Only Endless Memory

Monday, December 8, 2008

Ooops, High Priestess

I realized that I forgot to post the High Priestess write up that I did for the tarot cards, so I wanted to put my post in. I also wanted to say that I am having surgery on my back on the 16th of the month, so I am being stressed. I have been very erratic for the last two hours since I found out when surgery is. i have just been kind of bouncing from one thing to another and not been able to focus at all.

The High Priestess

The High Priestess is a woman of knowledge, but unlike the Magician whose knowledge comes from books and study, her knowledge comes from a high level of intuition. She is highly empathic and respected as such. Spiritually, she is a leader of her people and a guide to the Goddess. Her knowledge will help others reach an enlightened state and to get in touch with their own inner wisdom.

The High Priestess is a number two of the Major Arcana, two's usually represent a period of waiting or a partial success with a further success coming later.

In my Fantastical Creatures Tarot Deck, the High Priestess is a Winged Serpent lying on the ground with its' front half off the ground and its' wings spread. The ground is stony and matches the scales on the serpents hide. There are two scrolls lying on the ground in front of the serpent and words are illuminated behind it. Light shines down from an unknown source directly onto the serpent. Besides the light and the words behind the serpent, it looks like it could be night and outside.

Again, I see the signs of knowledge from the scrolls in front of the snake. The words that are glowing behind the snake, I see as innate knowledge or wisdom. The snake itself is a symbol of transformation and change as it sheds its' skin as it grows and changes. The illumination itself I see as enlightenment, reaching a place of higher knowledge and connection to higher forces then ones' self.

Some other thoughts I have , especially if there is a reversal: The fact that the snakes skin matches the ground around it and the darkness around it indicates to me that it might not always be easy to see the clear path of intuition. One should be aware of relying too heavily on intuition or receiving intuition from one who might be deceiving you. Try to keep a balance between intuition and “common sense”.

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Friday, December 5, 2008

Tarot - The Emperor

Well, another day, and I have seen the surgeon again. I have to make up my mind about surgery. It seems that though I have had less pain, that may not all be a good thing, as I have had more numbness and tingling which means that the nerve might be having more damage. I am not sure what to do at this point. It is looking more and more like surgery.

The Emperor

The Emperor is the patriarch of the family, the wise ruler or leader. He is a man of strength and will, whose passions lead him to make the necessary choices to rule with wisdom. He does not make his decisions blindly, but first seeks out the truth.

Being a number four card, the Emperor often stands for a plan coming to fruition or the space or foundation for things to grow or the manifestation of an idea.

In the Fantastical Creatures Deck, the Emperor is represented by a pegasus flying across a chasm. Over its' head a wind or cloud seems to take a shape showing three faces, all masculine. One face looks forward, one which appears to have glasses on looks down and the third appears to be looking skywards. The pegasus is flying beneath the cloud and does not seem to notice it. Around the neck of a the pegasus there is a cord with two white feathers wound into it. Small rocks are stirred near the back hooves of the winged horse and also further in front of it. It appears it is just taking flight. Some red flowers cling to the face of one side of the chasm face.

As many other people have spoken much about seeing fire signs in their Emperor cards, I find it interesting that I am seeing mostly air signs in my card. I also see a very different meaning then what I would normally say for the Emperor from this card as well. I am seeing the chasm as an obstacle to be overcome. It is one that is overcome with wisdom and knowledge and by correctly using the information one has to make a decision. So, I suppose that is not too far off from what I did say. The main difference is that there is an obstacle to be overcome.

I see the winged horse as a symbol of air as well as action and energy. It is a means to get over the obstacle of the rocky chasm in front of it. Above it are the onlookers, the three faces in the clouds. One looks down, looking for further dangers, one looks forward doing the same. The third face looking up is thanking the Lord and Lady. Also, the three faces could be representing body, mind and spirit. The red flowers growing are the place I see a fire symbol, passion and tenacity growing on the side of a cliff.

The concern I see with this card is that it is knocking rocks off into the chasm and may not notice what is below in the chasm that it may harm. So, a reversal may be that there is the possibility of overcoming the obstacles but not looking around to see who may be hurt in the process, being too focused on success to see a larger picture.

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Monday, December 1, 2008

The Empress

I am continuing with my Tarot updates with The Empress. I have yet to hear from the surgeon about surgery on my back. I have been thinking seriously about not having the surgery as I have been feeling better, but have not had a chance to talk to the surgeon to arrange anything with him, so things are very much up in the air. I have no idea what is going on for the holidays. Bah Humbug!

The Empress

The Empress is the matriarch of the family. She is an older mother, not the mother with child, but more the mother whose children have grown into their teens and she is keeper of the house. While she can be demanding, she is also fair. She holds great knowledge, but it is not always easy to get it from her as she knows that the most important lessons we learn we must learn on our own.

The Empress is a number three card which usually suggests a situation involving more then one person or a group. It can also signify a delay or a partial success and then a wait before the situation can come to fruition.

In the Fantastical Creature Tarot, the card shows an older woman wearing a gown with a pattern of vines on it. It is covered by a blue cloak with gold trim. A headband keeps her hair from her eyes, but otherwise it flows loose behind her. A radiance surrounds her. At her feet there are some ferns and some rocks with spiral patterns and three apples. A rabbit sits on a nearby rock and above her head a raven flies. Behind her is a tree with gnarled roots.

I find this card very interesting because of all the symbols in it. The raven itself is a symbol of occult knowledge. It is also seen as a harbinger of death. The tree, especially the one with the gnarled roots strikes me as a tree of life image. The tree of life expresses both life and death in it. Apples are seen as a symbol of knowledge and wisdom. Rabbits symbolize fertility, while spirals are another symbol of the cycle of life as well as a symbol of the divine female.

All of these symbols together seem to suggest a lot toward knowledge and also gaining this learning through transformation. This may be a bit outside of the norm for other Empress cards, but with the amount of death or transformation symbolism I see in this card, I have to say that transformation is part of the learning process that comes with the wisdom that must be gained.

In keeping up with reversals, I think that the thing to worry about here would be to be overwhelmed by all the little details. The opposite is also possible, to focus too much on yourself and to not see the lessons outside of yourself that you need to learn. I think it could go either way, and that would vary on the reading.

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Friday, November 7, 2008

Tarot Card - The Fool

So, yea, I know I have not written in over a month. It has been a pretty crappy month which has mostly contained me being in pain because of my back still. There was the good news of Obama winning the election. There is also the news that I have a new doctor now because I got sick of the last one. I am much happier with the new doctor already. It is nice to have a doctor who will actually spend time with me and make sure she checks everything she needs to.

As the subject says, I am writing about the Tarot card - The Fool. I have gotten involved with a pagan group online that started an offshoot for Tarot discussion. I have loved tarot cards for many years now. I was first introduced to them about twenty-five years ago. My mother used to read tarot some, and showed me her deck. Of course, when I told her that I had someone ask me to read cards in their store her comment was "I figured you would do something stupid like that." My mother was not the most consistent person in my life. Anyways, the group started the tarot discussion and I did a write-up on the Fool. I am hoping that I can continue to do this for the whole deck.

Yes, It is ambitious for the person who can't keep up with a daily blog, but I am hoping that the group will inspire me. I also have some other pagan writings I would like to be doing over the next year or so. I have had a lot to think about over the last month. So, without further ado, this is what I have written about The Fool... seems fitting for my project.

Tarot – The Fool

The fool is a starting place in some ways, being the “start” of the deck, so I see it as a reference to beginnings in that aspect. I also see the Fool as a balance in many ways between the general impetuous nature that one would expect from the Fool and the wisdom that is also inherent in the role as well. I think of stories and traditions of the king playing fool for a day in many cultures and the the fool taking the place of the king. In this way, it teaches the king humility and allows them to be closer to his people.

I also think of the Fool in regards to the idea of tabula rasa: a blank slate which is there waiting for knowledge. In accepting that one is a fool, there is a great wisdom for you are able to open your mind and accept more possibilities then if you have preconceived notions.

For the first time as I am writing this I think I am understanding how reversals can be used. I have always had a hard time in the past doing a reading with any reversals because I tried to use the booklet definitions for what the reversals meant and they never made sense to me. As I think about it now, I see that the reversal in the case of the Fool could be a warning to be aware of going too far into the impetuous side of things, or to be open to new ideas (as in the blank slate concept), but do not allow yourself to be lead astray by the “foolishness” of it and to curb impulsiveness and gullibility with wisdom.

Now to actually look at a card and see if I get more impressions from it. I am using DJ Conway and Linda Hunts Fantastical Creatures Tarot. It is a deck I have looked at a little, but never tried to do a reading with, so the impressions are more fresh (in theory, at least). It could prove to be interesting as I look at it, because they are non-traditional images. Things I see that stick out in mind mind when I look at the art: 1) there is a path going off into the distance 2) the beastie that is the main figure is a sort of Quetzalcoatl looking thing that has two snake heads pointing in different directions and it is perched on a tree 3) the grass has pretty red flowers, but the sky is grey and stormy 4) there is a stone wall that has an opening for the path.

My quick breakdown of those various images are 1) a path can represent a journey, be it physical or spiritual 2) the beastie looking in both directions can either be a balance or confusion, like it isn't sure where it is headed 3) while things may look nice, pretty and easy from the serpent that is looking towards the ground, the one that sees the skies knows that there are dangers and things to be cautious of 4) the wall is an obstacle to be passed just as the clouds above are something to be weathered.

Bright Blessings!

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Monday, September 22, 2008

Salem and a Writing Exercise

I went to Salem, Massachusetts on Saturday and spent the day walking (painfully) around town and doing some shopping at the pagan shops. In the evening, we went to a Mabon ritual held by Temple of the Nine Wells in town there. I was there with friends from the pagan group that we have running at our church, and we all seemed to have a good time. I had the money to spend on one of my pastimes of collecting tarot decks.

Yes, I do collect tarot decks. I have 44 separate tarot decks not counting the various other sets of divination cards or tools (i.e. The Visual I Ching, Throwing of the Bones, Rune Cards and Runes, Medicine Cards, Animal Cards, etc). If you are also wondering whether or not I do tarot readings, I do. I do not use all of my decks for readings. Some of them are only for art and I would not be at all comfortable doing readings with them. I use various decks depending on intent or the person I am reading for. I have been sticking with one deck more then another recently as I have found that I am working towards reading in a different manner then I used to (which was always using the cheat sheet that came with the deck). I am now working on reading cards intuitively mostly by what I see or feel from the cards.

I also mentioned a writing exercise in the title. It has been a while since I have posted a writing exercise, at least partially to the fact that I have not been writing as much as I had been. Well, in the effort to get into writing more, I am also working on writing more in general again, so it is time to do a writing exercise. I am not sure who, if anyone reads my posts regularly, or even irregularly, but if there is something they would like as a writing exercise or suggestion, I would be happy to take suggestions. Until then, I will stick with my old methods.

For my inspiration for this story, I used the Speculative Fiction Muse.
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On the Dangers of Dune Migration

Todd looked out across the sand. Well, there was not much to look at but sand. Some of the sand dunes were rather impressive, but it was still sand. There was also the sun, but Todd preferred not to think too much about that cause it made him think about things like being thirsty and how nice a glass of iced tea would be on a nice sunny day and how unlikely that would be about now out here with all the sand.

Instead he thought about sand dunes. Sand dunes were, on the whole, unappreciated by most people. They would think that a sand dune was a sand dune was a sand dune. There actually was more to a sand dune then just being a sand dune though. There were actually types of sand dunes. Sand dunes could be tranverse, linear, or star dunes and could be simple, compound or complex. Then there were whalebacks and, of course, the often misconstrued quicksand. He knew a lot about sand dunes alright.

He walked some as he thought about sand dunes and their migration patterns, starting to think of his own movement in a similar way. Being pushed by the wind until it was eventually forced over by the weight of time or some other outside force to then become the lower edge of a dune and continue the migration pattern. He was not sure his migration would go much further other then to become part of the dunes, which would not be an altogether bad thing in the big picture he supposed.

A light flashed off to his left and he turned to see more sand. What would cause a flash of light out here? Reflections of the sun off from some object. Some object that was not sand. Could he have a hope that it was water? He altered his course slightly, and headed off to the left. That would be the west, toward the setting sun. If the sun ever set around here. Of course the sun set around here. Another flash of light caused him to hurry his step slightly, and he stumbled. The first flash of light had not been his imagination.

Gathering himself, he continued on. Forcing himself to keep from trying to rush too much and waste his already waning strength. He still saw no real signs of actual water, just those brief flashes. None of the signs of trees or other plant life that generally surround an oasis, but perhaps it is one of the springs that comes to ground during certain times of the year. This would in ways be better then seeing the picture perfect oasis then he might start think he was seeing things. Even better when the flash came again, it was much closer.

He made his last push up the windward face of one of the larger dunes and that is when he saw Skye. He sat down and stared at the uncomprehending face staring back at him. "What? What are you doing out here all alone?" he cried out in confusion.

"I could ask you the same thing," her voice answered in return, sounding rather husky from emotion.

"I came out here to study sand dunes, and things were going so well, so I, well, anyways, I got caught in a sandstorm and lost my equipment and my bearings. I figured if I kept heading north, I would find something, I may have miscalculated. Who are you?"

"I'm Skye. I got lost, too. I figured I was going to die here all alone in this wasteland with nothing but sand for miles, but now you are here."

"I'm Todd." He looked around. He had not found an oasis or water. He had found another person who was lost. What were the chances of that? His mind was trying to come up with the rather astronomical odds when she spoke again.

"You don't know a way for us to get out of here either do you?"

Todd shook his head sadly, numbers still spinning in his head.

"It is better then being alone though. Will you stay though, Todd? I don't think I have the strength to keep walking on forever through the sands. Even if I count all the different types of dunes or sand flats."

"Yes, I can stay here with you, Skye. I don't want to be alone either. After all the walking I did, I think the think I was most afraid of was that I would die here alone in the sand and be forgotten by all but the sand.

Skye smiled, "I was feeling the same way. I did not want to die alone out here, but now we are together, and it won't be so bad. You will have more then just the sand to remember you. You will have Skye."

And so Skye and Todd was not alone when death claimed them in the cold of night. In the morning, the winds blew, already forming a new dune over Todd and the mirror he held in his lap.

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Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Another Day in my Life

So, as you see, I have not gotten back into the habit of writing daily into the blog. I am mostly settled down into the new apartment, I do have a few scattered boxes to unpack still, and the place is still a lot messier then I would like it to be. I have just not been feeling very motivated to do much since the first large unpacking spree. I have had a bit of depression and that has just making it hard to get anything anything done.

Outside of that, I went to Voc Rehab today and had my Voc Assessment. The person I saw seems to be supporting me going to school, and was very nice at least. I did generally well on the tests if a bit slow on some of the timed parts, but I was also accurate on them. So, she gets to point out that I am anal retentive, but not necessarily in those words.

Last night was a meeting with the Pagan Circle for us to discuss the Samhain circle. Things are progressing nicely for it. I am writing up most of the ritual for it. We are doing the normal casting the circle, and invoking the Goddess and God, then we are having a memorial for the dead. After that we are doing a blessing for a ritual broom and will have a story that goes with that. We will also offer apples to people and have a brief story about what the apples represent. Michelle is writing up the part about the apples, and Susan is doing the write up about the broom, with me helping out if needed. We will then have a reading of one of my poems, a time to share our experiences, then open the circle.

I have the memorial, casting, invocation and dismissals written up. I need to write up a description of the holiday, and I think that is basically it. I also need to buy some ribbon to wrap the broom with. I might post some of it a bit later. I just wanted to make sure I posted something today, because it has been so long. I spent the past hour on Ventrilo talking to my brother.

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Monday, August 11, 2008

So Much on my Mind

Wow, what a day. I am not even sure what I have been doing most of the day. I got up and did laundry, and I did all the phone calls needed to for gas, power, internet, and phone for the new apartment. My friend Michelle called and we talked about computers as she plans to get a new one, so I looked up stuff online to build her a new computer.

I packed a couple boxes and cleaned up a little more for people coming over for the Pagan Circle meeting tomorrow. I just feel like my concentration has been completely gone and I have been sort of flitting from one thing to another and not quite focused on anything fully today. When I woke up I was having an anxiety attack. It was not a horrible one, not bad enough to a full blown panic attack, but I think it set the day up to leave me off balance.

I actually had read something on another person's blog that mention some specific questions about ritual and paganism. It is a subject that has come up several times in one way or another over the past couple years. Basically, the person was discussing the use and placement of candles and which color they should be and the correct time for the ritual.

While I do think that there are times that a ritual can have more strength to it due to the phase of the moon or the time of the year or other such things, overall I believe that most workings can be done pretty much any time. We use certain times of day or certain phases of the moon to help us with our focus, but when it comes down to it, it is based on intent.

This also goes into things such as candles or other items used for spellcrafting or for ritual purposes. A spell can be cast with nothing other then your mind and your will and your thoughts, then rest is just there to help you focus and direct your intent. They are symbols we use for sympathetic magics. High Magics that such as those in the Qabalah use various symbols for similar effect. The simple idea of "wishing on a star" is a very basic form of magic. The childhood poem, "Starlight, Starbright, Firt star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish, Get the wish I wish tonight," is a very basic spell.

As for setting up an altar, it can be done as simply or elaborately as money, time and space allows. Also, it can be done to your or your groups own tastes. I had a fellow pagan come into my house and she mentioned I didn't have an altar set up. I then proceeded to point out the altar that I had set up that was done almost entirely with crystals, then the one that was done with a mixture of stone and pewter figures of animals and mythical creatures, then one that was a mix of crystals and creatures that represented the elements and she started realizing that most of my apartment was set up as an altar of one type or another.

There was a time when I was very depressed that I spent a fair amount of time in psychiatric hospitals, and I was not allowed to bring in things one would normally have on an altar. This taught me to improvise a great deal, and I actually had a mini-altar that I packed for times that I went into hospitals. I had different colored stones for each element, a feather, and a couple of pictures. That was my altar, and there was no object in it that was a problem to bring into the hospital, so I could have it with me.



It is nice to be able to have things that are meaningful to you on an altar or in your rituals, but when it comes down to it, it really can be done inexpensively and easily. A wand can be a simple branch that you pick up on a walk in the woods, there is no real need to buy something elaborate and expensive. A figure of the Goddess or God can be a picture that you print on the computer or simply a candle. I use various stones for the elements all the time. Our Pagan group is talking about using a red dragon figure to represent the south on our altar because having a candle burning in the south where we reach across it makes some people nervous.

The limits of magic are our imaginations.

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Friday, August 1, 2008

Anti-Christian Sentiments

I was just reading the Nerdfighter forum and saw something that really bothered me. There was someone that started a thread about looking for Christian Nerdfighters to talk to about being Christian and God. They also added if their were any non-Christian Nerdfighters that wanted to talk about the Bible or God also they could be involved as well.

The first response was that it was the record time that it took for the person to hate the poster. The following threads were almost all posts that were also anti-Christian and various levels of insults and then completely hi-jacking the conversation. While I am not Christian myself, I respect that Christians have the right to their own beliefs even if I do not agree with them myself. I also believe that if you want to reach out to someone who has a belief that you do not agree with, the method to reach them is not by attacking them. It solves nothing.

Attacking someone and being rude and hating them for their beliefs also goes against what being a Nerdfighter is all about to me. Being a Nerdfighter is about accepting differences in people, usually because you have come from a place where you are seen as different and know how it feels to be treated so. I was really saddened to see this blatant disregard for another persons feelings on the forums.

As I said, I do not think that attacking another person for their beliefs is a way to help them change their beliefs if anything, it will strengthen them. It will give the person a feeling of surpassing worthiness by proving that they are "morally superior" to a person that is rude and shows hate to someone attempting to reach out and be friendly. My guess is that the people saying these things are just proving to themselves their own personal strength, but they lack the foresight to see the results of their words and how others see them.

I did make a reply to the post, because I feel that it is important to do what I can when I can. It may not be much and I might get attacked for it, but perhaps the person will think some for me having posted something. If not, I at least tried and feel better for doing my own part. All that each person can do is work with their limited means.

I have seen fundamentalism in many forms and it always saddens me. Most people complain about fundamentalist Christians, but I have also seen pagans that are fundamentalists as well. The attitudes are the same, "my way is right and it is not possible that any other way is right so you are all wrong." Fundamentalism in any form is still fundamentalism.

Living in the New England area, I have seen more then a couple fundamentalist pagans. I have seen a great deal of hypocrisy as well. The Wiccan Rede "And Ye Harm None, Do As Ye Will," is an interesting rule to look at. For those who may need a translation, it basically says, as long as no one is harmed (in any way, that also means controlled against their will and such), you can do pretty much what you want. I have been involved with some rather judgmental pagans that complained because they had an open circle, and the people that came to the circle were uncomfortable because the circle was in an enclosed area and all of the people except for the two of them were smokers.

Smoking, in general, is braking the Wiccan Rede, because people know they are harming themselves by smoking and they also know that the second hand smoke can cause harm to others. Now, even if they do not smoke around non-smokers at all, harming none should include yourself. Just my thoughts on the subject. Sorry about the rant.

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Saturday, July 26, 2008

Lughnasadh

The pagan group I am involved with at the Unitarian Universalist Church I am involved in is doing a circle for Lughnsadh tomorrow and I had to do a write up to describe what Lughnasadh (also called Lammas) was about. So I wrote it out and actually have an edited version. I get to read this at the circle tomorrow. Eeek!! I have no idea how many people will be there.

The name Lughnasadh (Loo-nahs-ah) was taken from the Celtic Sun God Lugh, but the celebration is mainly a grain festival, sometimes called the Sabbat of the First Fruits. Native Americans would honor the Corn Grandmother and called it the Festival of Green Corn. Barley, wheat, and corn are all ready to be picked by August, as are many other crops in the northern hemisphere.

Lughnasadh is the first of the the Harvest Sabbat (Mabon and Samhain being the other two). It marks the middle of Summer and marks the beginning of the harvest cycle which relies heavily early crops of ripening fruits, vegetables and grains that are all ready to be harvested. it is therefore greatly associated with bread, as grain is one of the first crops to be harvested. Pagans give thanks to all the Gods and Goddesses of Harvest, as well as those who represent Death and Resurrection.

At this time of year, it was traditional to have great feasts to celebrate the first successful harvest and generous libations, offerings of food and drinks, would be given to the deities as thanks for the banquet. It was from these harvests that they would eat through the upcoming Winter. As they would celebrate and give thanks for to the Earth for its' bounties and beauty, so it is with us today.

As the Summer passes, we remember its warmth and gifts to us in the that we eat. Every meal is an act of attuning with Nature, and we are reminded of the constant change in the Universe.

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Wednesday, July 16, 2008

My beliefs

I saw something on another blog about the Mother God, and religious beliefs and thought I would touch some on what I believe. I like to believe that I am very open and accepting of other people's beliefs, and in that when I formed my own spirituality, I left it open in such a way that it allowed for others beliefs to fit into it.

One of the things I think I should start with is some of my personal definitions of spirituality and religion. I see spirituality is a person's personal connection with a power outside of themselves. I leave the definition of that power very fuzzy on purpose. I define religion as a community that gathers together and hold a similar creed, doctrine, or belief system to connect with that which is divine.

Now, with religion, the people gathering do not all have to share the same belief in the same form of this external form of divinity. In fact, in most cases, I think many people have very different ways in which they see a supreme being or beings. Some may see Jesus, some may see Mary, some may see a trinity, and there are those who may see the Greek or Roman pantheon of deities. If their belief is that all people are equal and that all people deserve to worship their God or Gods in the way that they chose, then that is a religion.

Okay, now to my own beliefs I belong to a Unitarian Universalist Church. There was a time in my life not long ago that I never though I would belong to a church again, but the UU church actually was something that I could accept because it allowed me to keep my beliefs. The basic premise in the UU church is that we are tolerant of other people no matter thier race, gender, age, sexual orientation, and what thier personal beliefs are. they invite people to continue to search for thier own beliefs and grow spiritually without telling you what you *should* believe. It stands for justice and acceptance of others, telling us that we are all connected.

Well, it is all well and good that I belong to a church that is accepting of what I believe in, but what do I actually believe? I use the word pagan to describe myself. I suppose neo-pagan is a more accurate description. The word pagan originally meant "country-dweller." The religious meaning of it being a non-Christian came from the fact that those who lived further from the cities (in rural areas) were more spread out, so it was harder to teach them Christianity and convert them from a polytheistic religion.

Neo-paganism today often have people who practice various forms of wicca (also called witchcraft or wiccacraft). Wicca is not a form of harmful magics, in fact one of its main rules is "And ye harm none, do as ye will." A brief translation meaning, you can do as you want as long as you don't do anything harmful to anyone, this includes things like the imfamous love spells that are so often spoken of, because you are trying to force your will on someone else.

So, as a pagan, I believe in more then one deity. Many pagans will believe in deities from one pantheon (ie Egyptian deities like Bast, Anubis, Horus, Isis, etc) or will chose deities from several, or even from all of them. Many also chose patron deities that they feel more of a connection towards. I have formed a Pantheon that consists of archetypes. Most Pantheons have archetypes that are repeated themes. One of the easiests examples of this would be death; Egyptians have Anubis, Greeks have Thanatos, Celts have the Morrigan.

I take these repeated themes and make that my pantheon. From the dieties that repeat, I believe that there are male and female aspects of each one. Now, I also believe that religion is very personal, my deities have personal names. So, Death has names that I have given to Death. Justice has names that I have given to Justice. Now that does not mean that the name Thanatos or Anubis or Tyr or Odin or Hecate or Jesus is not a valid name for a deity. I just means that is the name I use personally in my mind. I can also do a ritual in a group and use other names, but hold the form of my deity in my mind.

Now to my pantheon, and there is a balance in my pantheon of male and female. Now these male and female are also able to join together into a sort of hermaphrodite form as another balance, and from there all the balance can join together and become One God who is many but one. So, we have something that fits in the many God and the one God theories. Now, as for the no God theory, this one God is everything, s/he is science and nature and life.

Okay, now that I have said something about my beliefs. There is one thing I will say about some of the pagans that I have met that have bothered me. Actually, let me take that back a step. Some people of all religions that bother me, and there is one thing specific to pagans. One thing about all religions that bothers me is fundamentalism. I do understand holding to your beliefs. I understand working for your beliefs. It bothers me when a person does not respect another persons beliefs though, and when a person is so closed that they will not see any other possibility, As soon as a person believes they have all the answers, they stop learning. In case anyone is wondering, yes, I have met fundamentalist pagans.

As to my little gripe with pagans specifically, I believe in the balance between God and Goddess. I think that the balance between them is important. One of the things that I have seen in some cases is that the Goddess is heavily honored and the God is just sort of there. I do understand that for many people part of paganism is taking back power as women, or being in touch with feminine nature, but it should not be at the cost of balance. I have used the reasoning that the existence of a Goddess makes sense on the creation of life and the world, because you need both female and male to create life. Let's not forget that it does take both.

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Posted by Badger :: 3:31 PM :: 0 Comments:

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