Episode 43 of Between the Earth and Stars is now available!  In this episode, we take a look at sugilite in the “Earth Below” segment, then introduce the new “Anthology” segment with a fairy tale collected by W.B. Yeats.  In the two-part main segment, we look at the value of “I don’t want to” feelings, then share a meditation on mud.  Yes, mud.

You can find the book Irish Fairy Tales by W.B. Yeats in several places online, here is a link to it on Project Gutenberg.

The music for this episode is “The Sidhe Set” by Avalon Rising, from their album Storming Heaven.  You can also find them on the Podsafe Music Network.

Lastly, our promo this month was for Baphmetis Meditation with Chris Orapello.

Don’t forget to contact me if you’d like to join our group for Module 2 of Orion Foxwood’s Fairy Seer Apprenticeship Series this summer! Email oraia@earthandstars.org by the end of April 2012.

Bright and dark blessings,
– Oraia Helene –

Between the Earth and Stars Episode 42 is now available!  In this extra-long “2012 Extravaganza” episode, we take a very close look at a number of the popular predictions and assertions made about the year 2012 and the “end of the world.”

Stars Above Segment: Planet X
Earth Below Segment: Pole Shifts
Main Segment Part 1: Galactic Alignments and Solar Flares
Main Segment Part 2: Mayan Calendars
Main Segment Part 3: Mayan Prophecies and Final Thoughts

Links:

In Part 1 of the Main Segment, I mentioned NASA’s search for Near Earth Objects that might impact Earth.

If you’d like more detail about the Mayan calendars and prophecies, please visit the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican studies, and take a look at the downloadable Presentation on the 2012 Issue.  You can also read this blog post about Updated Theories on the Tortuguero Monument Inscription.

The Sacred Texts Archive has copies of the Books of Chilam Balam – and, specifically, the K’atun Prophecies from the Chilam Balam – and the Popol Vuh, if you would like to read some of the prophecies and mythology for yourself.

Last but not least, I highly recommend that you watch “The Mayan Word” Documentary on YouTube, to hear what the modern Maya have to say, and to learn more about their culture.

This episode’s music was “Only Now” by Gaia Consort; find them at www.gaiaconsort.com.

Promos during the breaks were for The Infinite and the Beyond, Kakophonos, Divine Community, and Borealis Meditation.

Thank you very much for your patience while I finished this very long episode – I hope it was worth the wait!

Bright and dark blessings,
– Oraia Helene –

Episode 41 of Between the Earth and Stars is now available!  In this episode, we take a look at rutile (and one of my favorites, rutilated quartz) in the “Earth Below” segment, then we have an extra-long, two-part Main segment on dedications, initiations, and belonging.

In the first part of the Main segment, I mentioned a set of three categories of initiations, as laid out by Isaac Bonewits in “Varieties of Initiatory Experience.”  I most recently came across these last year in the article “The Sundering of Feri” by T. Thorn Coyle, where she added the fourth variety I mentioned.

In the second part of the Main segment, I gave a slight paraphrase of a quote by Robert Anton Wilson, and realized during editing that it wasn’t clear exactly where the paraphrase ended and my own comments picked back up.  The original full quote by RAW (from his DVD, “Maybe Logic“) was, “Everybody thinks it’s very hard to be a mystic — you gotta go through a helluva lot of effort to realize your union with everything — but actually you’re experiencing your union with everything all of the time. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be experiencing anything.”  So the paraphrased quote was really just the one sentence.

Promos in the middle were for New World Witchery and Pennies in the Well.  The music was “Shine” by Wendy Rule; find her at www.wendyrule.com.

Don’t forget to send me your thoughts about the year 2012 by the end of February, and what you think about all of the predictions and prophecies, if you want to be entered into a drawing for a copy of Etched Offerings: Voices from the Cauldron of Story, the anthology of Pagan fiction from Misanthrope Press.  Email oraia@earthandstars.org, and please put “2012″ in the subject line.

Bright and dark blessings,
– Oraia Helene –

Episode 40 of Between the Earth and Stars is now available!  It includes a tour of Canis Major and Canis Minor in the “Stars Above” segment, some thoughts about dogs and spirits in the new “Reflections” segment, and a look at apples in the Main Segment.  Yes, that’s right.  Apples.

First off, I want to apologize for a brief section of the show, in the main segment, that contains a strange buzzing sound, like some feedback or something that got into the recording.  I’m not sure what caused that, but it only lasts for about twenty seconds and doesn’t come back, so I hope you’ll forgive the slight disturbance.

In the introduction, I mentioned the short astronomy podcast called “Eye on the Night Sky,” put out by Vermont Public Radio.  I also mentioned the upcoming anniversary of the Witches’ Education League, based in Salem, MA.

The book I primarily talked about in the Reflections segment is The Other End of the Leash, by Patricia B. McConnell, Ph.D.  Toward the end, I also mentioned some books by Desmond Morris, including DogWatching, CatWatching, The Naked Ape, The Human Zoo, and Intimate Behavior.

In the main segment, I also recommended the book The Botany of Desire, by Michael Pollan.  If you found the stuff about apples interesting, you’d probably enjoy that book.

The featured music this month is by Treguenda.  The song during the break is called “Per L’amore Della Figlia,” aka “Conjure,” and the song at the end of the show is called “The Feast.”  Thanks again to the band for permission to play their music, and I hope you’ll all go visit their website to learn more!

Also announced in this episode is a contest that will run until the end of February!  Send me your thoughts about the year 2012, and what you think about all of the predictions and prophecies, and you’ll be entered into a drawing for a copy of Etched Offerings: Voices from the Cauldron of Story, the anthology of Pagan fiction from Misanthrope Press.  Please put “2012″ in the subject line, and we’ll tackle that subject in the March episode of the show. 

Bright and dark blessings,
– Oraia Helene –

Episode 39 of Between the Earth and Stars almost feels like an Episode 1, since this episode begins the use of the new podcast name!

In the first segment, we return to the PathWorking series on the tarot, which was started for the Kakophonos podcast.  In the second segment, we take a look at malachite in the Earth Below segment (which was formerly the Terra segment.)

Then in the main segment I walk through a comparison between the seven major chakras and the placement of the spheres of the Qabalistic Tree of Life in the body.  This (finally!) completes the three-part series I started back in Episode 35 and continued in Episode 37.

During the break, we hear a song from the Greenfield Community Chorus, of which I am a member!  This was a live recording from our first public performance, and features the song “A Winter Charm.”  We also end the show with another song from that performance, called “We Are the Water.”  If you are in western MA and are interested in participating, you can find the director, Crystalline Ruby Muse, at http://www.myspace.com/crystallinerubymuse or email her at crystallineruby@yahoo.com.

There were also several announcements at the beginning of the show.  First, you can find the new promo for this show in the podcast feed or by at sphinx.libsyn.com, or by using this direct link.

Second, you can find a brand new (and rather long) interview with me on Episode 24 of The Infinite and the Beyond, which is due out any minute now.

Third, the Pagan fiction anthology from Misanthrope Press, titled Etched Offerings, is now available!

Last but not least, please let me know your preferences for podcast length versus frequency.  (And yes, you can send me a graph if you really, really want to.)  Email me at oraia@earthandstars.org.

Bright and dark blessings,
– Oraia Helene –

Episode 38 of Media Astra Ac Terra starts off, yet again, with some important announcements, including the introduction of a couple of new segments!  First, we have a book review of John Michael Greer’s Apocalypse Not: Everything You Know About 2012, Nostradamus, and the Rapture is Wrong. Then I share a short story called “The Crystal Well.”  I wrote this for the 2011 “All Hallow’s Read” episode of New World Witchery, which you should also go check out!  And in the main topic I share some of my thoughts about making conscious changes in our lives.

During the break, we hear Gaia Consort sing “Evolve,” from their album Evolve.  You can find them at www.gaiaconsort.com.  We also hear a promo for Chris Orapello’s new meditation podcast Baphmetis Meditation.

Last but not least, don’t forget to send in your questions for the upcoming Pagan Podkin book project!  Email me at oraia@earthandstars.org.

And remember, next month this show will have a new name: Between the Earth and Stars.  See you then!

Bright and dark blessings,
– Oraia Helene –

I’m planning on explaining this in the next episode of Media Astra Ac Terra, but I figured I should probably mention it here as well…  My original plan, as announced, was to leave the feed for the daily Scrying Bowl podcast active for the month of November, giving people time to download any episodes they didn’t already have.  Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, and the feed has ended early.

There was a misunderstanding (on my part) when it came to ending the libsyn subscription for that podcast.  I thought I could end it during the month, and it would stay active until the next billing day, on December 1, when it would end – but, instead, it vanished as soon as I canceled it.  That was not my plan, and I apologize for not being able to follow through on my intentions.

Since the feed was deactivated, I went ahead and removed it from iTunes as well, so that hopefully no one is out there trying to download episodes that are no longer available.

I apologize again for any disappointment; I think I misread something in the process of canceling the subscription (and I *did* pay for the month of November, after all, so I don’t think I was completely off-base in thinking I would get the rest of the month).  You can still find the final, 10-minute silent meditation track on the podcast feed for Media Astra Ac Terra, and I hope that you find it helpful.  I’d also like to direct you over to the brand-new meditation podcast by Chris Orapello, called Baphmetis Meditation.  It’s a very timely addition to the world of Pagan podcasts, and I hope you enjoy that, as well. 

Bright and dark blessings,
Oraia Helene

Now that the Scrying Bowl podcast has ended, I wanted to share a 10 Minute (Mostly) Silent Meditation, which frames ten minutes of silence between two sets of three chimes at beginning and end.  I hope you find it helpful in your meditation practice – even ten minutes can really make a difference in your day!

Blessings,
Oraia Helene