Happy 2014 Everyone!! / Birthday of folklorist Sir James Frazier

Sir James George Frazer is perhaps best known for his collection of folklore and mythology, The Golden Bough, published in 1890. The work details legends and myths from many different cultures throughout history. Frazer theorized that human belief systems had begun as primitive magic, which was then replaced by religious dogma, which has now been replaced by scientific knowledge.

Frazer was perhaps one of the first anthropologists to analyze the link between myth and ritual ceremony. The Golden Bough is a study of legend and myth and how they are interpreted into ritual and celebration. Frazer's interpretation of the cycle of life, death and rebirth has carried on to this day, and in his work he explained that ultimately, this cycle is at the core of myths from every part of the globe.

For many modern Pagans, this book of folklore is a worthy thing to own, simply because it details religion and ritual from its early day, and follows the evolution of man's belief. If you plan on picking up a copy of The Golden Bough, get an unabridged edition, because it contains archeological support for Frazer's theories which was left out of the abridged version. It can be found at many used bookstores, and there are illustrated editions available.

- The Crafty Witch

Auras

As living, energy-emitting, spiritual creatures, there is essentially no doubt that we all have a personal aura that can be seen and possibly photographed.  Religious photographs depicting a supernatural  glow around the subject are classic examples of the existence and the importance of our own personal auras, and every life form has an aura - be it human, animal, or plant.  Each person's aura is uniquely individual, much like a fingerprint, and interpretation of the fluctuations in intensity and color can give us meaningful insight into the thoughts, feelings, and even the health of ourselves or those around us.  

Though most of us can't see the auras of ourselves or others, some people apparently can, and their reports are what we must depend on to understand the significance of the color of the aura, how far the aura emanates out from the body, and how we can use this data to reveal more about ourselves or others. Unlike the religious pictures mentioned above, which usually portray the subject with a white or golden aura, auras actually cover the spectrum of color, and the colors and intensity of the aura change constantly along with our moods, thoughts, and levels of energy.

Science has not embraced the concept of auras, though they do acknowledge that each living creature emits gasses, radiation, and energy.  Scientific testing has been inconclusive, as would be expected when trying to test an ever-changing, highly variable phenomena such as auras, but photography techniques are being tried all the time in an effort to produce consistent results, and as technology advances, it is almost a certainty that someone will stumble upon a way to get consistent photographs depicting auras.

Despite the scientific skepticism of auras, this concept has been around since the beginning of time, and there is a lot of data pertaining to them from all over the world that is in basic agreement on the meanings of the colors, the intensity of individual auras, and ways to become more sensitive to their existence.  It is this data that we will compile and use in this section to try to give an accurate depiction of auras and how they can be used as a vehicle by which we can understand our thoughts, moods, and even our very existences more clearly.