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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 31, 1978)
Psychic’s energies revel at witching hour / . I 7 By CHRIS DOLGENOW For the Emerald Shakespeare's witches prey on man. Cunning sorceresses con jure spirits, stir cauldrons, and cackle. On Halloween Eve when the harvest moon shines bright against the pot black sky, black witches take off astride broom sticks with capes flapping against the wind as they cast spells, here and here. Or so the legend goes. Norma Cordell of Eugene dis pels these myths. She’s not a witch, but she still adheres to some of the rites of Halloween celebrated by true witches. Often, on Halloween, Cordell leads rituals in her home. She says these ceremonies are per formed "to center yourself." They consist mostly of lighting a candle and reciting a benediction. Energy is the key, says Cordell, a bio energetics and gestalt therapist at the Oregon Institute of Holistic Health. During the ceremony, she draws energy from everything, particularly the earth. ‘'There is a certain realm of spirituality with everyday living," she says. “The limits are un known.” Witches have recognized the potency of nonphysical energy for 6000 years. The witches’ Sabbath Halloween marks crucial agricul tural and astronomical turning points in the season. Witches, whose practices reflect nat uralism, find Halloween among the most propitious times to prac tice magic. Witches conduct rituals on Hal loween and other times of high energy. Covenant members form a circle and raise a “cone of Power” through dance, chant or meditation. Four elements, air water, earth and fire are essential. Incense and wine represent the former two. Witch Marion Weinstein, in her book “Positive Magic," describes the mood as one serious but “joy ous” that “the continuity of life has been so deeply affirmed.” While Cordell feels tremendous energy at Halloween, she is not a witch and does not necessarily celebrate with ritual. Vivid dreams often precipitate the .holiday for her. “If I were a witch,” she smiles, “that would have been our signal.” This year promises to be more conventional. Tonight she will take her four-year-old trick-or treating. Cordell became interested in witchcraft and folklore as a means of understanding herself. She possesses "certain abilities” that have been with heritor as long as I can remember.” Her keen sense of intuition and accurate predic tions prompted a quest for a “separate reality.” At one time, drawing energy was out of her control. “You’re conditioned to believe that those things (extra sensory powers) do not exist. If you do find them, you think you’re going crazy. It took me years to separate the two.” Halloween is dedicated to the realm of eternal life. The departed who live in the Invisible World transcend death and join witches in the physical World of Form in worship and celebration. Magic is in the air. Witches combine natural forces, including invisible ones, with what Weinstein terms “heightened use of human ener gies" to create witchcraft. A vindic tive witch is fearsome, buf self destructive. Witches beware the Three-Fold Law. She who casts a spell to harm a farmer’s crops will three times suffer the blighted crops caused the farmer. Yet if she bles ses his crops, she in three ways gains prosperity equivalent to that of the farmer's. Witches’ magical number three symbolizes the pro cess involved. The spoken spell is sent into the Invisible World; it re Center offers stress control Stress management will be the focus of a Community Health and Education Center course to begin Wednesday. The course, one of three offered by the center this fall, will cover the impact and identification of stres sors and ways to deal with them. The class will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays and the fee for the six-class series is $25. r An eight-class series on Swedish massage and breath will be held on Tuesdays from 6:30-9 p.m., starting Nov. 7. For $25, participants can team to give a full Swedish massage with emphasis on relaxation and breath. A senior growth program, de signed to be a positive approach to growing older, will be held on Mondays from 10 a.m.-noon start ing next week. The stress management and Swedish massage courses will be held at the center s new location at 433 W. 10th. The senior growth program will be held at the Central Presbyterian Church at 1475 Ferry St. Preregistration is re quired for all courses and it can be done by calling 485-8445. UNIQUE IN THE NORTHWEST THE ATKINSON GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ADMINISTRATION WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY | SALEM, OREGON 97301 A TwoVear Master’s Program to Provide the Educational Foundation for Careers in the Management of Business, Government, and Not-For-Profit Organizations. All interested students should see: Professor Earl Littrell Monday, November 6, 1978 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Career Planning & Placement Office 686-3235 Information on Placement, Internships Curriculum and Financial Aid available on request turns to the World of Form to man ifest in the desired way; finally it reverberates in the witch’s life. Cordell is skeptical of witch craft, but she adheres to naturalis tic laws. She believes we are all capable of “drawing energy and heightening our awareriess of the non-physical world.” If she’s right, Halloween is not just a witches's holiday. CROSS COUNTRY PRE-SEASON SALE selected group skis 50%-70% off Rossignol No-wax now 29.95 Sale Nov. 1 - Nov. 4 Fisher Europa now 34.95 Rental Ski Boots (Fels) 10.00 to 20.00 SUGAR PINE RIDGE limited fo stock on hand 877 E. 13th 345-5584 Center 5 pm $2 entry Double Elimination O’CALLHANS PRESENTS! GHOSTS. GOBLINS. GHOULS AND GREMLINS It’s all happening Halloween Night. Tuesday. Oct. 31 The bewitching hour will begin at 9 p.m. and will continue throughout the Night. Come dressed in your GHOULISH best and be ready to compete in our BEST COSTUME CONTEST. Judging will take place at 11 p.m., at which time FANTASTIC AND DOWNRIGHT CLEVER PRIZES will be awarded by our own SPOOKY GANG. SPIRITS WILL BE—30c (beer) and 50' (highballs) FOR ANY SPOOK FOUND IN O'CALLAHAN’S AFTER 9 P.M. DRESSED IN COSTUME.
