The Witches Digest

Deeply religious Haitians see the hand of God in the destruction of Biblical proportions visited on their benighted country. The quake, religious leaders said Sunday, is evidence that He wants change.

Exactly what change He wants depends on the faith: Some Christians say it’s a sign that Haitians must deepen their faith, while some Voodoo followers see God’s judgment on corruption among the country’s mostly light-skinned elite.

And then there’s American evangelist Pat Robertson, who said Wednesday that Haiti had been cursed by a pact he said its slave founders made with the devil two centuries ago to overthrow their French rulers and become the world’s first black republic. The White House called his remarks “stupid.”

As desperate believers gathered to pray Sunday across the shattered capital, the Rev. Eric Toussaint told a congregation gathered outside the ruined cathedral that the earthquake “is a sign from God, saying that we must recognize his power.”

Haitians, he said, “need to reinvent themselves, to find a new path to God.”

Some followers of Voodoo, practised alongside Roman Catholicism by the vast majority of Haitians, said the devastation of key symbols of power was punishment for corrupt leaders who have allowed the mostly light-skinned elite to enrich themselves while the black majority suffers.

“If all of a sudden, in 15 seconds, 20 seconds, all the physical representations of corruption are destroyed, it gives you pause for thought,” said Richard Morse, a renowned Haitian-American musician whose mother was a singer and revered Voodoo priestess. “The Justice Ministry: down. The National Palace: down. The United Nations headquarters: down.”

Unharmed by the quake was the famed bronze statue, “Le Maron Inconnu” - “the Unknown Escaped Slave” - noted Morse, who owns the Oloffson Hotel featured in Graham Greene’s novel “The Comedians.”

The destruction of every major Catholic church in the capital, including the 81-year-old cathedral, also was a sign, he said: “When there is all this corruption going on, whose role is it in society to speak out? Isn’t the Church supposed to say something?”

Most Haitians are Christian - largely Catholic with a small but growing number of Protestants. But most also practice Voodoo, which along with Catholicism is an official state religion.

Several people were seen issuing apocalyptic warnings on the streets Sunday, including a man standing in front of the collapsed National Palace shouting: “Redeem yourselves! The end of the world is near!”

But Morse noted that Haitians are already very religious. His countrymen may suffer many ills, but “when it comes to spiritual strength, Haiti is one of the richest nations in the world.”

And in that sense, the earthquake seems to have been counterproductive in terms of salvation.

“How could He do this to us?,” cried Remi Polevard, who said his five children lie beneath in the rubble of a home near St. Gerard University. “There is no God.”

Sunday night, as downtown residents began burning some of the bodies that have been rotting on the streets for five days, a woman walking by in an orange dress pulled out a copy of the Bible.

She flung it into the fire.

Original Article

Magus Lynius Shadee, who calls himself the King of All Witches, hopes to become Cambridge’s next MP.

Mr Shadee initially planned to open an occult centre in the historic city - to the surprise of religious leaders - but now wants to focus his attentions on his candidacy and may open the centre as a campaign hub.

He said he has contacted the city’s returning officer.
”I have withheld the opening of my occult centres and am focusing on the general election,” said Mr Shadee.

”I shall hope to stand as an independent. My manifesto will be very forward, and if accepted, will change many directions for the better - for the human race.”

He added: “This is an opportunity to change people’s lives for the better. I also hope to have candidates in six or seven other high-profile seats.
“I want to tackle the problems in education, health and crime and turn Britain into a truly secular society by banning faith schools and the teaching of religious education.

“I also want MPs’ salaries to be like everyone else’s. If they don’t come to work, they don’t get paid.”
However, rival candidates say his “eccentric” views are unlikely to attract much support.
Daniel Zeichner, the Labour candidate, said: “General elections always throw up a mixture of the serious and more light-hearted, such as the Monster Raving Loony Party.

“I don’t think there will be many people sharing his views.”
David Howarth, the city’s Liberal Democrat MP, is standing down and the party has yet to select its candidate.

Nick Hillman, the Conservative candidate, said: “I have no truck with Mr Shadee’s eccentric views but if he can persuade enough people to nominate him - and it’s a big if - I look forward to campaigning against him.”

Original Article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6981349/Witch-to-stand-as-independent-candidate-at-general-election.html

POLICE believe a bizarre outbreak of horse mane weaving may be the work of a secretive cult of pagan worshippers practising a form of white magic.

The strange practice has broken out in fields in Devon and parts of Dorset and Somerset.

Nearly 20 animals have been singled out for the bizarre treatment over the past three months in Hemyock, Culmstock and Clayhidon, the Culm Valley and Exeter.

Officers initially believed the horses were being marked for theft by organised criminals – until they realised none of them disappeared.

Now they think white witches who practise “knot magick” are using the horses to help them cast spells.

Pagan gods are thought to have a close connection with horses which adds strength to spells that incorporate the animals.

PC Jeff Howley, neighbourhood beat manager for Cullompton, said: “At the moment we do not know of any motive for the plaiting to start with we thought they were being marked for theft but that is clearly not the case.

“One motive from research by Dorset police who are also investigating a number of cases is that it may be a pagan ritual.

“It is hard for us to judge at the moment but any speculation will have to be considered.”

Although the braiding does no harm to the affected horses, owners are becoming increasingly bemused and concerned.

Jenny Parsons, secretary to the Taunton Vale Harriers Hunt, who has set up a horse watch scheme, believes a small group of people are targeting the same animals after communicating through social networking websites.

She said: “It is possible it’s a pagan ritual and I have had reports of a change in horse behaviour so if these are children’s ponies it is an absolutely awful thing to do.”

Mrs Parsons urged horse owners to send pictures of the plaits to local police and to remain vigilant.

She added: “Until we know anything different this is worth taking very seriously. They seem to be targeting some individuals more than others, but why?”

It was originally thought the plaits might be being used to mark horses by rustlers so they could be collected at night by gangs armed with fence-cutting equipment and a horsebox.

Original Article

MOUNT OLIVE TWP. – A FedEx driver who left a fundamentalist religious tome on a car windshield has learned not to mess with one Budd Lake witch.

Trish Reynolds, an author and longstanding witch or follower of the Wiccan religion and Druid priestess, said the incident shows the negative stereotypes and continuing misunderstanding of Wiccan and Druid beliefs which are pagan, earth based religions.

Reynolds was in the kitchen of her Eagle Rock Village apartment on the morning of Monday, Dec. 14, when the incident unfolded.

She was looking out on her parking lot and saw a FedEx truck stopped. The driver, who later identified himself as Brian Kaufman, made one delivery and was returning to his truck when he saw bumper stickers on Reynolds’ car, which included a pentagram and the words, “Goddess Bless America.”

The pentagram is a symbol of faith for Wiccans with the five points representing the spirit, earth, air, fire, and water. To fundamentalist Christians, the pentagram is a sign of the un-believer.

Apparently upset, Kaufman went back to his truck and returned to place a small pamphlet under the windshield wiper of Reynolds’ car.

Kaufman had driven away by the time Reynolds went out to her car to find the pamphlet was a cartoon titled “Boo,” that focused on the evils of witches and their danger to Christians.

Among other things, the cartoon depicts an evil Halloween pumpkin, accuses Wiccans of committing human sacrifices and links Wiccans with Satan.

The brochure was published by Chick Publications of California, a group identified as a “hate group” by the Southern Law Poverty Center in Montgomery, Ala.

Reynolds later complained to FedEx and Kaufman subsequently returned to speak with Reynolds about her complaint. Reynolds said Kaufman was not apologetic but simply repeated his objections to what he considers Wiccan beliefts.

A FedEx spokesman said the driver’s behavior was inappropriate.

“We absolutely don’t condone this behavior and we are taking steps with the driver,” said David Westrick, a spokesman for the FedEx office in Bethlehem, Pa.

Kaufman could not be reached for comment.

Reynolds, who has been a practicing Wiccan for more than 40 years, said she is concerned because a pentagram she had hanging from her front door also was recently missing.

Chick Publications is not new to Reynolds, who does not hide her views or her religion. She said she would occasionally find tracts left on her car when she worked in the 1990s at Verizon in Madison.

Incorrect Information

Reynolds said the religious tome is not only offensive but inaccurate.

As far as human sacrifices, Reynolds said she Wiccans want no part of it.

The tome also refers to the holy Wiccan day of Samhain, (pronounced SOW-in, SAH-vin, or SAM-hayne) and says it is Satan’s birthday. In fact, the day has nothing to do with Satan. Wiccans celebrate Samhain on Oct. 21 to commemorate the end of summer and the third and final Harvest and to remember ancestors.

“I thought April 15 (tax day) was the devil’s birthday,” Reynolds said.

Another misrepresentation shows the “ankh,” a symbol of life dating to the ancient Egyptians but alien to the Wiccan ancestors of Ireland and England.

Mark Potok, director of intelligence for the Southern Poverty Law Center, said groups are categorized as “hate groups” based on their ideology.

The Southern Poverty Law Center was founded in 1971 and is internationally known for its tolerance education programs, its legal victories against white supremacists and its tracking of hate groups, said the center’s website.

“We listed Chick Publications primarily because of their rabid anti-Catholicism,” Potok said. “They are highly intolerant of all faiths.”

A secretary with Chick Publications in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., said more than 125 million pamphlets or tracts in 125 languages have been distributed since 1960 on a range of Christian issues.

“Ninety-eight percent of the tracts are to share salvation and the message that people need Jesus,” said the secretary, Karen Rockney.

Rockney said Chick Publications is not hostile to non-Christians and Catholics.

“We see them as lost,” Rockney said. “Without the lord, we are all lost.”

She said she was not surprised that the group is listed as a hate group because, “anytime you go to tell the gospel of Jesus, you’ll have people hate you for that.”

Abortion, homosexuality, non-Protestant religions, the occult, rock music, politics, popular culture, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series and the theory of evolution are among the targets of Chick’s tracts, according to an Internet report.

The report said the tracts generally depict many of the world’s problems as being deliberately caused by the Catholic Church.

Chick Publications was formed in 1970 by 85-year-old Jack Thomas Chick, a Christian convert who began evangelizing in the 1960s.

Reynolds has written about other issues facing Wiccans, including a successful 2006 lawsuit that ordered the federal government to include Wicca as the religion on plaques of deceased veterans.

She also is involved with a current, on-going effort to require New Jersey school districts to recognize certain Wiccan religious holidays as excused absences.

Valentine’s Day has a long history of tradition and superstition. This day can be traced back to the fertility rites of the pagans during the Lupercialia festival. Sacrifices were made to the god, Luperus the wolf. A ceremony was preformed on a hill by two pagan priests, called Luperci. One priest ran to the bottom of the hill with strips of animal hide called febura, (February), touching the women he met to make them fertile. He would then trace a circle around the base of the hill, to keep away evil spirits and wolves.

Later the Romans would use the date to choose a mate by picking the names of women from a lottery. The couple would live together for the next year or longer if they so desired.

The February festival was outlawed by the Catholic Church in 496 A.D. when Pope Gelasus declared the celebration immoral. The Church began a campaign to substitutethe pagan festival with a day dedicated to St. Valentine, a priest during the rein of Claudius II, who befriended young lover’s and married them against Roman’s wishes. (At the time it was believed single men made better soldiers so young men were forbidden to marry).

It was once believed this was the day birds chose to mate. Love charms and potions are supposed to work especially well if used on this day. Herbs were often used in the rituals and were thought to help one see into the future. Yarrow was one of the herbs used in charms and for predicting one’s future love.

Before retiring for the night, a young woman would place a piece of yarrow under her pillow and repeat,” Thou pretty herb of Venus tree, thy name is yarrow; Now who my bosom friend must be, Pray tell me tomorrow.” The woman would dream of her future love. If she added an orange blossom leaf, she would dream of her future husband.

Viola tri-color or Johnny Jump Up as it is commonly known today was also used in love charms. It was believed if placed on the eye lids of a sleeping person, that person would fall in love with the first person they saw upon awakening.

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Deitra Jones of Florida was distraught. Her Himalayan cat, named Fluff, disappeared in 2008 and hadn’t been seen since. Even as the second year passed, she never gave up hope that one day her and her cat would be reunited.

Finally, Jones reached out to a local psychic for help. The psychic told her that Fluff was alive, but confused. The psychic sensed the cat wanted to come home, but no longer knew how to get home. The psychic reached out and planted a suggestion in the cat to misbehave for her new owner, as often as possible.

“I could see and feel Fluff very clearly,” said the psychic, who wishes to remain anonymous. “The emotional bond between the two was strong enough that all I had to do was give it a nudge in the right direction.”

Just a few days later, a supervisor at Hillsborough County Animal Services said a woman turned in Fluff, claiming she was unable to care for the animal anymore and that “something might be wrong” with the cat.

Once Fluff was examined, a chip implanted in the cat provided the name and address of Jones. The long overdue reunion took place the same day.

Experts are studying the first Mayan hieroglyphic script dealing with the life of a high priest, his blood sacrifices and acts of penance, Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) said.

The text consists of 260 glyphs carved into a series of seashell earrings and manta ray stingers found inside a burial urn.

The urn, which also contained the remains of an important Maya priest, wrapped in bright red cloth, was uncovered during excavations 11 years ago in Comalcalco, in southeastern Tabasco state, the institute said in a statement.

“It is the longest Maya hieroglyphic script ever found to date in Tabasco” and the first relating a high priest, instead of a Maya ruler and his wives, INAH said.

The text covers 14 years in the life of a Maya priest who lived in the eighth century A.D. It includes references to blood sacrifices and acts of penance preceding the spring solstice.

Maya priests used manta ray stingers to pierce their earlobes, tongue, forehead, penis and other parts of the anatomy, in painful, bloodletting sacrifices to induce a hallucinogenic state in which they believed they could talk to their gods, INAH said.

One of the glyphs refers to the equivalent modern date of January 31, 771.

The Maya dynasties flourished between 426 and 820 AD throughout much of Central America and south eastern Mexico. They excelled in architecture, astrology, mathematics and in keeping several, extremely accurate calendars.

The case of a Toronto woman accused of fraud has shed light on a section of the Canadian criminal code that carries a hint of the Dark Ages: posing as a witch.

Vishwantee Persaud allegedly defrauded a Toronto lawyer of tens of thousands of dollars by telling him she was the embodiment of the spirit of his deceased sister, come back to help him in business. Ms. Persaud now faces charges under a rarely used section of the criminal code for pretending to practise witchcraft.

“She said she came from a long line of witches and could do tarot-card readings,” says Detective Constable Corey Jones, who investigated the case. “It was through this that she cemented [the lawyer's] trust,” setting the stage for the fraud to follow, which, according to Det. Constable Jones, included claiming fictitious expenses such as law-school tuition and cancer treatments.

Det. Constable Jones says it’s rare to charge someone under Section 365, but the circumstances of this case fit.

“It’s a historical quirk,” says Alan Young, a professor at Osgoode Hall Law School. Some sections of the Canadian criminal code reflect offences that were more prevalent centuries ago. When the code was enacted in 1892, witchcraft per se was no longer a punishable offence, he says, but lawmakers wanted to ensure witchcraft wasn’t used as a cover for fraud.

Section 365 states that any one who fraudulently pretends to exercise or to use any kind of witchcraft, sorcery, or enchantment or who “undertakes, for a consideration, to tell fortunes … is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.”

“It’s not really about occult activity,” Prof. Young says. “It’s about defrauding people.”

The lawyer met Ms. Persaud, who claimed to be in law school, in early 2009 and started to mentor her. According to Det. Constable Jones, he probably gave Ms. Persaud more than $100,000 over the year.

Det. Constable Jones says the scheme came to a head when Ms. Persaud said they were going to make money hosting and providing security for certain celebrities at the Toronto International Film Festival. “That’s where everything fell apart because of course no Hollywood celebrities showed up,” he says.

In fact, he points out, this kind of offence could lead to a simple charge of fraud, which carries longer jail terms and stiffer fines. As it stands, a conviction of pretending to practise witchcraft carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail and/or a $2,000 fine.

“There are probably more cases than we know of,” Det. Constable Jones says. He says victims are sometimes embarrassed to report such frauds to police.

Ms. Persaud remains in custody and also faces fraud charges relating to this and other cases. She is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 24.

Pointy hats, black cats and broomsticks – Marcus Katz has heard it all before. The 43-year-old from Keswick is a witch… and he’s not ashamed to admit it.

Instead it is a celebration of nature, which is what drives him and his coven of 13 to perform rituals in the Lake District.

Marcus joined his first coven at the age of 18. He now runs Keswick’s Far Away Centre where he teaches witchcraft and tarot.

He is also High Priest of the Coven of the Seasons, which was formed four years ago. His wife, Brina, is sometimes the coven’s High Priestess, although other female members can also take on that role.

The Coven of the Seasons has members all over the country who come together in Cumbria several times a year.

There are four men, nine women, and no naked rituals. Says Marcus: “It’s too cold for that in Cumbria!”

Marcus Katz

“I’ve been interested in witchcraft since I was 13. Witchcraft is a pagan, nature-based religion. I believe it’s an authentic western spiritual practice.

“It is difficult to get past the old ‘pointy hats’ idea of witchcraft. A lot of witches don’t mind that because they prefer to be treated as outsiders. But our members are very much involved in their community.

“We look for people who are enthusiastic. We don’t want to convert people or anything. We tend to attract professional people. A lot of nurses, doctors and teachers. Our members come from as far as Wales, Leicester and London.

“We offer a very open, authentic and down-to-earth approach. We don’t consider it any stranger than people joining a pigeon-racing club, which is something I find bizarre!

“Generally 80 per cent of witches are female. I think there’s a stereotypical reason that women are seen as closer to the lunar cycles. And perhaps more psychic than men.

“Witchcraft has been revived since the 1950s and it has grown very rapidly in popularity. People are looking for more engagement in the natural world. A lot of the ecological crises have supported that. Witchcraft is the spiritual side of the political debate.

“We celebrate a number of the eight seasonal festivals, indoors and outside. We wear dark robes indoors and white outdoors.

“We do use Castlerigg stone circle but mainly when it’s quiet. We don’t particularly like the party atmosphere at the summer solstice. It’s a bit like performing high mass in a rave club.

“There are usually 13 in a coven. It’s a very good number to get into a nine-foot circle, which is the traditional space.

“Recently we performed a ritual which involved copper coins. We were at Grizedale Forest and we walked past a log which had hundreds of copper coins embedded in it. We stood there with our coins in our pockets and just looked at each other.

“People see that sort of strange coincidence as a manifestation of magic in everyday life. I believe everyone has had magical experiences.

“I enjoy it most when a ritual comes together, when people recognise a magical event is happening. It’s very difficult to explain that.

“A lot of people believe that witchcraft helps them engage with life in a more positive manner. Healing is a part of witchcraft. We have a number of therapists and doctors so we prefer to recommend all options.”

Janine Ashton

Janine, 30, is an administrator in Manchester. She has a deep interest in tarot and believes she is psychic.

“Witchcraft is derived from paganism. The church was always against it because it was challenging their religion. So they put a bad slant on it. We’re just celebrating the changing of the seasons. At Beltane [a festival marking the coming of summer] last year we all dressed up in white clothes and we had a May Queen and a Maypole. And we made special cakes.

“If you want something to happen, you can change things. Recently we went down to London to help promote the new TV series Eastwick. They asked us to do tarot and we also did a spell called a sigil.

“You write the thing that you want on a piece of paper, everybody chants, and you throw the piece of paper in the middle. Your wish is supposed to come true in the next few weeks.

“It sounds a bit like hocus-pocus but if people have enough will, things can happen. A few of them have come back and said their wish did come true.

“Mine definitely has. Mine was to do with work. I wanted to become a bit more focused.

“I try to incorporate as much as possible in my daily life but it’s very different from my nine-to-five life.

“The coven is like a family. Charlotte is like a sister to me. We went down to Stonehenge for the summer solstice. There were lots of druids dancing around the stones. It was just a really good atmosphere.

“My family are really open-minded. They’re not into the same kinds of things but they are interested. I explain that it’s positive, not dark magic. Whatever that is.

“It’s changed my life. Before I met these people I felt lost. When you feel different from other people it can make you miserable. You don’t fit in.

“Now I’ve found a place. Developing my spiritual side has made such a difference. Negative people have gone away. There’s no room for them in my life.”

Tali Goodwin

Tali, 40, lives in Keswick. Her partner, Lyn, is an astrologer and she became interested in tarot through him.

“I have been part of the coven for a year and it has changed my view of witchcraft. There are a lot of misconceptions but there’s nothing creepy about it.

“Witchcraft has made me recognise what actually matters in life. That you need to be more aware of the cycles of nature. Concerns about the environment have made it seem more relevant.”

Charlotte Venkratraman

Charlotte, 29, lives in Leicester and works in mental health. As a child she was taught tarot by her grandmother. She became interested in witchcraft two years ago after studying tarot at the Far Away Centre.

“Marcus is quite bookish. Everything’s based on references and old books.

“Rituals can be very simple. You start off by purifying the ground with salt water then you consecrate it with incense or with a candle.

“At Halloween the light is dying so we think of important people that have died and celebrate their achievements.

“You can use rituals in a physical way, perhaps by getting rid of hang-ups by writing them down and burning the paper.

“I don’t know if there are groups of people trying to do bad things with witchcraft. I suppose there might be.

“But the dark things are the things that are inside you. The horrible thoughts that people try to hide.

“My sister thinks I’m mad but my mum is okay. My grandma was a witch and people saw her as eccentric.

“Since joining Marcus’s group I’ve learned to be more myself. I’m more authentic, I’m not trying to be somebody else anymore. You learn about what you can do and what’s important to you. And you try to live that life rather than what other people think you should do.”

Original Link: http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/features/people/witchcraft_is_no_stranger_than_pigeon_racing_1_646799?referrerPath=home

The first holiday season after a loved one’s death can be among the hardest experiences for his or her survivors — burdensome and isolating while others celebrate in good cheer.But to remain quiet during grieving can lead to more problems, and community memorial events planned for this week aim to bring the bereaved out of their silence and into the support of families who may share their experience.
The annual Celebration of Light, to be held tonight in Oakland and Saturday in San Mateo, is an event open to the public and aimed at celebrating the memories of those who died this year, organizer Chris Taich of Pathways Home Health & Hospice said.

“To have a tradition that focuses on the light of their loved ones that died is important to bring forward in this season,” Taich said. “It really is more common that people are afraid to talk about them, their passed loved ones, and spoil the mood.”

“In the first year — not that grief is over after that — but the first year is a really intense year of everything being the first: first birthday, first holidays, first everything,” Taiche said. “We want to be able to walk that journey with them.”

The ceremonies are relatively simple and aimed to appeal to those of all faith traditions, Taich said. Attendees during the ceremony’s most important sequence walk to the front of the room, light a candle and speak aloud the name of their loved one.

“That’s one of the most difficult experiences for the bereaved: They feel like their loved one will be forgotten,” Taich said. “So in fear they avoid bringing up their names. But I think that compounds the grief, makes it more difficult for them to cope.”
Kari Totah, 42, attended the ceremony in San Mateo last year after her father’s death.

“It was a wonderful experience,” Totah said. “They had a gentleman there with a very powerful poem. … It was really intense, a husband who had lost his wife. He went through all the stages that they went through during her dying process. It pinpointed so many things I think all of us had gone through: hearing someone we love had not much longer to live, the hospital experience, with ‘do not resuscitate,’ dealing with different medical providers. It was very, very powerful and it evoked a lot of emotion from everyone in the room.”
Allowing strong emotions to flow is a crucial part of the grieving process, Taich said.

“Unfortunately, grief is one of those things that if you don’t let it in, it seeps in anyway and harms your life in other ways,” Taich said. “Closing off one emotion bottles up a lot of emotions. If you shut down your capacity to grieve, you may also be shutting down your ability to really love, and really care.

“We just don’t like those bad feelings,” she added. “We have an illusion that somehow we’re supposed to be happy all the time. And I don’t know anybody who is. Especially in grief and loss, we should allow ourselves to feel grief and sadness.”

The event is cathartic and healing not just for grieving families, but also for the hospice staff that hosts the event, said the Rev. Diana Brady, Pathways spiritual care director.

“Being caregivers doesn’t mean we are without the need for comfort ourselves in the midst of loss, and remembering people is a part of that,” Brady said.
“One thing I also love is that the ceremony is about light, a symbol you see within almost every faith tradition in the world,” she added.

“In the Christian faith, of course, there is the light of God: ‘Let there be light,’ and the light of Christ. In Judaism, it’s more representative light, like Hanukkah, more a symbol of God’s faithfulness than associated with a particular person. ”

“Within Buddhism, light isn’t connected with a person, but light represents the light of Buddha’s teachings. In Hinduism, light is associated with God’s infinite light, and Allah is referred to as the light of the heavens and the earth. Neopaganism can use candles or light to represent gods and goddesses. In Confucianism, Taoism, Sikhism, light equals life. Wicca uses light in rituals. In Zoroastrianism, it’s a symbol of goodness. In Kwanzaa, we use light in symbols for hope and courage. Light is a powerful symbol of hope and warmth to us just as human beings and we bring our meaning to it.”

In the end, Taich said, grief can hopefully be turned into something positive.

“One of the gifts that can come out of grief — and it’s hard to look at grief’s gifts early on — comes when they’re forced to live their life without this person,” Taich said. “There is a huge hole they don’t know how to fill and they won’t know how to fill. They’re forced to create a new life. In doing that, they’re forced to make discoveries about themselves. Often, they will some find some opportunity for growth, and even for transformation.”

Original Article: http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/localnews/ci_13905220