JUNE SOLSTICE: Summer begins in the northern hemisphere on Sunday, June 21st, at 5:45 am UT (1:45 am EDT) when the sun reaches its maximum declination above the celestial equator. At the same moment, winter begins in the southern hemisphere. Happy Solstice!

Here at Wizitch HQ it's mid-winters day - this is usually the sign for the start of the really cold weather, a six week period until the next Cross-Quarter Festival day, half way between the solstice and the following equinox.  Some New Zealanders celebrate Christmas at this time as the original festival was a celebration of the Winter and the promise of rebirth with the return of the sun in the Springtime.  With a great number of expat Brits living here (around a third of New Zealanders where born in Britain) there is a strong association with Winter as the Christmas season.

In practices that predate Christianity many European cultures celebrated the Yule Festival.  A tree would be decorated to symbolize fertility and great fruitfulness for the coming cycle, and gifts were often exchanged as a symbol saying that even in the darkest times we still have enough to share with others!  What a great affirmation that is!

Wizitch favours the name 'Xmas' for this festival.  'X' is one of the oldest known Rune markings known amongst the Northern European tribes - it is the one Runic symbol which has no opposite or negative meaning.  The symbol, 'X' is called Gyfu and it means 'gifts' and the giving and receiving of gifts.  A closer look at the symbol soon reveals it's appropriateness.

The extending arms of the 'X' represent expansion, energy spreading from the centre and this is traditionally associated with the Sun, the greatest radiator and giver of life's gifts we can have.  All life stems from the Sun and from a 'Spiritual Centre'.  Between the arms of the 'X' is four inward pointing arrowheads, representing the Four Seasons, the Four Cardinal Directions and the Four Alchemical elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water.  This can be seen as the 'Gift's of the Universe coming to each individual centre of awareness, each person that is open to receiving.  Additionally, the left and right sides of the 'X', ">" and "<" illustrate giving and receiving, Male and Female principles meeting in equal yet different harmony.

'X' of course has other associations with abundance, wealth, gifts and giving - any self respecting Pirate knows that 'X' marks the spot where the treasure is buried.  And additionally many folk also sign off letters with 'X's as a symbol of giving and love, the Kiss.

For this reason, amongst others, Wizitch likes to refer to the Yule Season Festival as Xmas.  This seems like a good way to remember the original 'reason for the season' prior to it's cultural pollution and subsequent assimilation by Christian thought.  Christ, whose personality is archetypically 'Sun-like', is the 'Gift of God' and the pathway to a personal spiritual connection.  Christ's birth is surrounded with 'Gift-giving' symbolism.  The innkeeper who gave them shelter when he had none left to give, the Three Wise Kings with their Gifts of Gold, Incense and Myrrh, the actual Gift of Life itself as symbolised by the act of giving Birth.

So, in the spirit of giving and with goodwill to all humankind, Wizitch would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone, everywhere a very Merry Xmas!

(You can discuss this topic Here)

To Western Astrologers the Solstice also marks the time that the Sun moves from one Sign to another, from the Airy and communicative house of Gemini to the deeper Watery emotional sign of Cancer the Crab.  Cancer has many associations with protection, the soft inner flesh of the crab is protected by a hard outer shell, and ferocious oversized pinchers.  In the same way our Northern Hemisphere friends should protect their soft flesh with sunscreen and our Southern Friends should protect their soft flesh with layers of clothing.

And of course, Happy Birthday to all you Cancerian born folk out there!

 

As Above, So Below

A lot of Magical thought is based on the Laws of Association and the principle of 'As above so Below" or as a Christian would say, "... on Earth as it is in Heaven".

Here's an interesting example to think about:  Alchemists and Astrologers associate the Sun with the Metal element of Gold, which is associated with the heart and the Sign of Leo the Lion, King of the Forest.

At the moment the cycle of sunspot activity is at an all time low - since regular sunspot observations started there has never been a time when the sun had so few spots.

At the same time World Economics are depressed as the Recession takes hold - there is a lowered amount of activity in the "gold' of the world.

Now Wizitch is not going so far as to say that reduced sunspot activity 'causes' an economic slowdown, or that an economic slowdown 'causes' a reduction in sunspots.  We would have no way to test that hypothesis to see if it can be considered to be 'true'.  By the same token there is no way to confirm that it's not true.  This is a form Cosmic Uncertainty.  What is more certain is that any symbolic correlation between sunspots and financial activity levels can only have relevance in terms of Perception.  We have 'perceived' that sunspots are reduced and that Finances are also reduced.  "As Above So Below" can be perceived regardless of the existence or not of a direct causal link.

We at Wizitch think that it is not very productive to argue whether there is or is not a direct link between between Solar Activity and Terrestrial activity but whether or not it is useful to think about things in this manner!

  This image is of the Sun yesterday (credit SOHO/MDI) taken from spaceweather.com - a fascinating and highly recommended site for anyone interested in astrological happenings.  Note the absence of  sunspots.

You can discuss this topic further here

More general news - The New Zealand All Blacks defeated the visiting French Rugby Team last night, winning the match but not quite getting enough points to win the competition - why is this important?  On one hand Wizitch has only a most passing interest in sport yet on the other hand Wizitch is a passionate sports fan.  The hand that has only a passing interest is even so still gratified that the Kiwi's beat the French - which serves them right for testing all those nasty Atomic Bombs on our South Pacific doorstep at Muroroa Atoll.  OK so they stopped doing that some time ago but there is still resentment here toward the French for having tested their bombs here.

Other news; Hubble the Wizitch Cat and Gremmils the Wizitch Cat are getting on with, if not greater amiability at least with less overt hostility.  There is still some tension amongst the feline component at Wizitch HQ but we are pleased to report that the situation is now much more settled.  Hubble has been doing a little more staring into space over the last few days as she has been to the vets for surgery.  She is clearly still sore and exhibits a tendency to move in slomo - as most cats do only she's doing it more so!

She's recuperating well, and is still as delightful as she ever was.

The Weather? It's cold and grey outside, typical of midwinter in these parts.

The website?  Since our data-loss event a couple of weeks ago things have only been advancing sporadically.  Progress is being made but not as quickly as we would like.  We are committed to bringing lots of new content to Wizitch.com on a regular basis so this setback has been a little disappointing.  We'll keep you all advised of developments as they...er... develop!

The Forums - a small but keen group of core members have been contributing to discussions at the Wizitch Community Forums and we continue to encourage folk to sign up for these forums and share some of the great vibes that are happening there.  If you are interested in music we have opened a new forum called the Auditorium where members can share their music and discuss all things musical.  Please do check out our forums - you might find you like it!

Happy Solstice Everyone!

Wizitch

Greetings People of Planet Earth.....

Here's another of our irregular Wizitch News updates - Here we are just 2 days after the full moon and we have a selection of news items for your perusal.  We have good news, great news, annoyingly disappointing news and general news.

Starting with the good news Wizitch is pleased to announce that our Wizitch Community Forums have started well and are looking good.  We have a small group of core members who are regularly contributing and we have extensive plans to attract more members (plans which have hit an unexpected snag which is part of the annoyingly disappointing news).

So far most of our forum members are 3d Artists in one way or another which is great but we want to attract all sorts of folk with all sorts of other interests too.  If you've got an opinion or a theory or a photograph or a favourite recipe or.... well pretty much anything, please feel free to sign up and add your voice to the existing conversations or start a conversation of your own.  There is no bad input!

Well, no bad input except for spam!  Yes we've had a couple of Spam attacks which makes our forum totally legit - it's not a real forum if it hasn't been spammed at some stage!

Moving on with some more great news this time - The Arrival of Scarlett!   We at Wizitch are very happy about this long awaited development - one of the greatest joys in our Wizitch existence is our connections with our younger friends, Millie, Tatiana, Kimberley and others.  Scarlett was born to our very good  friends C and N on the morning of June 4th, a brand new shiny sister for Tatiana and Caitlin.  On her second night home from the hospital Scarlett's parents bought her to our Riverside Cottage to introduce her.  Of course Wizitch was completely smitten by the tiny placid bundle.

The picture at left shows Scarlett absorbing some serenity vibes from Wizard's aura.  She clearly approved of  Wizard's performance as a piece of furniture as she slept in his arms for an hour or more, much to his delight.

Wizard and the happy father also performed the traditional 'New Baby Rite' by enjoying a nice fresh cigar each out on the deck (despite the cold wintry conditions). This was a rare treat for Wizard who stopped smoking some years ago. He later said "The cigar reminded me simultaneously of why I had smoked for so long and why I chose to stop smoking!  It was delicious and disgusting all at the same time".

As a symbol to mark Scarlett's arrival in this world Wizard created this special image (At right).  The 'Koru' is the Maori name given to the new unfurling fern frond and symbolizes new life, growth, strength and peace. It is an integral symbol in Maori carving and tattoos.

They come in many forms - this particular Koru is my version of a traditional Koru meaning 'Whanau' - family, extended family, friends and the tribe.  The two large fronds at the top represent the parents, the two smaller fronds represent the older sisters Caitlin and Tatiana and the smallest double Koru in the middle represents Scarlett, the new-born Gemini child.  The Koru (modeled using trueSpace) is depicted against a sunrise to represent a new dawn, a new beginning

Speaking of extended families and new arrivals.....

Witch's and Wizards are trained to expect the unexpected but if Wizitch saw this development coming they very carefully ignored the signs!

Meet Hubble, the latest addition to the Wizitch community.  This cute little black cat has been sneaking into our house and stealing food from Gremmils' plate.  As you may recall our dear old cat Kryten passed away about 4 months back and Gremmils, our fluffy tortoiseshell moved in a month or so later.    Anyway, this stray appeared to be living under our house and in a tree by the front fence.  She (we think she's a she!) has been getting beaten up by the other neighbourhood cats and with the advent of the cold weather she'd been starting to look a little sad.

As you all know Wizards hate being cold and Witchy has the largest heart in the known Universe and so we couldn't bear the thought of this little puss out in the frost all alone so we enticed her in with a bowl of food and she's been here ever since!

She's settling in very nicely (although Gremmils has something of a negative attitude about it!) and makes a delightful addition to our household.

We've named her Hubble, a name Witchy came up with, that we think resonates on a range of different levels.  Hubble of course was the famous astronomer from Cincinnati who demonstrated that the universe is expanding - our Hubble demonstrated the same thing by expanding our household to fit her!

Secondly, she's black like the night sky - actually a rich dark mahogany colour as you can see in this shot Witchy took of here in a rare sunbeam. 

Thirdly like the famous Hubble Space Telescope she spends a lot of time gazing into the distance!  Lastly, and perhaps more suitably for a Witch and Wizard's pet, she reminds us of the famous line from the three witches in Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' - "Hubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble".

Hubble' is of course the new cat, 'Bubble' is an affectionate nickname Wizard often uses for Witchy, 'Toil' refers to Wizard, presumably because it can be hard work to live with him, and 'Trouble' refers to Gremmils who is having a little trouble accepting that she's now one of two cats rather than Master and Overlord of the entire place!

So all in all it seemed a most cromulent name.  Hubble is possibly the most affectionate cat we've ever met in contrast to Gremmils more aloof and ladylike persona.

Wizitch has been looking forward to posting this update for some time - along with the great news about Scarlett's arrival and Hubble's moving in we were also intending to announce the grand opening of a new album in our 3d Art gallery.  So it's somewhat disappointing and rather annoying to have to say sorry but it's not happening yet.

Late last night Wizard was applying the last final touches to the Album, checking spelling and continuity in the narrative and generally trying to get everything as cool as possible for the publication.  Somehow, somewhere, something went pear-shaped and all the hard work Wizard had been putting into the album over the last week was lost.  This cast something of a cloud over things however it could have been far worse.  The Galleries went down for a while but we were able to restore them - except for the latest work added over the last week. 

We at Wizitch always strive to find the lesson in any occurrence and the lesson here seems pretty clear - back up the databases more regularly!  There's been no permanent damage and Wizard has already made some inroads into redoing the lost work.  Depending on other real-world/real-life developments we hope to be publishing the new album next week - sooner if we can fit it in.

We apologise for the delay but hope to present something even better and well worth waiting for.

It wouldn't be a Wizitch update without some reference to the weather.  According to the Meteorological Service we have just had the wettest and coldest May in 60 years.  Typically, we appear to be living in the only place in the world that doesn't have Global Warming!  We like to do things our own way around here!

Heavy rain and cold winds from the far south bought surface flooding to our street and torrents of cold wet stuff to our garden.  Surface flooding is not that uncommon around here at this time of year when fallen leaves clog drains and winter weather patterns arrive but this season has been a marked contrast to last year when we were treated to a great Indian Summer.

Of course it's difficult to prove but we suspect Hubble the Cat is responsible for the inclement weather - it's likely she organised it in an effort to garner our sympathy!

And that's it for this update - we hope you have enjoyed reading about developments in our little corner of the Pacific Ocean and that you'll come back and visit us often.

All the best from the team at www.wizitch.com.

Announcement!

Hear ye, hear ye .....

Here's another Wizitch update - normally you won't get them so close together but this special notice is to advise you that the Wizitch Community Forums are now live, up and running.

Do please visit, sign up (it's painless) and share some thoughts with other interested minds.  If you are reading this invitation it's because you've been deemed either interesting or interested enough to be of interest!  Perhaps the universe is telling you to sign up!

If you are curious about life the universe and everything with a particular focus on Art, Spirituality, Healing and .... well anything really - please come and check us out!

The forums are divided into four categories;

    1: The Front Rooms: Here is the most public and open area with a Welcome area, a casual lounge and even a "rubber room" for venting your frustrations!

    2: The Artist's Quarter: For discussion on Art in general , 3d CG Imagery, 3d software and so on.  There are Galleries for your cg images and digital photos and there is a dedicated forum specifically for trueSpace related topics.

    3: The Magick Circle: Discuss Spirituality, metaphysics, Healing, hypnosis and the cooking of good food!

    4: The Body: Some may consider this the most risqué of the forum categories as it's dedicated to the discussion of Nudity, Naturism and nakedness in general.  If you're comfortable in your own skin you'll be comfortable here - if you're not comfortable in your own skin perhaps you'll pick up some pointers here.

So please come on over to the Wizitch Community Forums and join in.  We can make it whatever we want to.

Wizard is committed to continue working with trueSpace and supporting the remaining trueSpace community for as long as possible.  With this in mind he wishes to extend a special welcome to those of you who are trueSpace fans and users. 

Augusto (Prodigy) has opened a great new trueSpace forum and I don't wish to take any energy away from the brilliant and great job he is doing there but if you are interested in a quieter and more wide ranging discussion forum you are most welcome at the Wizitch Community Forums where we have a dedicated trueSpace forum.

Whatever your background, if you're interested we'd love to see you there....

All the best

Wizitch

PLANET WIZITCH