear of going without- i.e., that all of our needs are NOT met versus the concept of "Fishes & Loaves” (i.e., we are truly blessed and all our needs ARE met). As magickal beings, we are all somewhat familiar with these concepts—I believe that we are often hit hardest (or where it hurts the most—our wallets) when the economic fears of the world are something that we see everywhere we turn—but at what cost? Do we sign on for the view that we need to hoard in order to make sure we won't run out? Or, do we take the fishes and loaves path and believe that the more you give the more you have??

Once, I came across some very interesting scientific research found in a field called "garbology"(an amusing term for the 'science' of waste management) and with this technique, they discovered that during the Great Depression our culture/country wasted more high dollar meats, like pot roasts and steaks and fresh foods than at any other time in the decades before and after. “Why is this,” I pondered? Well, it is because when people are afraid that they will have to go without, they overdo it, they/we buy more than we can consume and ultimately waste more due to that fear-based need to over compensate or hoard while they become more afraid to share the bounty (fruits of their labor) thinking we will run out too soon. Not a very neighborly or tribe-like concept unfortunately for us and the planet. Two side effects or symptoms I have observed: one, it can lead some in the community to 'fear asking' and two, 'fear sharing.’ The key word here is Fear. I have a little story or two to tell and we can see an example of how I have come to believe in “fishes and loaves” versus the “hoarding/karma of lack” theories.

In the last couple of years, I have noticed these two things over and over and it has come to concern me greatly—not because of my own needs, but because I believe they weaken us as a community at large.

One thing: the fear of doing without causes people to not share—and the cost/price can be magic and survival of sense of community. Yes, fear and doubt kill magic. If you don't already know that, you should. Let me tell the story here about the girl who craved the hot dog. We have all heard the term comfort food? Well this poor gal had been having a rough time in life—not financially, all her needs were met; but spiritually her cup needed to be filled. Several times throughout the weekend gathering, she got a craving to roast a hot dog. I think it was much more the actual roasting of the wiener that she needed than the nourishment the dog could bring. But alas, it seemed the hardest thing to find so she forgot about it until the next night. After a long pleasant evening around the fire circle feeding the fire both physically and spiritually the girl said, "Wow, I sure would love a hot dog!"

By now, it had become a little bit of a running joke in the camp—seeing as this girl was always in the wrong place at the wrong time and had yet to fulfill that seemingly simple quest! A camp sister went to her cooler all excited to share her wieners with the weeny-craving sister and lo! and behold! the package of dogs was not there-MIA (one more symptom of the bigger issue seen on the rise, theft as some shall prefer to say, taking without asking). Ah, well, once again, no dog for her. So a few hours later, as camp is really winding down—long after suppers and circles, the wiener-wanting girl and her companions go to visit a neighborly fire down the way bringing a bottle of wine and song to share- they enter the circle and begin to visit when the wiener girl is once again overcome with desire! It was as if nothing could make her festival experience more complete than this basic action of roasting a hotdog. So, she politely asks the hostess/mistress of the camp, "I don't suppose you have any hotdogs?" Being the last night of the campout (this was her last chance to make this desire a reality), she was very happy to hear the camp mistress say, "Why, yes, I am sure I do! Just look in that cooler over there, you may have to dig for them but I know they're there!" So weeny girl digs in the cooler, digs deep, far and wide, and comes across a zip lock baggie of four hot dogs! She excitedly exclaims to camp mistress, "Are these them?"

She answers, "Well those are Nathans."

Weeny girl says, "Will he mind?"

And mistress laughs and says, "Not at all- help yourself".

Well, that just about made weeny girl’s night! She was SO excited and so she got her roasting stick ready and sat down at the fire- mouth watering, laughter bubbling—happy to see that the final night at camp would bring that small little comfort she had longed for!

When suddenly, Co-Camp Mistress exclaims, "Hey! Those are MY Nathans hot dogs!"

And Camp Mistress #1 replies, "No worries, Sister, I have several packages more and will gladly replace them."

Thinking that was all worked out, weeny girl proceeds to roast her dog, although more than a little uncertainty began to creep in as the Co-camp Mistress states to the weeny girl, "Well its alright this time, but you really should ASK FIRST next time!"

Well, instead of hysterical laughter, when looking back on the situation would have been quite appropriate considering the ridiculousness of it all—that she had asked about 10 people that night and weeny girl’s joy just crumbles as the dog begins to taste like ASH & she begins to cry—not so much because of the Guilt and Shame that were given as condiments but the sadness that one little hot dog could not be given freely to her! After all, surely at some point, she had given community at least as much as a weeny was worth—and here this elder she looks up to could be plagued with that fear to the point of carrying on and on (buzzed or not) instead of being gracious and giving like she remembered the elders of decades past...and she was reminded by another lovely elder in the circle that she had looked up to for years ~ "well those are fairly expensive dogs." At which point, weeny girl didn't know if she should laugh, cry, give the hot dog back, throw it in the fire or pull a $20 bill out of her pouch to cover the damage—anything just so she could enjoy her hot dog guilt-free! But, alas, that was not in the cards. When she choked on the hot dog and couldn't quite get it down, she was struck by the intensity of "karma of lack." She felt that by consuming the hot dog (from the full cooler of food) she, in some way, was inadvertently feeding this Co-Camp Mistress's fear of going without. It made for a far less tasty ending than she could possibly have imagined such a sought after pleasure should taste. And she couldn't quite shake the feeling or swallow the taste that people are SO afraid of going without they completely disregard the "fishes and loaves" theory to their own detriment and to that of community.

Community, Come Unity. If the LEAST of our brothers or sisters are hungry or in need then by the gods, break bread! Feed their longing from the loaves of plenty. Create Abundance through Sharing. We are Magickal Beings, are we not? And we teach our maidens and youth and maybe a few elders "that which you do comes back to you." We do, at least preach this, right? Well, if you BELIEVE that there is enough, then, there WILL be enough. In order to counter this frightening trend that I see cropping up throughout community, I propose we bring back “Stone Soup” and that every festival find one night dedicated to the concept that there is plenty and that all our needs are met. Come together for the breaking of the bread and the sharing of the fishes. After all, we are truly blessed. Aren't we?

May the waters of your well never run dry.

Sunday September 27 2009
Written by Rhavyn Redfeather