Second Adept's Phoenix Fire Wand Of The Golden Dawn

I was looking in a book a few weeks ago at the set of Golden Dawn wands a person had made and which were now in the possession of The Museum Of Witchcraft And Magic in Boscastle, Cornwall. I was very drawn to one particular wand for some reason and did more research in to it.

The Phoenix Wand or Fire Wand covers Geburah on Tree of Life in the Kabbalah. Although I have had many books on the Kabbalah, it is not my particular path and though I respect those who follow it, the Kabbalah has never resonated with me personally, despite having thoroughly read Dion Fortune's The Mystical Qabalah several times over. To make matters even more confusing, the word 'Kabbalah, can be spelled with a 'Q" or even a 'C' and have one 'B' in it or two.

As I understand it - in the Golden Dawn system, the wand represents Osiris, but in some other form  it represented Set and is used by the Second Adept.

Anyway, I was so drawn to the wand that I decided to make my own version of it, which is shown in the picture. I have to say, I like my version better than any of the other versions I have noticed on the internet and there is a feeling of real power flowing through the wand when it is held. I have used rainbow colourings for the stem of the wand too, in a slightly different way from the original versions but still keeping the colours correct. The ribbon trimmings on my version of the Golden Dawn Phoenix Fire Wand give the wand a Shaman feel to it too, as if it bridges several worlds at the same time.

See also:
Brother Darklight and Rebecca

Green Shamrocks, Bright Lights And The Precocious Pippin's Extravaganza

The Two Pippins - Pippin One plus Doppelgänger Pippin, have thoroughly enjoyed St Patrick's Day which they are shown in the picture celebrating in style. They really liked the owl lights which we added to brighten up the green glade.

Pippin Imitates Arthur Brown With His Flaming Helmet

Arthur Brown is most likely now mainly known to older people or connoisseurs. Many people born in the 1940's, albeit a long time ago now, seem to have done particularly well for themselves and many are still going strong to this day, barely stopping or slowing down in their 70's and certainly not behaving as if they are 'old people'. The same cannot always be said of those born one or two generations later; the 40's still seem to rule and hold sway like no other generation of the 20th Century.
My own recollections of Arthur Brown were (as I thought), of a one hit wonder - but that hit being big enough to keep him going for eternity. I saw him on black and white TV as a young child and immediately wanted a helmet like the one he had in a 'Can I have one, Dad?' moment. He was not the only gimmicky singer of the time, as a kiddie I remember the man who sang a song about 'the black barren land that bears the name of Xanadu' or something like that, cracking a bull whip on TV in time with the song.

Anyway it does indeed seem like Mr Brown was in fact a much busier bee than I would have imagined, in fact he has packed an awful lot of travelling in to his lifetime and had lots of experiences, a great number due solely to the popularity of one song and his flaming helmet.

I think the book (which I understand was written in 2005), would have been better if it took in more of Mr Brown's downtime away from the music or studying, or mixing with the well oiled famous and the artistic not so famous. It would have been good to learn more of his family and his actual self as a human being, not as a stage performer. The fact that he came from Whitby and the involvement with the Whitby Goth Festival and Dracula Society seems more interesting. Though I noticed another old time performer still going strong - Lene Lovich was constantly mentioned in connection with the Whitby Festival, like the festival circuit has its own stable, that it keeps churning out. Of this genre I personally prefer groups like The Beautiful Deadly Children and most definitely The Scary Bitches, but I applaud anyone who keeps going in their 70's.

Anyway Pippin was most excited and he wanted a flaming helmet too, so one was suitably produced for him and we think he looks very fine indeed in it and incredibly cute, the little sweetie!

The Pippins At The Fun Filled Mardi Gras Carnival

Mardi Gras means 'Fat Tuesday' and it represents Shrove Tuesday or what we call 'Pancake Day' It is a time for fun and carnivals. Mardi Gras is Carnival time and is a famous event in New Orleans, when there are processions from January onwards right up to Ash Wednesday (the day after Shrove Tuesday). There are carnivals held in other countries around the world too at this time.

Check out the updates on our other blog too - Brother Darklight and Rebecca

Support The Horses - Say the Pippins - Ban The Whip

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click to enlarge

As staunch believers in animal welfare and animal rights, we thoroughly support Animal Aid in their feelings towards the incredibly popular Cheltenham Festival in the UK. Horses are frequently run to death for the sake of entertainment and big money gambling.

Lots of wages are paid and many people make money on the back of gambling. It is a super huge business and provides a lot of men and women with jobs. As does racing itself and all the people who work with the horses themselves and at the events and the racecourse.

I myself once worked in a betting shop - a bookies - quite some time ago now and it got packed on race days. I always found it a bit sleazy though.

I also once worked in a casino and again it was awful watching people keep gambling when they had no hope of retrieving their losses. I did myself no favours with the management when I began to hint at certain customers that they should reign things in a bit - but I couldn't stand watching them throwing their money away - it was truly ghastly and I'm glad I tried to help them.

So - there will be many posing young women of questionable virtue in scanty outfits, with rears to rival the horses, as well as would be 'gents' and 'toffs'  (said in Charles Dickens vernacular) in coat hanger jackets with hair transplants and suits freshly out of mothballs for the Cheltenham Festival events.

Not one of them appears to care for the true welfare of the horses  - only of being seen on TV or snapped for the papers. Well some of us do care and there are more voices than one would think.

Co-Joined Twin Potatoes

These potatoes arer what used to be called 'Siamese Twins'  - they are co-joined together. Sometimes strangely grown fruit, roots and vegetables can be taken as a sign from above. there have been religious faces and writing seen in tomatoes and apples too. These phenomenom often appear in newspapers, as fillers.

Magickal March Outdoor Spell With Offerings

The owls hoot all night and as soon as the time slips nearer to daylight hours, even though it is still dark, the cockerel on the hill begins to crow. The birds begin to cheep noisily and in the distance the stream of cars gets heavier towards 4am on the main artery road down in the valley bottom. Sometimes during the night, strange trains can be heard using the station, presumably these are goods trains, or trains with business to be executed only during the hours of darkness, that passengers never ever get to see.
It is a great time to do spells and rituals  - the night is so alive with different vibrations.