Thursday, July 28, 2011

Here we go for Round 2.....time to start over again.....




It's been about 3 years since I posted here and alot have happened. Here's the breakdown. I skrewed up myself Spiritually. I left the Catholic Church and became a Pagan many moons ago. Joined a Coven, seperated from the Coven due to my own stupidity, tried my own Coven twice & failed, got suckered back into the Catholic Church believing that things were better, left for good knowing that it wasn't, and now I'm starting over down the Pagan Path. UFO Researching/Investigating wise it couldn't be better. If my Spirituality was as successful as my UFOlogist Path was, I'd be golden. Now I need to take it slow this time and we'll see which way I will be going, but lessons were learned the hard way. Anyway, personal update.....I will be getting my (as the Doc put it) 70 year old (condition wise) knee replaced come January. Needless to say, my knee is about 30 years older than myself because I'm only 43 going on 44 in about 27 days. More to come at a later posting!

~Bob

Monday, October 20, 2008

Mabon...A Time for Change, A Time for New Beginnings, & A Time for a New Path for Me


The first year for the Coven of the 13 Moons has come & gone and what a year it has been! We have gone through alot of growing pains and have been through several members including 2 High Priestesses. The Coven has broken up twice; the first time due to someone stealing from my house and not wanting to admit it & the course of this individual's callous actions was that the Coven had to fold because of nobody coming forward, and the second breakup occurred because of a disagreement that was not solved and because there was negative energy in the air, I suspended all Coven activities until we could resolve the situation, but everyone quit rather than solve the problem hence leaving me alone, but that was cool because I incorporated the Coven back with my teacher's Coven which actually made me stronger and ready to once again start to grow! We are now a branch of the Silver Phoenix Coven which is a whole family of Covens located in New Jersey.

This past Mabon marked a full circle on the Wheel of the Year for the Coven of the 13 Moons. My Coven was founded back around Mabon 2007 & in 2008, it went through changes once again. It's funny how things play out ain't it? Anyhow, I will not let a small bump in the road deter me from seeing this through till the end. The World is vast and there are certainly people out there that are in need of a Coven and I will be there to meet their needs. I already have a High Priestess in mind and have talked with her numerous times and eventhough she is not Wiccan, she is a natural Witch and has incredible energy & character & Love, and will be a total compliment to me. Also, one of my friends has approached me about joining the Coven as well and has been at numerous Rituals and has felt a definate drawing to the Craft.

With Samhain coming up, the Wheel of the Year comes to an end and so does everything that has happened in the past Year. November 1st will be the start of a new Year and a new Future with a hugh Presidential Election a few days later (Go McCain!!). What does the future hold? Only the Gods will know and as their humble servent, I will be prepared to do whatever their biddings will be and to serve them to the best of my capacity!


Samhain Blessings,

Caedmon











Thursday, July 24, 2008

WoW it's been like 3 months!


It's been about 3 months since my last posting and I finally have a minute to breath! This picture above sums up everything....BUSY! I'm going to skip the details and get right to the bullet points to sum up how crazy & busy my life has been since we last met. Here is what has been going down in the life of b.0.b the uFo Hunting High Priest:
  • 36 UFO cases which many are still reoccurring with loads of work involved.
  • 4 Family Birthdays.
  • 2 family members had their knees operated on with no complications!!
  • Mothers & Fathers Days.
  • A successful 1000 unit Block Collection for my Town Watch Group.
  • 3 or 4 Gardening Days with the DVPN @ the Phactory.
  • 3 days of filming with the Discovery Channel with more to come!
  • Organized & ran a very successful MUFON UFO Awareness Day in Philly!
  • Went to Harrisburg for their MUFON UFO Awareness Day.
  • Went to Altoona for 3 Days to investigate 4 UFO cases.
  • Held & Participated in 2 Sabbats & 6 Esbat Rituals at my house.
  • Regraded my backyard with over 10 yards of dirt.
  • Rebuilt our deck piece by piece by myself.
  • Did 2 TV, 2 Newspaper, & 1 Podcast Interview.
  • Helped maintain a household that consists of 5 kids & a granddaughter.
  • Went back to work as a Supervisor with the Eagles @ the concert last weekend.

I could of forgotten some things, but that's whats up now!

Peace & Blessings & Keep your eyes on the skys!

b.0.b

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Coming Out of the Broom Closet


Well I finally did it! I came out of the closet to my parents, that is, "THE BROOM CLOSET", not that there is anything wrong with the other closet, there just isn't any room for me in that one (LOL). I can finally be public with who I am, I can stand proud and be loud and say, "I AM A WITCH!"
All this time, I thought that my parents who are strict devout Roman Catholics would make a big stink out of it, didn't! All my Dad said was, "So you are a Witch?" My Mom said, "Yea ok ." I was nervous when on a whim I decided that yesterday was going to be the day while I was sitting in their back yard talking to my parents and when we came in to their living room from out back, I just blurted out that I was a Wiccan and have been so since September of 2005.
Now that I have crossed that bridge, I feel a ton of pressure off of me and now I no longer have to hide my Faith, my Pentacle necklace, my Pentacle ring, or anything else that is a symbol of my Faith. I am a Witch, I am proud to be a Witch, and gosh darn it I feel GREAT!


Blessed Be,


Caedmon


Tuesday, April 08, 2008

51 Characteristics of a True Leader.



The other day on the DVPN message board, someone brought up the subject of Leaders. I myself within most of my adult life have always either taken on a Leader role, or have been in some way, shape, or form a Leader. Anyone can be a follower, but not everyone can be a Leader. I remember when I was going through management training with FootLocker back in the early 90's, part of the Assistant Manager phase (phase 2 to be exact) of the Executive Training Program dealt with Leadership. There was either 10 or 12 points of Leadership listed in one chapter that were really right on target of what a Leader is suppose to be. I remembered some of them, but then I got to thinking what else makes up a Leader? What did I always use to be a successful Leader? I started writing them down and finally finished this morning, and came up with these 51 Characteristics or points. I am in the process of defining each point, but I will cover them hopefully in the near future.
51 Characteristics you need to possess to be a True Leader
  1. Problem Solver
  2. Decision Maker
  3. Planner
  4. Organizer
  5. Counselor
  6. Mentor
  7. Creative
  8. People Person/Oriented
  9. Motivator
  10. Assertive
  11. Strength (Physical, Mental, Emotional, & Spiritual)
  12. Intelligence
  13. Wisdom
  14. Dexterity
  15. Constitution
  16. Charisma (I know, these last 6 remind you of D&D attributes)
  17. Big Thinker
  18. Doesn't Exploit the Weak (Physical, Mental, Emotional, & Spiritual)
  19. Change Master (or Masters Change)
  20. Shows Empathy
  21. Risk Taker
  22. Uses Power Wisely
  23. Not Afraid to Roll up Their Sleeves and Their Get Hands Dirty
  24. Doesn't Tolerate Incompetence or Lazy People
  25. Reprimands People Respectfully
  26. Communicates Well
  27. Team Builder
  28. Courage
  29. Committed
  30. Responsible for Actions (Self as well as Others)
  31. Leads by Example
  32. Listens to Others with an Open Mind
  33. Loyal
  34. Anticipates Next Move
  35. Dedicated
  36. Determined
  37. Enthusiastic
  38. Rewards People
  39. Ethical/Maintains a Strict Code of Ethics
  40. Goal Oriented
  41. Independent/Has Own Mind
  42. Can Take and Follow Orders
  43. Sets High Standards
  44. Doesn't Procrastinate
  45. Honest
  46. Accepts Criticism
  47. Flexible, but yet Firm
  48. Team Player
  49. Open to Diversity
  50. Doesn't Discriminate
  51. Accepts Defeat at Times as a Learning Experience

Well what do you think? Does this hit the nail on the head? Feel free to let me know what else can be added!


Caedmon


PS: I do recommend that all aspiring Leaders to read The One Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard (the link is him applying his theory to an accounting firm, but in essence, it can be applied to everything).

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Ostara........Spring has Sprung an Abundance of Change!


Ostara, a time for new beginnings and changes! The past year has brought me alot of events and many trials and tribulations as a Pagan. I have gone from a Coven Member to Solitaire to Coven Member back to Solitaire to High Priest of a Coven back once again to Solitaire and finally back to High Priest once again of a Coven. Wow, what a ride! Right now, I am with my 4th Circle within the last 365 days and from what I experienced last Friday in the amount of Energy raised, this has been the best!
Within the last year, I have celebrated Rituals with 4 different circles: The Pennypack Coven, The Silver Phoenix Coven, The Coven of the 13 Moons Round 1, and now The Coven of the 13 Moons Round 2. I have felt different levels of Energy both good and bad, and no energy what-so-ever. I was in Circles with as many as 10 people, and as little as 2 people, but the Circle last Friday that celebrated Ostara was GREAT and only contained 3 people: me, my HPS MoonRaven, and our Maiden Kat. Bigger is not always better and at times, smaller is best. This was the 1st Circle that I have been in since Imbolc (and since someone from Cot13M round 1 stole from me) which was just about a montha and a half ago. What I felt last Friday, I have not felt in a long time........Positive Energy that flowed long after the Circle was closed. I'm not knocking any Circles from the past because I have had my share of good Rituals with them, but this Energy from last Friday was Electrifying and Invigorating, and was exactly what I/We all needed.
The people that I am now moving forward with have been practicing Solitaire Pagans for a long time and have much to share with me about the Craft as I have to share with them about my Coven experiences. Since Imbolc with me have taken my temporary Sabbatical up to now from my Coven due to the wrong doings of one or two ex Covenmates, MoonRaven has held everything together for me as well as maintaining contact with 4 potential Seekers who have applied for memberships to our Coven. Our Coven's plan for moving forward with growth is to only admit one person at a time into our Circle so that we can monitor and make sure that the Positive Energy continues to flow, this of course only after each Seeker meets us face to face for a meet and greet sitdown.
Anyhow, I have learned that the Gods will not just hand us everything without there being a few slip and falls. I have learned that there will be a few unworthy people that will come our way and that like I said in a previous post, there will be only a few worthy true Seekers and those are the ones that you want. I have also learned that you should not go admitting alot of new people all at once, instead trickle them in one by one so that you can monitor the Energy flow not only within the Circle, but outside it as well. You should make sure that people are also partaking in discussions so that we can all learn a thing or two about each other and so that we can grow together not only as a Coven, but as a family as well.
Moving forward, I have a real good feeling about the future success of the Coven of the 13 Moons. This time around, there is just a different feeling in the air, a feeling of maybe things happen for a reason, a feeling that this was meant to be, a feeling that finally you have found peace of mind, body, and spirit.

Ostara Blessings,

Caedmon
High Priest
Coven of the 13 Moons

Friday, February 29, 2008

My February 29th State of the Union update of NEPPS, MUFON, & Cot13M

It's February 29, 2008 and I chose Leap Year to give everyone an official update of my groups. But before I start, I want to send Birthday Wishes out to my Uncle Jim who turned 92 years old today. But since he actually celebrates his birthday only every 4 years he is officially is 23. Wouldn't it be great if you were born on a Leap Year to age accordingly? Any how, Best Wishes to you Uncle Jim!

Well its been almost 2 weeks since I posted and quite a few things have been going on. I'll start with my Paranormal Research Group, NEPPS and finish up with my Coven.




In NEPPS, NorthEast Philly Paranormal Society, we have gone through some changes. In order to not step on any one's copyrighted designs, we now have an official logo as you can see above. I asked a friend of mine, Denise (Moon Raven) to see if she could design a logo for me that incorporated Ghosts, UFOs, and Crop Circles along with our group's name in it, and she did an excellent job! Many thanks sweetheart!

The next change we went through is membership. Since quite a few members of NEPPS were also members of my Coven and since I disbanded my Coven, I had to let them go as well. It was a tough decision, but with nobody coming forward to admit that they stole from me and some people wouldn't stay with me if I didn't keep their friends, I just let everyone go. But for all those that departed, we filled the gaps with new people, and are up to 10 members now.

The 3rd and final change that we went through was coming up with a handbook for our group. A friend of mine named Kenny who is the leader of another Paranormal Group named PIRA met with me about 2 weeks ago to help me put together a handbook. He gave me some ideas and I met last week with Lisa who is the other Lead Investigator of our Group as well as a close personal friend to go over things. We met last Saturday and discussed personnel, planned investigations, and what to put in our handbook. We have quite a few leads to follow up on and have an investigation planned for April. Look for updates in the future! My next topic is MUFON, the Mutual UFO Network.




A part of my Paranormal Investigation Group, NEPPS deals with UFO Investigations. I encountered a UFO about 19 years ago and just last year I reported it to the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC) with as much information as I could remember, but thats another story for another day. Anyhow, I contacted the NUFORC back in this past January to let them know that NEPPS was here to help and the director of NUFORC told me about MUFON. I researched MUFON and signed on as a Journal Subscriber and hopefully soon a Field Investigator Trainee.

On this past Saturday I received in the mail my 1st MUFON monthly journal. The monthly journal keeps MUFON members up to date on various UFO cases as well as general UFO information. On this past Monday, I received in the mail my MUFON ID card and the 311 page Field Investigator's Manual along with the test I must take inorder to become a Field Investigator. So needless to say, any spare time I have right now is spent reading the manual and hopefully within a few weeks I will have the test completed and will be awaiting our first assignment. I figured that with at least me being an approved MUFON Investigator, it will be a major plus for NEPPS as we start to become more active and hopefully other members of my NEPPS group will take the test as well so that we will become a more rounded team.

My final State of the Union update deals with my disbanded, but soon to be reborn Coven, the Coven of the 13 Moons.





The Coven of the 13 Moons is about to be reborn come this Ostara! I was only going to take a Sabbatical for only 1 Moon cycle, but just this past week, the thief once again got his sticky fingers on something, my headset for my computer of which I haven't seen for about a month now and the last place I had it was on my bar next to my computer. I was looking for it because I was going to see if it worked with my son's PS3, and lo and behold it was gone. Hopefully this is the final total of which is now $685. With this set back, I decided that Ostara is when I will return as the High Priest.

As of right now, my acting HPS, Moon Raven is handling all related Coven operations until I return to full active status. I had quite a lot of friends that have dropped me occasional Emails encouraging me to continue and rebuild the Coven and not to let this hold me back as well as Moon Raven who stepped up and told me that she will help me too, and for this I have made her acting HPS since my old HPS has not talked to me in weeks and in not so many words has quit. My Maiden has left as well due to personal reasons, so the next person in line was Moon Raven who definitely has a lot of experience not as a Coven Leader, but as a Witch and is definitely a great addition to my Coven. As far as the rest of the people who were in the Coven, I tried several weeks ago for about a week to set a meeting and from the excuses I got from everyone, I could tell that this was not important enough for them to make time to meet nor was this a big enough part of their lives to meet up, so I decided that they were all out. Thank you mister or even madam thief, you really fucked me good by destroying something that I put hours and hours into only to have it destroyed, but from the ashes something better will rise up and be bigger and stronger than before.

I have decided that when we will get back on track, I will not take on any new students for a while, but will accept those who have some time in the Craft and while they may be Seekers, they are not Neophytes, but mature honest folks who have been Solitary Wiccans, but seek a Coven to practice with like minded people.

Ostara Blessings are around the corner!

Caedmon