The next event for Orange County Local Council of Covenant of the Goddess (OCLC-COG) will be Pagan Pride – Los Angeles.  The event will be held once again in Long Beach, California on October 5th and will have workshops, vendors and entertainment.

Pagan Pride Los Angeles, Inc. is an outgrowth of the International Pagan Pride Project, a non-profit organization that sponsors annual Pagan Pride Day celebrations in cities around the world during the month of September. The goal of Pagan Pride Project and Pagan Pride Los Angeles is to promote tolerance and understanding of Pagans within the general community. Each individual event is coordinated and executed by local residents of the region. Pagan Pride Los Angeles, Inc., established as a separate non-profit corporation as of August, 2000, covers the entire Los Angeles and Orange County regions except for Antelope Valley. Southern California events also exist in San Diego, Palmdale, Ventura, Redlands, and now Palm Springs as well.

Basic Info:
October 5, 2014, 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Rainbow Lagoon Park.
East Shoreline Drive (enter Linden Ave.)
Long Beach, CA. 90802.
(Across from Shoreline Village Dr.)

Directions: 710 South to Long Beach, take exit 1C on the left toward Downtown Long Beach/Convention Center/Aquarium.
Map: Google Maps of Rainbow Lagoon Location.
Metro: Blue Line, 1st Street Stop or Transit Mall stop.
(Note: on Metro’s trip planner – use “SHORELINE DR/PINE, LONG BEACH, CA 90802” for destination and set “max walk” to 1 mile, check “use rail and bus”.)

Picnics allowed. Family Friendly event with children’s activities. There will be food trucks part of the day and there are restaurants across the street. Parking is next to the Rainbow Lagoon. Press and filming will be on site, but you can decline to be interviewed/photographed.

Map of Rainbow Lagoon in Long Beach, CA.

OCLC-COG is supporting Pagan Pride through volunteer efforts of our members and our OCLC booth. One of our OCLC members, Yvonne Conway-Williams, is coordinating the entertainment and providing her professional “Mistress of Ceremony” skills on stage.

OCLC will be on hand to provide information about COG, answer your questions about membership, and share information our upcoming Local Council activities. We will also have ‘evil eye’ bracelets on hand for sale.

Evil Eye Bracelets

The “evil eye” is a gaze or stare believed to cause material harm, injury, bad luck and misfortune to those who are unaware. This gaze or stare comes from certain persons who may be envious or may dislike the particular person they give the “evil eye” to.

Hamsa jewelry, also known as evil eye jewelry, was created as a protective measure to “stare back at the eyes of harm”.  Hamsa jewelry and other talismans made to protect against the evil eye, such as the Hand of Fatima, are often called “evil eyes” themselves.

For centuries, many cultures had an awareness of the “evil eye”.  For example, it is known in Spanish as mal de ojo.  In Hawaiian, it is known as “stink eye” or maka pilau meaning “rotten eyes”.  The Swedish culture knows it as “ge onda ögat” (to give an evil look), and in Hebrew the evil eye is ʿáyin hā-ráʿ (עַיִן הָרַע‎).

Traditionally, in addition to protection, Hamsa jewelry was worn to bring happiness, love, success, and wealth.  The jewelry results in good health with its repelling powers of bad energy.  The beads are usually made of glass and often combined with other beads that possess healing properties, and can be beautiful works of art.  The Hamsa jewelry is used by parents to protect their newborns health and future successes.

MEANING OF BEAD COLORS

Blue:  The traditional color for good karma, positive energies and protection against the evil eye.
Light Blue:  As the color of the sky, it symbolizes truth and therefore it provides direct protection against the evil eye.
Green:  Resembling the color of growing grass, it therefore stands for hope and personal growth.
Yellow:  The color of sunshine, the main source of energy for all living creatures. Thus, it stands for health, strength and healing.
Orange:  It is associated with joy and the tropics. Orange represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation.
Red:  The color of love and blood, it is associated with energy, strength, power, and determination, as well as passion and desire. Due to these associations it is the most powerful color for protection against the evil eye. This is the color that is practiced in Kabbalah.
Purple:  Associated with royalty, it symbolizes power, nobility, luxury, and ambition. It conveys wealth and extravagance.  Purple is associated with wisdom, dignity, independence, creativity, mystery, and magic.
Pink:  This is the color of Universal love, emotional love of self and others, friendship, affection, harmony and inner peace.
Brown:  This color represents Earth.  Brown us the color of comfort, nurturing, fertility, stability, and balance.
Beige-Kaki:  A neutral color that brings stability to those who need it the most, it is also known for achievement and success.
Black: is associated with Prosperity and wealth. It is a very powerful color that symbolizes strength and power.
White:   Representing light, goodness, innocence, purity, and virginity, white is considered to be the color of perfection. White means safety, purity, and cleanliness.  Therefore, it cleans negative energies and turns them into positive energies.