One has to issue a vote of sincere thanks to the Italian and German governments, for their slapstick efforts to divert attention from the lingering political effects of the Iraq Deposition..
Gerhard Schroeder has announced he's cancelled his reservations at an Italian resort for his upcoming vacation. Now this follows a minor Minister in the Italian government heaping fuel on Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi's kapao comment of last week, by telling a national interview that he was quite familliar with the sight of German tourists in Italy.. that they could be easily identified as the loud, loutish blonde ones in the crowd. This prompted a response from the German media that this particular Minister has 'spaghetti for brains'...
European politics can still afford a good opera when it's necissary.. almost makes one yearn for lederhosen and Tyrolian hats, and conjures an image of a chorus made up of backbenchers..
The French might say 'plus que ca change, plus que le meme chose..' but then the French have said perhaps too much already..
For those who have inquired about the continuation of the thoughts on the Wiccan Rede and the Gospel of Thomas, the series will continue, when ongoing issues are resolved. Wisdom says we must accept that which we cannot immediately change, and patience demands acceptance of the timeframe others may have set. The work continues, and the workers abide.

Seems to be the weekend for the erection of barriers..
Tony's about as pissed off with the BBC as a Prime Minister has been, at least in recent memory, and not over the remaining popularity for Spitting Image episodes featuring himself. The mighty BBC itself is the target for the Prime Minister's fury, and that's really not using an inappropriate word.
The Beeb has made allegations the Government, with the Prime Ministers knowledge, 'sexed-up' intelligence reports, thus justifying the incursion into Iraq.
Really. How naive of the BBC to take on the Government over such an issue. How Pollyanna a point of view does it take to realise these machinations are ubiquitous, but by far more than tacit agreement, are never, ever, mentioned. Regardless the mobs demands for total disclosure, those in the news business know better than to step on one's sources toes, and the deeper irony is that while the BBC is indeed the 'peoples television', being paid for through television license subscription, Tony for the moment is the peoples Government, and unless the BBC is aiming at bringing Tony and Co. down, they pursue a chimera.
More barriers. Drumcree will echo to the fife and the drum today, as the Orange Walk proceeds. Police are on hand. Never have the streets looked cleaner, what with all that which can be thrown collected, and stored along the way...
And one must thank the Germans and the Italians for affording a laugh, during a week humour has been in short supply.. Italy's PM, Silvio Berlusconi now insists he has not apologised for comparing a German politician to a Nazi concentration camp guard..a 'kapo' actually.. he only said his words were 'misunderstood'.. a joke among.. friends..

Bloody hell..
That the consensus down at the pub.. as we watch our national sport being taken over by outside interests..
First Manchester United sells David Beckham to Real Madrid.. he'll get a better tan mind..
But now.. in the biggest deal in footballing history..Chelsea FC has been sold to a Russian businessman for £140 million..
The new owner, Roman Abramovich, made his money in Russian oil.. owns most of Sibneft.. one of the largest oil companies in Russia.. at least that's where his money is, now..
Well.. some of it's now en route to the coffers of Chelsea FC.. money which by the bye.. is very welcome indeed..
There was a time it was Britain being bought by the oil rich OPEC Sheiks.. will these middle-european entrepreneurs be the next wave..?
One can be sure.. France and Germany will be watch very carefully how much, and where European capital flows into Britain.. and the sector they fear the most, is that of the emerging Balkan states..

It's a good day to take a look at this island from the relative ease of a chair, inside, in proximity to a small fire if possible.. And while there are those who, dogged in their determination to play the golf they came to Scotland to bloody well play, still will wander the soggy links in this weather, most of the locals will confine themselves to work about the house til it's time to away for a pint..
But the point of this today, is the discomfort those who're dedicated to visiting this place are willing to endure.. This rain, this grudging service from those who deal with the public.. and this apalling public transport system..
There are those one is sure, who still, when visiting for the first time, having been prepared by the novels of Daphne Du Maurier, Neville Shute, Bill Bryson.. expect to see a British Rail station, immaculate, with uniformed people quietly going about whatever business they might have in an assured and responsible manner.. For the Thomas the Tank Engine locomotives to pull up, on time to the second, and for the waiting crowds to calmly wait for those who're debarking to make their way to the station itself before each passenger, as though by instinct, went into their compartments to enjoy their trip with their customary paper, music, or contemplation of the panoramic greenery..
Yes.
As though it's not difficult enough for those who visit and must contend with not only being on the wrong side of the road but, gods between us and evil, roundabouts..
But we must watch this, and being fair, previous Transportation Ministries, fumble about wasting millions of Pounds Sterling maintaining a standard of performance that should inspire a blush of shame from the most hardened of grifters..
Perhaps 'coming to Britain is a wonderful experience, but..' is the slogan they've been looking for.

One must stand amazed, at the seemingly general feeling among those elected to political office, that the public is a totally ignorant beast, willing to be led around by the snout by those who appear to be educated, concerned, and in control.
A fresh example of this political mindset is demonstrated by a statement by the President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi.. who has announced that Britains decision to remain distanced from the Euro was a 'political rather than an economic decision..'
One wonders how one becomes a top political figure, with amazing plenepotentiary powers, and still not understand politics and economics are two facets of the same game, each interdependant upon the other.
One also wonders how daft we're really seen to be by those we elect..
This is the eve of the annual EU/US Summit, and effectively Britain's been pushed into some commitment or another regarding this islands eventual involvement with the Continent.. or equally into standing firm with 'The West' and tossing our fortuned in with the US.. and the status quo..
France would not be pleased.. nor would Germany.. for this economy of ours is desperately needed to bolster the false props supporting the vastly over-inflated Euro.. in the wake of the Iraq deposement..
Given the state of the main economies supporting the single currency.. it should perhaps be set closer to 50 cents American.. and Jaques is well aware..

Quick notes.. fleeting thoughts..
While the media coverage has certainly been downplayed to an amazing extent.. Iraq is still a thorn in the side of George and Tony.. Things are not going quite as smoothly along the Road to Peace as might have been wished, with the populations mistrust of the occupying forces growing daily..
One would have thought a more comprehensive plan for the re-establishment of a civilian infrastructure would have been in place long before the first American troops left the comfort of their barracks..
The depth of the Western ignorance of how to conduct business in the Middle East is staggering.. and shame on the British.. who seem to have forgotten all that happened since the collapse of the Raj..
An issue which bears thought.. certainly has inspired comment down at the pub.. This legitimising 'gay' clergy.. Canada legalizing 'gay' marriages..
Now one has used quotation marks around 'gay'.. because it is euphamistic..
We'll allow this to stew for a while.. for while Pat Robertson might have thought Scotland to be a 'dark and dreary country filled with heathens and homosexuals'.. the truth is the spirit of John Calvin.. or of traditional Roman tenet.. still runs deep beneath the veneer of sophistication and political correctness..
One elderly lady of our acquaintance rcently commented, with some disapproval mind, that the new Minister who'd replaced the one who'd been at the Kirk for some hundred and twenty years or so.. or so it seemed.. had preached the preceeding Sunday in a light powder blue cassock..
My gods.. perhaps in Liverpool.. or Glasgow (god between us and evil..).. but Kirkoswald..?
The mind boggles..

An interesting exercise.. for those who have themselves been involved in a dispute within an adversarial judicial system.. wherein one finds it necissary to prove innocence, whereas it was always assumed guilt questioned..
Nevertheless.. an interesting exercise to be once again singularly reduced to public resources..
Peripatetic as this has been.. for the while it will likely become more so..
Interesting to note today though.. Prince William turns 21.. the curious mixture of the looney, bewildered, and devout have gathered at Stonehenge.. a wonderful sunrise there by the way..the village is quiet in preparation for this evenings celebration of the longest day..
For those keeping an eye on what the weekend might bring politically.. keep in mind the meeting of the Davos Group in Jordan..
Things are not going quite as smoothly as George might have hoped in Iraq..
And Tony.. these days he's turned his attentions to battering the daylights out of eight hundred years of government and judicial proceedures..
Watch this European Constitutional issue.. and the role France is taking, and that Germany will move towards..
Interesting times..

Kipling said it well..
'If you can keep you head when all about you, are losing theirs and blaming it on you..
If you can trust youself when all men doubt you, and make allowance for their doubting too..'
Indeed..
A meeting today which bears some attention.. a two day summit beginning in Thessaloniki. The European Union will be picking apart the articles of it's new Constitution.. at the least it will set a date for a meeting of the intergovernmental conference..
Recall 10 new states are due to join the Union next May.. France and Germany want something in place by that time which will assure them of their positions of first among equals..
As for the Euro in Britain.. one won't hold one's breath.. as yet too many of Gordon Brown's 'five tests' are not met.. and there's also the British public to deal with..

This is what justice has come to..
Farmer Tony Martin shot at the two men forcing entry into his remote Norfolk farmhouse, injuring a Mr Brendan Fearon and killing his 16-year-old accomplice...now while Mr Martin is serving a five-year manslaughter sentence, Mr Fearon plans to sue him for a reported £15,000, claiming his leg injuries have affected his ability to enjoy sex and martial arts...
District Judge Oliver said a full hearing would consider what rights a householder has to protect their property and whether a burglar can be deemed to be outside the law.
This is an issue that's been bandied about the pub for years.. and since the shootings at Hungerford and Dunblaine and the subsequent confiscation of all private firearms it's a contentious one with the farmer.. they claim an historic and legitimate right to own shotguns for the control of vermin..
Ahh.. what a pecadillo it all becomes though, when held up against the problems of uneducated gun owners such as those in the land of the free and the home of the household Glock..
Tony's recalibration of the larger cogs in his government bear mention..
Next time..

Viewing such issues such as the Euro through the 'prism of personalities' would be a waste of time and effort.. this gem of a phrase came from Tony.. in response to questions concerning the soap opera being played out between himself and his Chancellor, Gordon Brown..
This show is attracting more loyal attendants than Eastenders these days..
But it is precisely this operatic carbuncle on the backside of Labour that has become the focus in the single currency issue..
The fact Gordon wants in now, and Tony's promised a referendum which at this point would certainly fail.. and the lingering resentment Gordon hosts after losing the Party Leadership to Tony lo these many years ago.. is enough to have the backbenchers muttering.. and the source of many a chuckle at the breakfast tables around this island..
But one has to love that phrase.. 'prism of personalities'..
His speechwriter should get a bonus..

It's an interesting exercise, this reduction from high tech to no tech.. One finds how very much one depended on a system when suddenly it's not readily available..
An exercise in patience..
Regardless.. what appears to be the talk of the day is the ubiquitious Euro.. when and if it will be put before the British public in the form of a referendum.. There's talk of a possible change in the Chancellorship of the Exchequer.. Gordon Brown having apparently been found wanting in his ability to sell the single currency to an increasingly sceptical British public.. It's the setting of the interest rates y'see.. the tying of the British economy, which appears to be doing reasonably well at the moment.. to that of the poorest country in the Union..
It's frankly an emotional issue for most of this Island.. for literally centuries British politicians and armed forces have fought to maintain the political and economic automony of the Union.. To many it seems Westminster is ready to willingly conceed far too much control to the Continent.. allowing as it were, what we've historically resisted with vigour..
What with domestic issues, internal backbench rebellions, an inconclusive and as yet unacceptable resolution to the Iraq situation, Tony has his next year or so cut out for him..
How to convince us all this is a silk purse..

Ahh and the dance continues..
One of the prices we as Westerners must be willing to pay for those 'freedoms' we enjoy, is having them swept away from us at the drop of a hat.. when the Law feels itself affronted..
It's a starteling experience, for those who have never considered themselves to be criminal, to have a team of police appear in the early hours of the morning, announce they are there to confiscate all computer materials, hard-drives, and recordable disks..
While if system is indeed in place to protect the innocent, it seems almost designed to allow authoritarial assumpton of guilt, with the onus now being placed on demonstration of innocence.
I mean really,, There appears to be almost a manaical gleam of glee in the eyes of those who have sworn to protect the public peace when it comes to causing maximum discomfiture for minimal reason..
Nevertheless.. the wheels do turn.. slow albeit..
and revenge is a dish best eaten cold..

Seems a good day for reflection..
Ten years ago.. it was a feeling of nation relief.. with the news Britain's economy grew by 0.2% in the first three months of that year.. the declaration 'the longest recession since the 1930s officially over..' John Major was the Prime Minister.. Norman Lamont his Chancellor.. now of course Norman attributed the growth to the fruition of long-term government policies.. but the Institute of Directors saw it some what differently..their latest survey at the time, said improved performance was due to Britain's departure from the European exchange-rate mechanism (ERM).. now Britain had been forced out of the ERM on what had been known as Black Wednesday.. when the Pound Sterling fell below it's minimum value for membership.. It might be well to recall this.. when the issue of joining the Euro becomes a reality.. One would think the government will be acting on this soon.. Noises are being made..
Nineteen years ago today.. there was a ray of optimism in the worldwide dismay of the spread of this new disease, AIDS.. they thought the discovery of the virus which caused the disease..US Health Secretary Margaret Heckler said the virus was a variant of a known human cancer virus called HTLV-3. A blood test has also been developed, which, she said, would be available within six months, preventing the tragedy of transfusion patients contracting the disease through tainted blood products...she also suggested that a vaccine to prevent Aids might be ready for testing in two years' time.."Today's discovery represents the triumph of science over a dreaded disease," she said..
Yup..
And it was exactly.. only.. 50 years ago today.. when Two Cambridge University scientists published their answer to one of the most fundamental questions of biology.. how do living things reproduce themselves?
" In an article published today in Nature magazine, James D Watson and Francis Crick describe the structure of a chemical called deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA."
50 years from this.. to the reality of replication..
As John Prine so eloquently said 'and time is movin' faster.. singin' harmony..'

Parts the Fifth and Sixth
5. Soft of eye and light of touch, speak ye little, listen much
Yet another abjuration. The first phrase 'soft of eye' is of course a direction to be as wanting in apparent agression as possible. It might be pointed out that this is the first of the abjurations that implies that those with faith in wicca and the Godess, must when needs be, a gentle force on a situation. This does not contradict the 'live ye must' statement, but qualifies attitude rather than conviction. It is not to say that those who would not seek to fight, would refuse to fight. But it must be said that those who look for a fight, are ethically out of whack. The second part of the phrase is especially interesting, for while it's message is self evident, it is still an adage used commonly in the North of England, throughout Yorkshire and Northumbria. 'See all..hear all..say nowt..'. Words to live by. It also defines why wiccans and pagans in general do not proseletise, actively try to convert those who do not share exactly the same faith. As Christians are enjoined to 'go forth and spread the Gospel (the good news)'. pagans are instructed, for the most part, keep your peace, that those who will be drawn to the Old Ways will come of their own, and need no pulling or enticement.
6. Deosil go by the waxing moon, chanting out ye baleful tune
This is the first of a triplet dealing with attitudes to be adopted, ceremoniously, with the phases of the moon.
There would appear to be a bit of a problem with determining the etymology, indeed of even exacting a dictionary definition of the word 'deosil'. It means counterclockwise, but substantiation of such an assured claim, will remain for the moment undone. Howeer, 'baleful' is a word which bears scrutiny, both for what it has been made to mean, and that which in fact it does. Baleful is defined as 'full of evil or mischief;pernicious, harmfull, deadly'. Yet also is included the definition '*full of pain, misery, sorrow'. The issue with the mainstream churches and paganism has always been one of image. There have been great political forces at work, one's who's machinations belittle that of Machiavelli or Goebbels, which have painted paganism as something foul, and abominable. It was perhaps the greatest public relations jobs this world has ever seen, one with the scope to enforce an immediate response, even after 6 thousand years. For indeed the Christian position on paganism is only another step in the same direction as that of Judaism. However, this verse concerns itself with a ritual to be performed by those among the faithfull, in which the group or the solitary will circle a fire three times counter-clockwise during the eve of the waning moon, and while marching, will rid ones self of those elements of unsavory baggage that have collected over the preceeding 28 days. It is an opportunity to unload one's spiritual doubts to the godess, who is in her passing phase. She will take them with her, and leave you fresh to work on solutions rather than wallowing in guilt. Something along the lines of the sacrement of confession, but only every lunar month.

Parts the Third and Fourth
3.For the circle thrice about to keep unwelcome spirits out
The circle is a symbol common to all faiths. It represents the closing of the cycle, the completion. In wicca, as in many forms of pagan worship, those attending will form a circle (as indeed did the early Christians) and at some point will close it, by the joining of hands. It is the Worm Oroborous, the snake with it's tale in it's mouth. the Universally common symbol of some facet of every faith man has ever professed. The pacing of the circle three times is ritual that is obscure, but it is worth noting here for the first time, the mention of the relationship the number three has to paganism, and wicca in particular. The inclusion of this, and a couple of other basic rituals within the text of the Rede, is serving a purpose common to most religious texts. That being to enlighten those who lack even the basics of the faith. Within paganism there is the acknowledgement that malevolent spirits exist, that they are manifest among us, and that they must be guarded against. The faith allows the circle to have significance, in that it protects those within it from the forces that might be suddenly visible without. There is an element of 'danger' that is, while palpably there in mainstream religions, more readily admitted to, and therefore more frequently dealt with in paganism. Thus, the beginnings of caution, with the rituals for protection. It gives one the willies, to imagine one meeting the Green Man, Cernunnos, Calliach Morrigan, without knowing how to even begin to maintain a 'duck-and-cover'.
4. To bind ye spell well every time, let the spell be spake in rhyme
Another injunction to the initiate, for the Rede is the first statement of faith most are exposed to when really looking into wicca or paganism. There is the word 'bind', which is a suggestion of the power that will be allowed those who follow the path, for it implies there will be a force to be restrained. It also means that to add to the potency of a spell, exact repetition is essential. Recalling a rhyme, even in a foreign language, be it Latin, Greek, Aramaic, Romany or Gaelic, is always easier when it's a verse. One need not even truely understand the words, indeed those sounds uttered at some of the old ceremonies have no meaning we can fathom, but have simply been passed down orally, generation through generation, to be spoken exactly today, as they were uttered millennia ago. In versus, imperium.

Ahh.. politics.. and scandal..
Two words guaranteed a Pavlovian response from the British public.. and within the upper ranks of the Labour Party there has been much rubbing of hands with glee over George Galloway's trouble..this latest controversy surrounding the highly awkward left-winger is the one that may decide his political future - and they would dearly love him not to have one...
For many, his wartime comments on Abu Dhabi TV that Tony and George were "wolves" and urging British troops not to follow "illegal" orders were the last straw...
Mind.. one solution would be allowing the upcoming scramble for Scottish seats take care of him..a clutch of nervous senior Labour MPs - including cabinet ministers Gordon Brown, John Reid and Helen Liddell - face the disappearance of their seats at the next election under Boundary Commission proposals to cut the number of Scottish MPs from 72 to 59. So does Mr Galloway, with the number of Glasgow seats being cut from 10 to seven...
However it's done.. what Labour definately does not need at this time, is a member who can be seen as an open and aggressive champion of the former regeme in Iraq..
One wonders what they'd do in the States..

What's a newsman to do these days.. what with Saddam out of the picture.. the Washington hawks quiet.. Middle Eastern leaders keeping stumm in fear of more sabre-rattling..
It's almost positively dull..
Mind you.. Tony's turning now to backyard terrorism.. saying that a solution to the Irish question is 'frustratingly close'.. like a fresh roll of loo paper..just out of reach when you need it..
George Galloway..for those who don't recall he's the Glasgow MP who's been pro-Saddam since before the beginning and has been accused by one of our tabloids of taking baksheesh.. is still denying..denying..denying.. much like the Germanic-sounding Argentinians claiming to have spent the war being gaucho's on the Pampas..
Y'know people are strange creatures..
When having wandered into a position of vulnerability.. it seems almost human nature to bluster..to deny.. to refuse the truth under any circumstances..
When truth is offered.. ahh may we all be sure enough of ourselves to.. at least.. give it a listen..
So many lose.. on so many levels.. through intractability..
Then again.. there are times one simply has to move on..

Part the Third.
2. Live ye must and let to live, fairly take and fairly give
A more Levitical pair of exhortations one could possibly not find. Again, the Rede stresses the ethic of the faith, the walk that accompanies the talk, or in the case of wiccans, the silence. The reference to 'live ye must' is more than a bald statement that breath must be drawn, but is an allowance to the right to do what one 'must' to maintain. 'And let to live' is again twofold in it's meaning, for it applies not only to the right of those who follow the Path to be allowed , but provides for those who do not, to follow the Path of their choice, without judgement or opposition. These two statements demand ecumenism in it's true sense, and grants each and every individual with 'faith', to defend it, as well as follow it. This point is given even greater emphasis with the next exhortation, 'fairly take and fairly give'. Again the ethic is stressed with repetition, but puts as much onus on those without the faith, as those within. Paganism is a pacific faith on the whole, but recall it's roots are as bloody-handed as ever is Christianity, or Islam. There were tales mothers used to tell their children about the 'tinkers', Gypsies, those mendicant copperworkers and knife-sharpeners and such who used to travel the British Isles according to the Festivals in waggons, caravans. Legend had it they were the direct descendants of the true Romany folk, the last of the crossbreeding between the fey, and the mundane, before Christianity drove the old ways underground. These tales used to stress two things; one being one should never trust a tinker, for they'll always come out ahead in a deal, the second being never cheat a tinker, for their curses had true power, that they followed the Catanna, the Morrigan, the Shee (or more properly, the Sidhe..).The vengeance of a tinker was fearsome, and while there are those who would today deny there is a place for such observation, that modern wicca exists in a state of peace, it would have to be said 'the back of me hand to such blether', for wicca is a dual in it's nature as any other faith, and each and every practitioner of the Craft is as capable of taking the wrong path, as any fervent true believer in the propitiation of the Cross.

Easter Sunday.. and the tabloids are looking for something to keep the country's interest now Saddam appears to have retired to some undislosed place of comfort..
Seems the focus is retrospective.. and yet there are still some who speculate on the eventual process of reconstruction in Iraq.
Others are evaluating the effect this action has had on Tony..The Mail on Sunday says he is planning to visit the Middle East soon...reporting that he will try to find a solution to what it describes as one of the world's most intractable disputes - the bloody conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians...
Tony's future now depends on peerhaps two issues.. how the Middle East recovers from the body blow the West has inflicted.. not many countries in that particular area are comfortable with the reality that either the US or Britain could come a'marching in.. and depose rulers unfriendly or despotic..
However.. there are those who are not as sure this success has enhanced Tony's political position.. that the number of anti-war Labour supporters who will not vote for him again will roughly cancel out the number of pro-war campaigners who usually dislike him, but feel he should be rewarded...
Note...the challenges that were crowding in on the government before the war have not gone away and the way Tony deals with them might not be dramatically different to how he would have done beforehand...
It is a matter of pride for the country as a whole this morning... as we read once again "If you are ferocious in battle, remember to be magnanimous in victory".. the words of Lieutenant Colonel Tim Collins, as he led the 1st Battalion Royal Regiment into battle in Iraq..the speech profoundly moved Prince Charles to the point of writing a personal letter to the colonel, telling him "What you said encapsulated, in a brilliantly inspired way, everything we have come to expect from our armed forces." The address went down well in Washington too.. President Bush is to hang a copy of it up in his office.. the inspirational words, observes the paper, contrast strongly with those of US Vice-Admiral Timothy Keating, who told his troops: "When the president says go, look out - it's hammer time..
Ahh well.. rhetoric is rhetoric.. and we British have had much more time to polish our speeches to the troops than have perhaps the Americans..
Regardless..

Part the Second
The Wiccan Rede

1. Bide ye Wiccan laws you must, in perfect love and perfect trust..
The use of the word bide is in itself interesting, for it means a twofold commitment. To 'bide' is to live within, to reside. It is the actual physical boundaries of where you exist, and refers directly to one's home, or centre of existance. It also connotes an acquiescence of self, in that bide means to follow without question, to listen, to obey. The word suggests a commitment to the fundimentals of the Craft, and to that which defines 'wicca' today, that would be total in it's scope.
Wiccan laws is a phrase which puts to the test a number of perjorative statements from a number of sources over the millennia, for it asserts there is a code, an ethic, a law behind the faith. It is not one that works with or towards chaos, but is one that attempts to govern man's behavior to be as close as harmonious as possible with all that happening about each individual. It sugests there are accepted patterns of behavior to govern interactivity with both one's fellows, and one's environment, so while one does as one will, no one else and nothing else suffers as a consiquence.
The word perfect, especially as it is repeated in the following phrase, is an affirmation of the imperfection around us, and the need for the individual to realise that there is something beyond themselves which must be striven for. Paganism in it's many and various forms, allows many views to define 'love' and 'trust', not to mention' perfect', but each carries with it a core of imperfection, for it, as musts be, is the other side of the coin. Perfection is a state of enlightenment, an epiphany, an ascendancy, a possibility for each and all of us for we have examples of others who have achieved that state, so it must be within each creature on this earth to reach that inner self, that ka. Equally there is that other 'enlightenment', that is the obverse of perhaps that which we see as 'desirable', but no less tangible. For logically, one cannot exist without the other. Where there is order, it must be constantly in conflict with chaos. Where there is good, there must be the conflict with bad. Taking this as a given, then it is then illogical to deny either as a state of man, but it does define the concept of 'will'.
Love and Trust, the two conditions under which all wiccans must abide. These are again stipulations that have been common to religions from the beginning, for it is the assertion of subservience. To some extent, it is the purpose to supply all those with faith, with a mother and a father, a set of parents ethical and fair, forgiving yet stern, generous yet not without their demands. Parents are 'supposed' to love their children, and children, to trust their parents. This also binds those accepting this creed from the very outset, to a relationship with those who have also sworn to it, a kinship of 'faith', and the love and trust signifies the 'family' the initiate is joining, or the 'family' the practitioner belongs to.