Final Entry

As I weed through the many aspects of the MIM community, I have accepted that it's time to let some old aspects go and focus attention and energy on the new to come. With more decisions yet to be made, I announced today the final decision to discontinue the Newsletter, Chat, and this Updates Blog.

It's been a pleasure using this blog to keep you up to date on new additions and changes at the site. As several entries serve the purpose of redirecting traffic from changed URLs over the years, I will not be deleting this blog; however, there will be no more new entries. Updates will continue to be announced on the site and Facebook page. If you would be interested in receiving updates by email, simply send me a message and I will start a new mailing list for site updates.

Other areas still on the chopping block are the Forums, our Top Site list, webrings we host, and the Facebook page. (The last has less to do with participation of fans of Messages in the Moonlight and  more to do with Facebook's changing of their system and my personal dislike/hatred of the social networking site that's only grown worse over the years.) If you haven't already, be sure to add your input to the MIM Survey to help in the final decision making on these aspects of the MIM community.

Blessings,
Evy

More Updates - Dowsing, Scrying, & Tools

We have three more pages with fresh updates today.

The Dowsing and Pendulums page and Scrying page are now updated with a little more information. The Dowsing page is a bit more descriptive with extra hints and the Scrying page now includes crystal gazing and more details.

The Magickal Tools page had a bigger update. The list is more extensive than the bare minimum it was and includes more details as well.

More to come!

Blessings,

Evy

Three New Pages

Three new pages have been added to the site today. These are the last in the long list of previously written HubPages hubs that will be moved to the site in the foreseeable future. (A few others still published on HP are vaguely related, but not enough so to move them at this time.)

The Difference Between Religion and Spirituality page can now be found in the Articles section. You'll notice that the title has changed slightly and there have been some minor edits.

Also new to the Articles section, you will find the Choosing a Religion in a World of Options page. This one has been updated with a few additional tips added at the end, making it a bit more useful to those seekers who simply do not know where to start when researching the various world religions.

Finally, the Spiritual Home Cleansing Tips and Tricks page is now featured in the Magick section. This one has some significant updates with extra sections and ideas to help you clear out the icky stagnant and negative energy that may be lingering around in your home.

Blessings,
Evy

Terms & Definitions Page Update

A much needed update to the Pagan Terms page was applied today. I've cleaned up some of the definitions to make them a bit more clear or provide more information as well as adding a couple terms where needed. Plus, you can now click on the in-page link to take you directly to a letter and use the helpful "Back to Top" in-page links so you won't have to scroll around to find what you are looking for.

Have a term or alternative definition you'd like to see on the page? Leave a comment below or contact me to let me know!

Blessings,
Evy

History & Witches' Pyramid Pages Updates

I have some more updated pages for the site today. The Wicca History page has a few small updates primarily to the Real History section. The wording is a bit more clear with a little more explanation on a couple points.

The bigger update of the two is the Witches' Pyramid page. This page now has improved explanations of To Know, To Will, To Dare, To Keep Silent, and To Imagine to help make better sense of how to apply these components to our magick. If you were still a bit stumped when you viewed this page before, check it out now!

Blessings,

Evy

About and Basics Pages Updates

I've made some updates to the About MIM page. It now features information about the site itself (instead of just about me). You'll find a mission and vision statement for Messages in the Moonlight that captures exactly what the point to the site, forums, and newsletter is. I also updated the "Who is Evylyn Rose?" section and gave it little sections so it's not quite as tedious as it was previously.

The Wiccan Basics page has gone through yet another edit and update. Some of the information is written to be clearer than it was before with a few additional points added here and there.

Blessings,
Evy

New Book Reviews

I've added my reviews for Christian Day's The Witches' Book of the Dead (found on the Books D-H page) and John Randolph Price's The Wellness Book (found on the Books I-R page). I definitely enjoyed Day's work. It's been a sorely neglected topic and you can see that in writing this book the demand it's brought on the topic of modern necromancy and working with the spirits of the dead by the titles that have come out since he took the initiative and wrote The Witches' Book of the Dead. Price's book I did not care for. Be sure to check out the new reviews on the site to hear why!

Also, from the responses of the new survey so far, it seems that fans and visitors of the site do not pay any mind to this blog or use it to keep up on updates. If you do, be sure your voice is counted! Take the survey today and be sure to answer the questions in section 5 about how you stay informed about Messages in the Moonlight updates.

Blessings,
Evy

New Survey - Add Your Voice!

I just finished crafting a short survey about the MIM site, newsletter, forums, and chat. I'm trying to prioritize changes and improvements as well as decided whether or not to add or discontinue features.

It's a short survey separated into 5 pages. The first page is about the site with questions about the new layout, improvements to content, and potential new classes feature. The second page discusses the newsletter. These questions are to help decide whether or not to continue the newsletter as we have not had submissions in years.

The third page goes into the forums and how we can improve it to increase activity. The fourth page is about the chat room and the current mIRC server. We're trying to decide if we should change the chat client or discontinue this feature.

Finally, the last page is about how you find out about updates to MIM as well as provides a section for you to add any thoughts and opinions that were not answered in the other questions.

Overall, there are 26 questions. Only a few are required. Time can range from 2 - 15 minutes depending on how many questions you answer and how in-depth text responses are.

Please take a few minutes to provide your feedback by filling out our survey. (Click "survey" to go to the Google docs survey.) Thanks in advance!

Blessings,
Evy

More Updated Pages

Three more pages have been updated today. First, the Pentacles page may have been improved considerably with the update in 2010, but, let's face it, it was not my best. Although still a basic discussion of the symbolism and usage of pentacles, this page covers more than it did before.

The Music Magick page is significantly improved. Previously, it was just a short paragraph about use of music in magick and then went into magickal correspondences of instrument types that is adapted from Scott Cunningham's work. Although those correspondences are still in place, the page now features a short discussion on why/how music can benefit magickal practices, preferences of Wiccans and other Witches, and some examples.

Finally, I've cleaned up some of the wordage and added an extra tip to Advice for Beginners. When I was looking over it during the layout change, I noticed that some of my phrasing three years ago came off a bit harsh to beginners. Granted, part of the inspiration to finally write the piece came out of a moment of annoyance and frustration, but that does not excuse some of the occasional harsh ways of putting things. I also added a little tip about how spirituality evolves at the end as it was something important I felt was missing before.

More updates and additions to come!

Blessings,
Evy

Update & New Pages

Three more of previously written hubs have been moved to the site. You can now read Remembering Your Personal Power, Bigotry and Religion: Misunderstanding Respect of Individual Beliefs, and Examining the All Gods Are One God Debate in the Articles section of the site.

I have also updated the Elements page by expanding a bit and adding a brief discussion on directional/quarter placement of the Elements in ritual circles.

More updates and changes are coming, so be sure to stay up-to-date by checking in at the site main page or here at the Updates Blog.

Blessings,
Evy

Updated Rede Page and Two New Pages

As promised, the Rede page has now been updated with a deeper discussion concerning the Wiccan Rede. Be sure to check it out!

Also, I have moved two more of my articles from HubPages to the site. The site now features the articles Reasons to Research Your Faith's History and False Superstars: Remembering the Real Heroes of Your Faith in the Articles section.

Over the next couple months, there will be more updates and articles moved from HubPages on the site. Be sure to stop at the site or this blog for details.

I am also going through and contacting other webmasters and bloggers with information regarding URL changes from the recent layout change. If you have linked to any pages on the site and the URLs have changed, I will be trying to reach out to you to make your life a little easier in finding the pages you've linked to in the past.

Blessings,
Evy

Site is Back Up: New Layout

The new layout is now implemented into the site and it is back up and running. Be sure to check it out!

I'll be going through looking for any glitches or broken links. If you find any problems, please report them here or send me an email.

Over the next few months, I'll be updating some of the pages at the site as the next phase of the over-haul. So don't forget to check back.

Blessings,
Evy

Site is Down

The site is down for the transition to the new layout. This will last for only a few hours. Please be sure to check back for the update announcing when the site is back up.

Blessings,
Evy

Site Going Down November 4th

The site will be going down for a few hours on Monday, November 4th. I'll be implementing the new layout during that time. A health concern and few other issues delayed the process, but everything is now back on track!

Blessings,
Evy

Link Pages Combined

As mentioned yesterday, I've re-done the links pages (Pagan Links, Other Links, and Link Exchange Information) and combined them into one. They are all text links now (no more banners of various sizes!) and organized into categories. If the new Links page (found at the old URL linkspage.html) looks a little funny, please be patient. The new layout will improve the look and make searching smoother.

Blessings,
Evy

Pages Combined (Prep for New Layout)

For those who may have missed the message regarding why I am not (currently) active at the forums, I am putting more time and energy into the site. The first phase of which involves designing a new layout for the site. Although it's certainly not anything particularly fancy, it does provide a more modernized look and navigation. (Don't get me wrong, I still absolutely love the template that's been in place since 2005. It's just that it's a style that is now considered confusing navigation-wise and obsolete in the internet world that has changed so drastically since then.) With the new layout complete, I'm getting everything prepped for implementation.

To start, I've combined some pages to avoid confusion and make navigation easier for the new layout. The changes you can see now are listed below.

• The Rituals and Spells pages are now combined into one. You can find it at the new URL ritualspells.html http://www.moonlightmessages.com/magick-and-spells/rituals-and-spells
• The Witches' Creed page and the Interpretation of the Witches' Creed page are now combined into one. You can find it at the old URL witchescreed.html http://www.moonlightmessages.com/theology-of-sorts/witches-creed
• The Rede page no longer contains the Wiccan Credo. (There will be an update to the Rede page after the new layout is implemented.)
• The Wiccan Credo has been combined with the Interpreting the Credo page. You can find it at the old URL credo.html http://www.moonlightmessages.com/theology-of-sorts/wiccan-credo
• The Charges of the Goddess and Charges of the God page have been combined into one Charges page. You can find it at the new URL charges.html http://www.moonlightmessages.com/theology-of-sorts/charges-of-the-gods
• The Mythological History and Real History of Wicca pages have been combined into one History page. You can find it at the new URL history.html http://www.moonlightmessages.com/wicca-101/history-of-wicca
• The Awards, Gifts, and Webrings pages have all been combined into one page. You can find it at the old URL agw.html http://www.moonlightmessages.com/home/awards-received

I will also be combining the various Links pages into one. In doing so, I plan to provide a smoother look rather than the current unorganized text and banner look.

So long as everything goes according to schedule, the site will be going down on October 18th as I implement the new layout and will come back up within a few hours of the same day. I will keep you posted!

Blessings,

Evy

Messages in the Moonlight Turns 10!!!

The site began in April 2003. In celebration of our first decade online, we are throwing a party at the forums. Come stop by the Official Party Thread and join in the fun and surprises as we honor this milestone achievement. All are welcome so dive right in and bring some friends!

Blessings,
Evy

Announcing New Search Engine on Site!

Previously, the site used freefind as an in-site search engine. We now have a new search feature on the site run by Google that provides results not only for the site but also for the forums! The site and forums are part of one big Messages in the Moonlight family. Sometimes, conversations and posts at the forums provides so much information that pages on certain topic areas do not get added to the site. Thus, if you don't find it on the site, you are likely to find it at the forums and vice versa.

So when you are having trouble finding what you are looking for on the site, check out the Sitemap & Search Engine page and try out the search engine tool for site and forums results.

Blessings,

Evy

Completed Book Reviews

The book review for In the Shadow of 13 Moons by Sherman-Cook is finally completed after over a year of working through the Dark Moon rituals and can be found on Book Reviews S-Z page. Also on this page, you will find new reviews for Tess Whitehurst's Magical Housekeeping and Dick Sutphen and Lauren Leigh Taylor's Past-Life Therapy In Action.

On the Book Reviews I-R page, you will find new reviews for You're Not Going Crazy... You're Just Waking Up! by Michael Mirdad and The Abundance Book by John Randolph Price.

You can also check out my review so far under the Currently Reading section of the main Book Reviews page for The Witches' Book of the Dead by Christian Day. I have other book reviews in the works, so be sure to check back for more!

Blessings,
Evy

New Page & Call for Submissions

The Advanced Bonewits' Cult Danger Evaluation Frame has now been added to the site. There's been a lot of concern regarding abuse and questionable ethics in covens and groups in local communities lately. Isaac did a lot of fantastic work to help those of us in the Pagan and other religious communities to become educated and pay more attention to the groups we join. As minorities, it's easy for us to get so excited about a new or established group in our area that we ignore red flags and let concerns go for the sake of having a local network we can be a part of. Check out the Cult Danger page at the site for guidance in identifying potentially abusive, harmful, or cult-like groups before you join a group or to take a second look at groups you may already be a part of.

The winter solstice issue of the Newsletter is coming out over the next few weeks. We are still in need of submissions. The deadline for submissions is Monday, December 10th, 2012. The theme is "New Life." For so many of us, 2012 has been a year of some pretty big changes. Old relationships ended, new ones began, careers took turns for better or worse, spirituality shifted and then shifted again. Whether your life changes were a struggle or a long, wished-for blessing, share your stories!

Blessings,
Evy