#9201 - Feb 1992

Digital Archiving Completed by the Ethnography Lab, A University of Toronto Anthropology Initiative
and Produced in Collaboration with David Perlman/Wholenote Media Inc between July-December 2015.
Page Eight I February 1992
COMMUNITY
Kensington Market DRUM
PAG~N WAY
by Pamela A. Brown
.The other day I was walking to work thinking about
this column. I was feeling my way through my beliefs
and the word "sister" popped into my mind. I am a sister
to all women, I thought. No, all living things. Yeah, that's it.
I strutted along happily contemplating the implications of this w~en
something very poignant happened. I passed thr~e men w~rmmg
themselves at a hot-air vent on University Avenue, and as I sa1led by
I heard ori of them say, "sister?... shit!"
When something like this happens constant need to learn, and the
to me I am always immediately fact that wh~le evolving, most
awed .. These are the daily lessons organisms on this planet seem to
from life, I think. Listen well. learn. Or, in other words, while
There is an energy, a force, learning, they evolve. Become
and I have co~e to call it The more complex. Adapt to changes
Greater Workings of All Things. in their environment. ..
It refers to my undeniable sense of The cycles, patterns, and
connection to all that I experience. interconnections of chaos provide
My subjective awareness that at the means for learning/evolution.
the same time, knows each other All that lives is a part of these
subjective awareness in our cycles. The cycles are ever
universe. All my life I have changing, ever spiralling so that
searched for the common ground. within them new things develop
It is blatant in birth and death, and old ones erode. · When I have
which are both absolutes, but what a real 1 desire to learn about
happens between these absolutes? something, I have faith that I will
I think it is absolute freedom that be provided with what I need.
happens. Chaos.
Sometimes it's as simple as
Chaos
running into an old friend who
My dictionary thinks chaos among knows the person who can show
other things, means complete con- me a new resource. Othertimes it
fusion, but I don't. To me there is the unexpected arrival of money
are patterns,, cycles, orders and that enables me to buy what I
interconnections within existence. need to complete a project.This is
It is chaos because nothing exactly the privilege I have because of the
the same ever occurs twice. Like society I live in; in a just world
snowflakes. When I have an everyone would have them.
experience like the one above I Wicca
think it is part of these patterns When I first met someone who
and cycles; part of the Greater knew something about wicca, I
Workings of All Things. had already developed a lot of the
Regardless of what motivated that philosophy I just did my best to
man to say what he did, it had explain. What blew me away was
significance to/for me, and I how wiccan thought embraces the
learned something from it. relationship between people and
Learning is my most favourite these cycles, patterns and
thing. I read constantly. I love interconnections, and it refers to
talking with people. I write down this, what I called The Greater
my dreams . . Everywhere, all the Workings . of All Things, as
time, learning· is available. Natural Law.
Whenever I get into a "why are Magic is a part of Natural
we here" conversation my answer Law.
is: "to learn." . In the autumn I always feel
.
To me, the evident (and more t. tal 1 sense the passing
1 h .d ) sen 1men .
Important y t e not so ev1 ent of time, and there is a smell in the
c y c I e s , p a t t e r n ·s a n d air that sparks the memory of old
interconnections within chaos friends and places from the past.
promote evolution. Usually evol- I feel a gathering within of all that
ution is presented as something I am. This intrigued and
that you can only recognize over a · disturbed me, I wrote poems about
period of thousands or millions of it, compared notes with other
years, but it is always happening.
I think that learning is evolution,
or that millions of years of
learning results in what we refer
to as evolution.
In Michael Tobias' novel Voice
of the Plq.net, Gaia explains that
evolution is motivated by desire.
I identified that idea with my own
'Oo,..'.._ +hrow me
ourtU
~~
~ ,-----
'Sell tvle -1-hr.. ~h Q:.
tl""Ee c:..b1a~;f;ec:l ~!
f"dlotv ~e ro~pon
-=-.nd de~; Is ! ~
,.,
-0-
/ '.
crystals, books, music,
herbs, ritual tools,
jewellery ...
79A Harbord St.
Toronto, Ont. M5S 1 G4
(416) 975-8961
· Fax (416) 975-5261
MARY ANDERSON
lB5iia=:J
people, but I was never able to
satisfy my restlessness.
Then, when I learned what
Halloween is according to wiccans,
I finally understood my
feelings of restlessness.
Halloween, or Samhain is _ the
witch's new year. It is when
everything involved in the seasonal
cycle comes to a crashing,
shivering, spiralling conclusion
and immediately begins to prepare
for the next year. It is when
rebirth happens. It is said that at
this time of the year the veil
between life .and death is very
thin.
For me wicca wasn't something
new, instead it is a key to
ideas, theories, beliefs and values
that I have always had. In my
own life I can sometimes catch
glimpses back down the path that
lead me to where I sit now,
calling myself a witch. Growing
up I spent every .summer at my
parent's cottage. One summer
when I was about twelve. I had an
experience of awareness that I
now think was . my first real
connection with the goddess and
the god (at least, it is the earliest
one I remember). I was
walking along the shoreline, the
sun was glittering on the water
seeming to make stars that jumped
across the waves. I had a
favourite rock that was flat on top
and always warm from the sun,
and it was secluded by trees. I sat
there, feeling very secure and
content watching the river, and
then something compelled me to
take off my clothes. I remember
feeling excited in a very sexual
way, and it came from inside me.
Now, looking back, I think the
goddess within me awoke and
opened herself to the sun, the god.
I was simply initiated. I
returned there several times to
repeat the ritual that summer, it
was a quiet happy secret that I
treasured. I wouldn't be surprised
if it was right around Midsummer
(at the end of June) when it first
happened because it was in the
first week that I was there - right
after school closed.
There have been other experiences
too, and these, along with
my .massive consumption of
fantasy and science fiction books,
personal tendencies like laying
naked in moonlight, and things
learned from other people, that all
"prepared" me for when I was
first introduced to wicca about
twenty months ago. More next
time.
Employment
Opportunities
The Toronto
Disarmament Network
is seeking women and men
able to communiCate
effectively with others.
Willingness to work for
social change essential.
Knowledge of
contemporary Peace,
Environmental and
Economic issues an asset.
Call Allan ~etween 11 :am
and 5:00pm Monday to
Friday,
tel: 535-8005
WORK FOR PEACE
SO YOU FINALL V QUIT SMOKING? Now comes ...
Staying Quit
by ·Amina Miller
CONGRATULATIONS. You have given yourself the best
gift possible. You have also helped to make your 1992
both healthier and wealthier.
However, as many of you are finding out, stopping
smoking is one thing, staying stopped is another. Nicotine
is a very addictive drug and smoking is a well practised
habit. There may be times when you feel you are going to
"cave in" to the urge.
There are several things you can do to cope with the
craving. (You may need to do different things at different
times.) Some of the techniques are:
• Drink a glass of water by small noisy sips. This helps
$atisfy the oral craving.
• Chew gum. It also helps with oral craving and gives
the mouth a definite flavour.
• Keep your hands-- busy. Part of the pleasure of
smoking is the holding and handling of cigarettes. Hold
or handle something else.
• Brush your teeth. Enjoy your nice fresh breath and
cleaner teeth.
• Avoid your old "cigarette break" situations, e.g.
have coffee in a different place, or move the phone to
a different spot.
• Hang around with non-smokers and choose to sit in
non-smoking areas whenever possible
• Review the reasons you wanted toe quit in the first
place ( or second or third ...). Expense, bad breath,
dingy teeth, health, pressure from children.
• Review the progress you have made:
Count and gloat over the money you have not spent
on cigarettes. Admire your whiter teeth and enjoy your
better breath (others will). Your health will already
have started to' improve, and you will soon start to
notice that you are feeling better. Your children are
relieved, their health will also improve and you are now
being a good role-model for them.
• Many research studies have show the value of
nicotine gum and slow release skin patches etc. in
reducing the craving and contributing to the person
staying off cigarettes.
However, research has also consistently shown that no
matter what method is used to quit the habit, you are
more likely to stay quit if you ALSO have the support
from those who understand what you are going through.
So join our free weekly support group
for people who want to remain an X-smoker.
We understand how difficult it can be for you
and we can help each other.
Call Amina at 364~41 07, West Central Community Health
Centres, Alexandra Park Clinic.
Stereo and Hi Fi Service,
repair and recycle rather
than replace. Call the
experts at Wringling
Audio Service, 364-5738,
555 Queen West.
LOSE THAT EXTRA
WEIGHT with a dietary
high fibre diet. Tastes
great. Call us today to find
out more about the plan.
Phone:416-781-2307 for
appointment.
Bloorco
Veterinary
Clinic
Consultation by appointment
Monday to Saturday
Health care, surgery, and acupuncture
079 Bloor Street West
block and a half east of Dufferin)
16) 537-9677 Dr. Jack