A Pagan Sojourn

Heart of the Beast

2010-05-02T08:18:00.004-05:00

What's in store for today's May Day parade and festival in Minneapolis? I'm looking forward to finding out. While the "theme" is known (it is dealing with the Census), it's a matter of how it will be presented. And I love the way that the Heart of the Beast Puppet Theatre goes all out and really puts together a fantastic production year after year. This year's theme delves into questions that are not asked on the census such as "What if all the trees, beetles, fishes, the waters, worms and raccoons were counted?" and "What if we asked each other questions toward our wellbeing?"

The days events start with a parade through the streets of Minneapolis leading up to Powderhorn Park. Next will be the Tree of Life Ceremony and the Festival.

Will you be in Powerhorn Park this afternoon? Do you have another May Day Festival that you will be at?

Blasphemy

2010-01-02T09:57:00.004-06:00

Don't even think of saying something that could be blasphemous in Ireland unless you intend to defend your statement to show that it has value. It could cost you a €25,000-($35,800) fine.

Ireland has passed a law, which took effect yesterday, making it illegal to make a statement, spoken or published, that is "grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby causing outrage among a substantial number of the adherents of that religion."

Sorry, but you no matter what you say and how you say it and what care you take to make sure you offend the least amount of people possible, you will offend people. Statements of personal opinions on matters as richly debated as religion have a high rate of causing offense.

And how are they to determine which statements to deem as blasphemous enough to be considered breaking this law? Will it be determined by the number of people it offends or will it be just a choice few officials who make the decision? How many people is a "substantial number" and who determines this as well? And how will they find out how many people it offends; by taking a poll? Come on.

I love that the Irish Atheists have published 25 blasphemous quotes from people such as Jesus, Pope Benedict XVI, Bjork, and Mark Twain thus breaking the new law.

What is the reasoning behind the law? Apparently, it is because of the influx of immigrants from all different backgrounds that has brought many beliefs and religions to Ireland. According to an article in the Guardian, a previous law only allowed protection to the Christian religion.

This law was supposed to add rights, then?

To say that you will be fined if you make blasphemous statements about any religion to protect a variety of beliefs seems a little twisted to me. Why not just say that all religions have the same protections and rights? Then, rights are being added rather then taken away.

Lunar Eclipse

2008-02-21T13:00:00.007-06:00

There is something that is so beautifully different about a lunar eclipse that draws people out to view it. Even on a bitterly cold night in Minnesota.

Watching the moon go from fully illuminated in all it's glory to glowing bright red and back to fully lit is a quite a spectacular event to witness.

Last night, a group of us met up for dinner and then drove a ways out to get away from the light pollution of the Cities. In between taking shots of the moon, we would jump back into the car to warm up. It was -5°F (-21°C) and we weren't going to take any chances of having our equipment (or our toes) freezing.

As we sat in the car between bouts of viewing and photography, we talked about the symbology of the moon. What the moon symbolizes, the utter confusion and chaos lunar eclipses caused in the past because of not knowing what was really happening, the religious significance that has been placed on the moon by many cultures and how some of the mystery of the moon has been lost due to modern science.

But, in the end, no matter how much we philosophized, nothing could take away the fact that last night, the moon was beautiful in all the stages of the eclipse.

Meaningful Religious Vocabulary In UU

2007-12-31T18:16:00.002-06:00

Can Unitarian Universalists have a meaningful, common religious vocabulary as they have historically had difficulty with the various uses of religious language (Barker, 2004)? In the last few years, this question has brought on much discussion regarding different aspects of religious language and vocabulary within the Unitarian Universalist community (Barker, 2004; Muir, 2003; Arnink, 2003). This discussion has included issues such as what words are not acceptable to most Unitarian Universalists (Barker, 2004; Buechren & Church, 1998), words that are proposed for use within the Unitarian Universalist tradition (Arnink, 2003), problems implementing changes in language use (Latchkeys, 1974; Donovan, 1976), as well as what would constitute as being considered meaningful and how to emphasis that common meaning (Arnink, 2003; Barker, 2004).

One of the reasons why Unitarian Universalists are finding the subject of religious language an important one to talk about is that they are worried about retaining their members and attracting new ones (Barker, 2004). A common speculation regarding this issue has Unitarian Universalists wondering whether having a common language or talking about religion in a different way would help the religious movement to grow (Barker, 2004). As there has traditionally been tolerance for many religious viewpoints within the Unitarian Universalist faith, people fear that implementing a new vocabulary might have the effect of excluding their own personal beliefs (Barker, 2004).

Another reason that Unitarian Universalists seem to be longing for a common vocabulary could be due to the idea that religion would otherwise be a rather private experience without a common language (Donovan, 1976; Maslow, 1970). As most of our religious and spiritual experiences are experienced individually, humans have long had the need to create a language to express the emotions and the meanings behind those experiences (Maslow, 1970). If we cannot understand what someone is trying to explain regarding their personal religious experience, it makes it difficult for others to understand and relate to that person on a religious level. Binkley & Hicks (1962) mention that putting a meaning to our personal, spiritual experiences by the use of common words goes along with the reasoning that religious language helps people to understand religion itself.

Word Usage in Unitarian Universalism

Within Unitarian Universalism, the use (and non-use) of various religious words and phrases can be a blessing and a problem at the same time. So that everyone's beliefs can be acknowledged, many words that would commonly be used in various religions are rejected within the Unitarian Universalist community (Muir, 2003). For example, a word that is not commonly used within Unitarian Universalist language is the word "sin" (Buehren & Church, 1998). Buehren and Church (1998) go on to talk about the reason for this rejection regarding the Unitarian Universalist belief that people are born "good" and therefore they do not include the concept of original sin within their faith. It is also said that they typically chose not to use words like "sin" because of the associations of creed and dogma that usually come with the use of these types of words (Muir, 2003).

Another common word that is typically used in other traditions but is frowned upon within a Unitarian Universalist setting is the word "God." This can be demonstrated by the fact that the word "God" is not included in the Principles of Unitarian Universalism and people tend to get upset when there is any hint of people suggesting to include it into the Principles (Arnink, 2003). From my personal experience, the word "God" is not commonly used within church services; if the word is used, the speaker is often accused as being insensitive to the needs of those in the congregation who use other terms to describe their personal relationship with the divine (if they express their experience in such a way).

Instead of using words that are based in creed and dogma, Unitarian Universalists "dip into the language of science; [they] dip into the dictionary of psychology; sometimes [they] borrow words from politics, to describe what ordinarily the language of faith would be describing" (Muir, 2003, pg. 4). However, in recent years there has been a move towards a religious language that can be claimed by the Unitarian Universalist faith. An idea that has surfaced in the last few years is the idea of a language of reverence and it has become a hot topic in UU circles (Arnink, 2003). Arnink (2003) continues his discussion of a language of reverence by suggesting the word "mystery" for use in Unitarian Universalist language. Arnink (2003) talks about "mystery" as a way to describe personal experiences including those events that we have experienced in the past and those events that we could experience. At the same time, he suggests that we should not propose a particular "poetic image for this absolute Mystery" (Arnink, 2003, pg. 5).

Besides the offered suggestion of mystery, Arnink (2003) also suggests the use of metaphor for explaining our experiences to others. Arnink (2003) remarks that "when a metaphor 'grabs you' as somehow significant, meaningful, you can be assured that it is not speaking to you from the Great Beyond; it is speaking to you of some natural area of your experience" (pg. 9). In other words, metaphor is a useful tool to bring about and share the meaning behind our personal experiences. Arnink (2003) furthers this idea by mentioning that metaphors can be a way to confirm similar personal experiences as drawing associations between two perspectives which can be an effective tool in the understanding of someone else's experiences.

Implementing Change

While mystery and metaphor are only two of many examples of vocabulary changes that are proposed in the Unitarian Universalist language, there is also the issue of how to implement those changes. After all, each Unitarian Universalist church has a tendency to have a different feel to it in regards to congregational beliefs and the services lead by the minister of the church. With this in mind, it makes it difficult to create a language that is totally inclusive as what works for one group will not necessarily work for another. Therefore, any changes that are proposed to be included will bring about choruses of both yeas and nays.

Some problems with trying to create a religious language stem from the idea that we can not know exactly what other people mean as there can be many connotations and associations that go along with certain words. Rev. Victoria Safford (2007) mentioned this concept in a sermon when she said, "philosophers of language, linguists and theologians, argue a lot about the limits of what we actually can say to one another" (pg. 5). Unlike Maslow (1970), Safford suggests that it may be the language that comes before experience. She gives the example that "if you come from a tradition that has the word "forgiveness," then you are more likely to practice it or long for it" (Safford, 2007, pg. 5).

Along with the use of particular words, phrases, and abstract ideas, the use, and sometimes misuse, of religious language has sometimes been known as the "language game" (Raschke, 1974; Donovan, 1976). This term was used by some philosophers as a way to understand how we use religious language (Donovan, 1976). Donovan (1976) says "learning a religion and understanding the language is rather like learning to play a game," (pg. 88) where we learn the rules first and then learn to put those rules into action. To further our understanding of "the game," we need to put the knowledge of "the rules" into use as it brings on a whole different level of understanding (Raschke, 1974).

Meaningful Language

It is a common understanding and set of meanings that is ultimately what Unitarian Universalists are striving for (Muir, 2003). But what constitutes the idea of a meaningful religious language? Muir (2003) mentions three criteria for understanding the "relationship between our reality and the words we use to describe reality" (pg. 1): words that retain their integrity throughout many years, "understanding when our experiences exceed our vocabularies" (pg. 2), and that there are times when there are no words to describe our experiences. Even with these three guidelines, religious language is difficult as the words are often tied to dogma, especially Christian dogma (Muir, 2003). Because of Unitarian Universalism's rejection of dogma, there is a tendency towards using more secular (and scientific) language (Arnink, 2003; Muir, 2003).

Another point that Muir (2003) mentions in regards to making religious language meaningful is that since Unitarian Universalists are such a small percentage of the world's population, they need to incorporate other faith dictionaries instead of rejecting language that is already know. It is this that will help to bring about understandings between faiths rather than creating barriers by creating a whole new vocabulary for faith communities to learn (Muir, 2003). In other words, we need to keep ways of communication open between all faiths to bring about understanding.

Conclusion

Even though this is a subject that is being discussed more often in recent years, there is still much to consider before Unitarian Universalists can create and implement a common religious language. Issues such as word usage (including what is acceptable and what is not), the meanings of the new vocabularies and how to use them, as well as how to bring about the discussed changes to the general populations of Unitarian Universalists will require much more discussion before they will feel comfortable with making any changes. In the end, it could be that the Unitarian Universalist Association will have to decide on changes that will not be approved by everybody involved within the tradition. As Safford (2007) said near the end of her sermon, "The dream of a common language is only that at best - a wispy ideal that cannot hold or celebrate complexity" (pg. 8).

References:

Arnink, D. (2003). Religious language: The language of reverence. Retrieved 03/01/07 from http://www.uua.org/news/2003/vocabulary/arnink.html.
Barker, L. (2004). Language of reverence. Retrieved 03/01/07 from http://www.uua.org/ga/ga04/2004d.html.
Binkley, L.J. & Hick, J.H.; (1962). What characterizes religious language? Journal for the scientific study of religion. 2(1); 18-24.
Buehren, J.A. & Church, F. (1998). A chosen faith. Boston: Beacon Press.
Donovan, P. (1976). Religious language. New York: Hawthorn Books, Inc.
Maslow, A.H. (1970). Religions, values, and peak-experiences. New York: Penguin Compass.
Muir, F. J. (2003). Watch your language. Retrieved 03/01/07 from http://www.uua.org.news/2003/vocabulary/muir.html.
Raschke, C. (1974) Meaning and saying in religion: Beyond language games. The Harvard Theological Review. 67(2). 79-116.
Safford, V. (2007). Dreams of a common language. Retrieved from http://www.whitebearunitarian.org/html/sermons.html.

The Night Sky

2007-11-05T22:45:00.000-06:00

The last week or so, I've been watching the night sky. Even with the nights becoming crisp, I've been drawn outdoors for a couple of hours at a time. I've taken to grabbing a blanket and my backpacking mattress and driving a good distance from the light pollution cast off from the brightly lit Twin Cities.

What first drew me outside last week was a comet called 17P/Holmes. A friend and I had heard about the comet and decided to try to get pictures of it. We drove out to a spot that allowed us a good look at the sky, pulled over to the side of the road, and set up our cameras.

We were too late. As we were setting up our photo equipment, we noticed that the full moon was rising in the north-eastern sky right where the comet was. Although the comet was bright, it was quickly overpowered by the light of the moon.

Instead of taking pictures of the moon, I took a few minutes to lean up against the car and look at what else was in the sky as I waited for my friend to finish taking pictures. I saw the usual stars, satellites, and planes and my friend and I both saw a shooting star that streaked across the sky.

But the one thing that really caught my attention was the Big Dipper. No matter what I watched or where I looked in the sky, my gaze always went back to that constellation that has been acknowledged in many cultures throughout the ages. My thoughts continued to be centered on this famous constellation for the next few days as I found myself going outside to watch the night sky.

Tonight, as the air was very brisk (there were even some snow flurries today here in Minnesota), I decided to stay in and read tonight. A few days ago, I had picked up a used copy of American Gods by Neil Gaiman on a recommend from Paul at Evoking the Goddess, and I decided that it was the night to start reading it.

Soon after starting it, I realized that can't get away from the Big Dipper even when indoors. Two of the characters in the book climbed up on the roof of a house, where the woman points out the Big Dipper and tells the man about how three cultures view it. The one that caught my attention was Odin's Wain.

Learning The Lore

2007-10-28T12:12:00.000-05:00

I've spent a lot of time over the past 6 months or so reading the Lore that Heathenry bases it's beliefs. There are so many ideas and opinions on the translations and the interpretation of what has been written that I'm having a hard time sorting through everything. Unfortunately, there is not much out there that helps a person that is new to the information.

It's hard learning about a religion on your own. With no one to guide you, you have to figure things out on your own. Questions that come up are:

Where does one start?
What information should be learned first?
Which authors are good ones?
And in the case of Heathenry - what translation(s) of the do you use?

One of Ravencast's episodes, Asatru 101 - Lore, gave me a great idea: Start with one of the sagas, Eddas, etc and look up several different versions/translations of it. Learn the different versions and compare and contrast them. Form an understanding (and know your reasons behind that opinion) about that particular set of a saga or Edda that you have started to research.

With this in mind, it becomes more about thoroughly thinking about the meaning behind the passages rather than just reading and familiarizing yourself with the information. It's about forming your own opinion on their meaning rather then having that interpretation force fed to you. And it's about being able to defend your opinion using the sources as inspiration.

While I have a long way to go before I would feel comfortable with debating my ideas about the Lore with anybody, I think that that this approach laid out by Sandi and Dave at Ravencast is something that I will adopt for my own studies.

A Night Of Remembrance

2007-10-25T19:43:00.000-05:00

Since starting this blog, the night of October 31st has become much more meaningful to me than it had been before. Sure, I knew about the secular meaning (from being an avid trick-or-treater back in the day) and some of the religious connotations (from my interest in various religions), and I have also learned a lot from what other Pagan bloggers have had to say regarding what the day means to them in both a personal and religious sense.

But even though I understood what had been written about and discussed, I now realize that I didn't have a full grasp on the feeling behind the day.

This year is different.

I will now know have an understanding of Samhain as a night of remembrance. There are three people that have been heavy on my mind this year. Within two weeks of returning from England and Germany, three people within my circles of family and friends passed away.

One, a friend's child, a long awaited pregnancy. While we had not met the child yet to come, we felt the loss within my circle of friends. We all grieved with the parents and tried to support them in their time of need.

Another, a second friend's child, who had been struggling with health issues since birth. It was both a day of sadness and of relief (as we kept in mind that the child would no longer be suffering).

The last, a close relative, who had lived a long life and was the only one left of her generation within our family. Her smiling face and sassy quips will be missed as the holiday season comes closer.

These are the three people that I will keep in mind this coming Samhain night. These are the three people to whom candles will be lit in remembrance. These are three people who will serve as reminders of what is important to me.

Sitting By The Falls

2007-08-08T16:50:00.000-05:00

Still out by the water.....

By The Water

2007-07-20T14:23:00.000-05:00

Living in Minnesota gives me the opportunity for all sorts of outdoor experiences, especially when it comes to water. Minnesota is the "land of 10,000 lakes" after all. But its not only the lakes that are a draw for me.

I love hiking along the rivers, streams and creeks that feed into Lake Superior along the North Shore. The rushing rapids of the rivers and the crashing waterfalls contrasts with the quiet views of Lake Superior that come from the tops of the Sawtooth Mountains. (You didn't know that Minnesota has mountains, did you? Not huge, mind you, but there they are.)

Spending the last couple of days along the North Shore made me realize how much I miss living near so much water. It also made me realize that this summer's focus has been about being outdoors - camping at Gettysburg, hiking in the Shenandoah Mountains, kayaking, visiting the ocean, and of course hiking the waterways of the North Shore.

I've gotten a few emails and comments asking where I've been. With the wonderful weather lately, it has been hard to sit down and write when I have the opportunity to be outside. So, as long as the weather is great, I'll be out by the water.

On The Road Again

2007-07-02T08:44:00.000-05:00

I've been recruited to be a part of the Gettysburg battle reenactment this coming up weekend for Forth of July, so I'm on the road again.

Camping on the battlefield of Gettysburg? How could I pass up that opportunity!

Heading to Pennsylvania......

Have a safe and happy 4th everyone!

Solstice Sunset

2007-06-21T23:40:00.000-05:00

Happy Summer Solstice to all who celebrate the day!

As I sat on the shores of one of Minnesota's lakes tonight watching the sunset at the end of a wonderful summer's day, I thought about some of the past Midsummer's Day that I could remember. I also found myself thinking about the traditions of summer solstice (due to my recent post regarding tradition and innovation), whether they are religious, personal, or regional.

When we think about traditions associated with this day, the longest in the northern hemisphere,* we may think about the first harvest, the height of a god's power, dancing, and watching the sunrise. What do I think about? Naked hiking.

Wait......... Naked hiking?

Yep. You read that correctly. Now let me tell you a little about it. Naked Hiking Day is a little tradition that is rumored to have started by thru-hikers on the Appalachian Trail to break up the boredom of the third month of hiking (with another three months to go). It is not uncommon to pass people on the AT on June 21st only to realize that they have nothing on but a pack, some boots and a smile.

When hiking the last few miles of the state of Virginia on this day five years ago, I came across a huge group of fellow thru-hikers that were hiking one behind the other. Because I was walking behind them, I didn't realize that they were all naked. It was only when I started to pass them that I realized that they had not a stitch on their bodies. As I started laughing, I was invited to join them.

So, to all those hikers out on the AT today who followed the tradition of hiking naked today, I hope yours was a great day (and I hope that you didn't get too sunburned). For those of you that are just learning about this tradition, there's always next year to join in on the fun.

________________
* In case you are wondering, you can go to timeanddate.com to find out how many hours/minutes/seconds of daylight you got in your location today. St. Paul, Minnesota had 15 hours 37 minutes and 8 seconds of daylight.

Religious Tradition And Innovative Ideas

2007-06-17T20:22:00.000-05:00

In their beginning, all traditions within a religion started as new ideas, or innovations, that helped to move the religion forward. But at what point do innovations become traditions? And how or why are they accepted by the participants of the religion? And does acceptance and adoption of innovations by groups equal success vs. individual adherence? There are so many questions that need to be looked at when discussing tradition and innovation.

Tradition And Innovation

When we think of traditions, we think of those rituals and rites that are a long standing part of our religious practice. Our traditions help to bring us comfort with their familiarity and help us to connect with others who believe as we do. We like the feeling that we are connected to our ancestors and communities through following the traditions that have been handed down to us.

When thinking of innovation, I think of change – either slight changes or something that brings about radical differences. Innovation comes about when someone suggests changes to a system that is currently in play, with the presented innovation taking the form of a new idea or even a new method of a tradition. While traditions can be considered the foundation of religion, innovations are the building blocks that help the religion grow up and out.

All religions focus on both tradition and innovations. Wade Roof (1998) implied that tradition and innovation are parts of the same process when he stated that “religious traditions are socially constructed, at times absorbing, other times resisting, influences within their environments; they are unfinished creations, always evolving, their boundaries drawn and redrawn to fit new circumstances.” [1] We need new ideas to help evolve the “creation.”

At what point do innovations become traditions?

The truth is that we all have boundaries when it comes to what we are willing to accept into our system of belief. When new ideas are presented, they sometimes cross the boundaries of what we consider acceptable.[2] (These boundaries can be on either a personal level or on a group level.) But when changes are accepted and brought into practice, the have the possibility of eventually becoming traditions.

I see the process of accepting innovations in religion as being somewhat akin to the acceptance of new paradigms in the sciences:

someone presents an idea
it tends to be rejected as it is in conflict or competition with a currently accepted paradigm
as more people voice their opinion on the new paradigm, the idea starts to root itself in the knowledge base of the field and more research is done either to find support or to discredit the new paradigm
if research is supportive, the idea slowly takes precedence over an older idea
new paradigm comes into acceptance

Tambey, Powell & Johnson (1989)[3] lay out similar guidelines on how religious innovation becomes accepted:

people are exposed to the innovation
the innovation must be accorded some level of legitimacy
successful innovation must have group that can experiment
there needs to be motivation to adopt the new idea

How/Why are Innovations Accepted by Participants

I like both the second and third points that Tambey, et al (1989) make in their research. Experimentation is an important part of the creative thought process of new ideas. Tambey, et al talk about how changes such as moving, going off to college or a new marriage can be times that allow for experimenting in regards to our religious beliefs. (While the research focuses on “religious nones” or the “unchurched,” I think that these ideas can be generalized to any religious change.)

Legitimacy also seems to play a part in the acceptance of a new idea. By saying that an innovation is legitimate, we are saying that there is some truth to it. But who gets to say what is legitimate? I’ve noticed that legitimacy tends to come from the social realm where the more people that except a new idea, the more legit it becomes. But ideas can have personal legitimacy as well.

Individuals Verses Groups

In a comment that I made on Erik's post regarding tradition and innovation, I had this to say about individual expression verses group expression: But what happens when what is reasonable for one person is not for someone else? Does that mean that the individual religious experience counts for less than what the group has to say? I’m thinking that there needs to be several levels or layers of religious experience and practice because each individual (and group) has preferences in how the innovations, or new ideas, are presented and adopted.

We live in an age that allows for more personal freedom when it comes to expressing our personal beliefs in regards to religion then any other age in history. We no longer need a religious authority to interpret religious writings and practices for us. Instead, we have the ability to read those texts and come to our own conclusions.

Why can’t there be both individual expression (which includes your personal traditions) and group expression within the same religious path? This is what I was referring to when I mentioned religions needing several layers.

In Conclusion

Does there need to be a war between innovation and tradition where we have to choose one over the other? No, because both innovation and tradition are needed to keep a religion alive. We need to find a balance between the two so that religion doesn’t become stagnant (weighed down by tradition) and so it doesn’t change too fast (because of too many new ideas).

[1] Roof, W. C., (1998). Religious borderlands: Challenges for future studies. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 31(1). Pg. 5.

[2] Ideas of boundaries taken from: Roof, W. C., (1998). Religious borderlands: Challenges for future studies. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 31(1): 1-14.

[3] Tambey, J.B., Powell, S. & Johnson, S., (1989). Innovation theory and religious nones. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 28(2): pg. 216.

Back to England

2007-06-15T02:11:00.000-05:00

After arriving back in England, I headed to Dartmoor National Park to do some hiking and letterboxing. I found it interesting that most of the public footpaths I walked were on private land. I was walking next to houses, like this thatched house, and through fields with sheep and felt like I was trespassing. What a different experience from hiking in the US.

This was the area that I had come across the standing stone in the middle of a field where I had stopped for lunch.

I spent a few days hiking and exploring the area before heading to Bath.

I spent a few days in Bath exploring museums, Roman sites, and gardens. There was so much to see and do and I wish that I had more time to spend in and around the area of Bath as I found it to be a beautiful area.

While some of the things that I did were rather "tourist-y" (like the Bizarre Bath Tour and the Ghost Walk), I made sure to get some advice from locals about where to go and what to see. This was how I ended up a college performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

From Bath, I was able to take a tour that went to Avebury and Stonehenge. At Avebury, we were able to walk around the circle. It was an interesting experience, as most of the circle was within sheep fields. Our tour guide took us to one of the quarters (the circle is divided into to four quarters by two roads that run through the middle) to show us how dowsing works and explain about the lay lines in the area. He then set us loose to find the lay line that the circle is on.

Stonehenge was an interesting experience as it was both a powerful experience and a disappointing one at the same time. Why two seemingly conflicting feelings? Well, when first walking up to the structure, I realized that the structure was not as big (as in bigger circle, not the height of the stones) as I thought it was. I had a moment of "This is it?" I got the distinct impression that if Stonehenge was used for religious ceremonies, it was only a privileged small group who would have been directly involved with the ceremonies within the circle.

What made it a powerful experience was that I realized that there is much more to Stonehenge than just the stone circle. The surrounding landscape is full of sites that have associations with Stonehenge, but hardly any of it gets any attention from the thousands of people who visit the area each day. With the focus on burial sites (called barrows) in the area, it's not to difficult to come to the conclusion that this area had associations with death. As these barrows are the burial sites of the community leaders, it made me think more on Chas Clifton's comment when I mentioned Stonehenge before I left. As I walked around, I realized that even though we don't have the whole story regarding Stonehenge, there is something that continues to attract people to the area today. (Besides the tourism advertising, that is.)

I finished up my trip spending a couple of days in London, where just a few hours before flying home, I walked by Buckingham Palace just in time to see the Queen leaving from the main gates.

Visiting Germany

2007-06-14T10:39:00.000-05:00

After about a week in England, I flew over to Germany. I knew I was in for an interesting experience as I speak absolutely no German, had never been in country where the predominant language wasn't English, and am not familiar with German food. I was in for an interesting time. This is what was learned:

1) If there was somewhere I wanted to go in Trier, this would be the place I would end up (unintentionally). I learned to love the shopping area, as it eventually helped me to find my way around the city. (And the best ice cream could be found in this area, too!)

2) Give me a phrase book and see find out how many words that I mispronounce. Luckily, people in Trier are very friendly. This was the city that I learned how to pronoun one of my favorite coffee shop drinks (heisse milch mit honig). I had a good laugh with the woman behind the counter as she taught me how to pronounce it correctly.

3) In Munich, I learned that street art is breathtaking. I don't know how long the artist had been working on this (this is a small portion of the whole), but I'm sure that it had taken several days. And most of it wasn't done yet.

When I passed by, the artist was packing up his art supplies for the day. I took this picture along with a few others before he started pealing the tape from the edges of the canvas.

4) I needed to slow down in Munich, as I was getting overwhelmed by the language barrier. Instead of trying to see everything, I mostly walked around the city and went to a few museums.

5) If I could move to Germany, Hannover would be my new home away from home. I fell in love with the city of Hannover. It seemed as if there was a garden or park in every area of the city.

6) In Hannover, I realized that a good public transportation system is a wonderful asset to a city (Minneapolis/St. Paul, please take note).

7) The city of Hannover is protected from evil spirits by the placement of various "envy heads."

8) This stone carving was a landmark for traveling journeymen, who had to find it it to be able to say that they had been to Hannover.

9) I learned to take a closer look at church buildings because they might be hiding their "true" message.

11) After a week and half of exploring Germany, it was time to head back to England. I look forward to the opportunity to return to Germany.

Visiting England

2007-05-31T12:59:00.000-05:00

I've been trying to figure out what I have wanted to say about my trip to Europe. It is difficult to sum up a month long trip in just a few words and pictures. While it is easy to tell you about what I did and where I went, there is definitely more to it than that.

As I didn't specifically go there to "learn," I found that I did learn a lot anyway. I learned a lot about different sacred spot in England, I learned first hand that there is more to a culture than just a difference in language, and I learned a lot about myself. Traveling alone gives you a lot of time to think.

My first few days were spent in the area in and around York. I got to visit several sacred sites thanks to Paul and his wife, who were willing to introduce me to a few of their favorites. As I had mentioned that I enjoyed labyrinths, they took me to two: Julian's Bower and the Caerdonia labyrinth (a.k.a. - The City of Troy). While the first was fenced in due to re-turfing, we were able to walk the second one. (The picture above is of Julian's Bower.)

While I won't mention all the sites that Paul and his wife introduced me to, I will say that one at the end of the second day was my favorite - the river Wharfe, which was a sacred site of the Goddess Verbeia. Even though I spent a lot of my time taking pictures, I could feel the calmness of the area. Seeing the river from above and then walking down into the valley where the river was was a neat experience. Experiencing the feeling of the place from a even a slight distance was very different from getting to experience it close up.

Over the next few days, I began to think about how there is a connection to the land, to a specific area, of which a person lives. There is a sense of disconnection when at a distance. Paul talked about this when he talked about being rooted to place he lives. Like Paul, I began to wonder if those of us in other areas of the world feel at least somewhat cut off from the Gods and Goddesses that we respect and made a part of our lives.

The next few days were spent in Glastonbury and Wells. I started out the day biking from Wells to Glastonbury, seeing the Tor in the distance almost the whole way. After getting lost, ending up taking a long detour, and witnessing a lesson regarding the birds and the bee from a couple of local cows, I finally reached the Chalice Well in Glastonbury. As it was May Day, there were many spiritual seekers walking around, lots of candles and incense that were lit, and some drumming coming from somewhere in the gardens.

After an hour or so in the Chalice Well gardens, I filled up my water bottle from the Lion's Head and headed into town.

Next was a visit to the Abby, where I walked around the ruins and the grounds and also stopped in to hear a presentation by one of the Abbey Monks regarding some of the history of the area. After the presentation, I decided to spend an hour or so sitting in the herb garden to read; It was nice to find a quite place away from all the people that were in town for May Day. The town was packed with visitors for the day's celebrations!

Later in the day, I hopped on a bus to get to the Tor. I climbed up the Tor with the intention of having Lunch at the top. When I arrived at the top, I had to find some shelter from the wind so that I could eat my lunch; I didn't realize that it would be so windy!

Looking at the Tor from the top of hill revealed something interesting: multiple tiers. Due to my interest in labyrinths, I wondered if it could have been a giant labyrinth. Apparently, other people have had similar thoughts.

After a few hours of walking through the throngs of people, visiting Glastonbury Abbey, and going into some of the shops, I headed back to Wells.

I will continue with more from my trip tomorrow.

___________________________________

First picture: Julian's Bower Labyrinth in North Lincolnshire
Second picture: The River Wharfe in North Yorkshire
Third picture: The Chalice Well in Glastonbury decorated for May Day
Forth picture: Glastonbury Tor (Yes, the building is on the top!)

Blood Sucking President, Anyone?

2007-05-30T11:22:00.000-05:00

No, not the blood sucker you're thinking of. This one actually claims to be a vampire.

Minnesotans were first introduced to Jonathon Sharkey last January when he announced that he was running for Governor as the leader of the "Vampyres, Witches and Pagans Party." Fortunately for Minnesota, a stint in jail prevented him from running, even though the changes were later dropped. Like he had a chance, anyway.

Now, Sharkey, a.k.a. "The Impaler", is back - and announcing that he is now going for the White House. This time, he's getting more exposure through the new documentary about him, as well as a recent interview by a local news station. Like that's going to help him.

I thought that the rest of you may be spared when his campaign for governor failed. No such luck. Now, he's spreading the love.

Like he has a chance, anyway.

Interfaith Event: Faith

2007-05-26T14:46:00.000-05:00

While I was in Europe, the sixth Interfaith Blog Event took place. As I wasn't able to get to a computer around the time that it was posted, I am now getting around to posting my response to this month's question. So here it is.

Welcome to the sixth Interfaith Blog Event! In each installment of this monthly series, we'll take a look at a single topic from the perspective of our different religious traditions. I am writing from a Pagan/Unitarian Universalist perspective. Mike, from Unknowing Mind, writes from the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and Jon, from Jesusfollowers Journal, will be writing from a Protestant Christian perspective.

And introducing our two new members: Jeff, from Druid Journal, writes from the Druid perspective and Matt, from Journeys In Between, writes from an Evangelical Christian perspective with influences of Wicca, NeoGnosticim, Yoga and Zen.

The topic we'll be discussing today is the following:

What is your view regarding the meaning and the role of faith? What importance does it play in your community and in your daily life?

(Links will be provided as they become available)
[Jon's Essay] [Mike's Essay] [Jeff's Essay] [Matt's Essay]

The Meaning/Definition of Faith

One of the first questions that comes to mind when talking about faith is "What is it?" According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of faith has many parts to it:

(1) allegiance to duty or a person
(2) sincerity of intentions
(3) belief and trust in and loyalty to God
(4) firm belief in something for which there is no proof
(5) complete trust
(6) something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially : a system of religious beliefs

While we have this formal definition, we also have the connotations that go along with the word that also tell us something about the meaning. Words that come to mind when thinking about the meaning of faith are hope, trust, belief, relationship, complete confidence (in someone or something), love, peace, religion, intuition, gut feeling and wishing. And I'm sure that everybody reading this can think of other words as well. Faith is a much bigger concept than just a irrational belief (i.e. - not based in fact) in something that can't be confirmed by our senses.

As the word "faith" is used for so many purposes and has so many connotations, it is sometimes difficult to come up with a meaning for the word that everyone would agree with. Because people have different ideas of what it means, it has almost become a word that is not to be talked about in some circles (religious or otherwise). One reason why this might be (especially in Pagan circles), is that some definitions of faith give the impression that to have faith in something/someone, one must follow blindly and believe what is presented to them. I have noticed that there are not many Pagans that discuss faith in regards to their religious views because of this very idea. Pagans as a whole do not like to think that they are blindly following anything. However, there is more to faith than just believing that something is true.

The Role of Faith

Faith is not something that can happen over night; it is something that needs to be developed over years. It is something that is developed as a result three ideas - believing, practice, and experiences. While most ideas of faith revolve around believing, we can't forget that putting belief into practice, as well as the experiences that result, helps us to strengthen our faith and make it personal.

But there has to be a balance between all three of these ideas for faith to be personal. I think that making faith personal is what should matter. If one has faith in something, but it is based on someone else’s beliefs, it would not be an authentic faith; it would just following the words of someone else. For faith to be authentic, it has to based on all the three of mentioned ideas of belief, practice and experience.I see the role of faith as helping to discover and bring about a deeper, personal understanding of our religious belief through these three ideas.

The Importance of Faith

As I mentioned before, I really don't think that the concept of faith is seen as overly important in Paganism. Sure, people have faith in their beliefs, their gods, and their experiences, but they necessarily talk about it in terms of faith. The concept of faith has too many strong connections to Christianity for many Pagans. I think that we need to learn to express our faith, no matter what our beliefs are.

Part of having faith is making your views known. Declaring your faith in something, either to others or just yourself, helps to not only to come to an understanding about your beliefs, but also helps to strengthen those beliefs.

Faith in My Daily Life

I admit that I have a difficult time putting my beliefs (and experiences) into practice. Part of my problem is that I tend to intellectualize my beliefs rather than listening to feelings and intuition. Understanding for me tends to come from facts, research, and study. I forget that there is more to understanding then knowing "facts;" understanding can also come many other areas of my life.

Even with this dilemma, faith is something that I try to keep in mind on a daily basis. I know that sometimes I tell myself that it is a matter of not “having enough time” or it is a matter of not knowing what to do to express my beliefs and faith; I have to change this. Instead, I know that I need to make the time for practice and realize that knowing what to do comes through my experiences. Even though I know that, it still is difficult. I am coming to realize that the concept of faith is much more complex than just pure belief.

Thinking Blogger Award

2007-05-25T06:27:00.000-05:00

Well, time to take care of a few things that happened while I was traveling. Apparently, I was nominated twice for a Thinking Blogger Award; first from Kay at Songs of Unforgetting back in April and secondly from Cosette at Pandora's Bazaar just a few days ago. I would like to thank them for tagging me as a "thinking blogger."

Now, it is my turn to tag five bloggers who make me think. I definitely could name so many more. So, here are my picks (in no particular order):

1. Bernulf Oswin from Expanding Inward
2. Colorado Celt from Tír na nOuray
3. Paul from Evoking the Goddess
4. Inanna from At The End Of Desire
5. Jeff Lilly from Druid Journal

For more information about this meme, go on over to The Thinking Blog.

Home

2007-05-24T09:03:00.000-05:00

Home. Home at last. It feels so good to sleep in my own bed again.

This picture was taken while I was hiking in Dartmoor National Park. I was following a public footpath, crossed a stile and looked up to see this standing stone just off the pathway. As I wasn't expecting it (there was no mention of it in the description of the walk in the book that I had with me), I stopped to take several pictures and realized that it would be a great place to picnic. Soon after finishing my lunch, I realized that the clouds were building up in the distance and were heading my way. So I packed up to leave, stopping just long enough to take this shot.

I will be posting more of my pictures and stories in a day or two.

Interfaith Event #6

2007-05-16T05:07:00.000-05:00

Just thought I would drop by real quick and let you know that the sixth Interfaith Event is now posted. I haven't been able to type mine up yet, as computer time for me has been scarce and expensive, so I will give you the links to the posts that have been put up. I will be posting mine when I return home next week.

In the mean time, hop on over to the blogs of Mike, Jon, Jeff, and Matt (post not up at the moment of writing this) to see what they have written regarding the following question:

What is your view regarding the meaning and the role of faith? What importance
does it play in your community and in your daily life?

I hope you enjoy!

Heathen Hospitality

2007-04-23T12:00:00.000-05:00

As I read more about Heathenry, one concept that is mentioned a lot is hospitality. It is mentioned on websites, blogs, forums, and mailing lists. It is also mentioned in the Poetic Edda, which is one of the books that Heathens use as inspiration on how to live their life. Here are few of my thoughts on the concept of Hospitality.

What does hospitality mean to me?

When I think of hospitality, I think of inviting people into my home with the intention of making them feel welcome so that they have the space and opportunity to be themselves as well as letting me be myself. They are my guest and as such I have given them a promise that while they are in my home, I will treat them with respect and take care of them.

But hospitality doesn't just have to be that invitation into my house, my space. The concept of hospitality can happen anywhere. This idea was brought to my attention the other night when I was at a restaurant. It was busy, yet the restaurant remained "seat yourself." There was a couple that was having trouble finding a table and were a bit stressed; my friend and I were waiting for our check. I invited them to sit with us, telling them that we would be leaving as soon as the waitress came back. They were grateful. I had the opportunity to show hospitality to someone and put them at ease in a situation that was causing them stress, even if it wasn't in my own home.

Just as your hosts have the responsibility of being welcoming and gracious, you also have the responsibility of being a gracious guest. To be a guest means cleaning up after your own messes, offering to help out with various task, and as well as a few other things that are necessary depending on the culture.

What does hospitality mean to Heathens?

As mentioned above, hospitality is talked about in the Poetic Edda, especially the second poem, Havamal. From the first few stanzas, you get an idea of what hospitality meant to the Germanic peoples:

2.
Hail, ye Givers! a guest is come;
say! where shall he sit within?
Much pressed is he who fain on the hearth
would seek for warmth and weal.
3.
He hath need of fire, who now is come,
numbed with cold to the knee;
food and clothing the wanderer craves
who has fared o'er the rimy fell.
4.
He craves for water, who comes for refreshment,
drying and friendly bidding,
marks of good will, fair fame if 'tis won,
and welcome once and again.

What I find interesting is that even though guests are to be welcomed, the guest himself is supposed to "keep his wits" and be wise to what is going on around him as shown by several stanzas including:

6.
Let no man glory in the greatness of his mind,
but rather keep watch o'er his wits.
Cautious and silent let him enter a dwelling;
to the heedful comes seldom harm,
for none can find a more faithful friend
than the wealth of mother wit.

Is It Appropriate Not To Extend Hospitality?

When does the concept of hospitality end? I mean, is there a time and place where it is okay to not to extend hospitality? I was looking at what Bernulf wrote when he was a guest blogger back in January and found that this is what he had to say:

True hospitality does not lock itself indoors, nor does it suffer the hindrance of inconvenience. In other words, wherever I happen to be standing, it's within my power to offer hospitality, and unless I've been insulted or offended somehow, I can generally be counted upon to do just that.

Hospitality In Other Contexts

As I leave for Europe, I find myself thinking about hospitality in context with visiting other countries/cultures. Just getting a passport doesn't mean that I will be welcome in a certain country, some countries require permission (in some countries, as represented by a visa) for you to enter. When you are given this visa, you have been granted hospitality.

However, this doesn't mean that you can do what ever you want (when in the other country) just because you have been given permission to enter. I was talking to a friend about this and we came up with the idea of being like acting as a type of Ambassador - a social ambassador. As world travellers, we are required to (informally) represent our country and show respect (keeping the concept of hospitality in mind) for that country's customs by how we act. I am going to keep this in mind as I travel.

Spring Is Here!

2007-04-22T19:17:00.000-05:00

On my way home from the UU church that I am involved with, I noticed something that I forward to every spring. The trees are starting to green up here in Minnesota. If it wasn't raining, I would have had a picture to post.

Even with though we have officially been in the spring season for about a month now, I finally feel that spring is here!

Allport And Solitary Practice

2007-04-19T16:54:00.000-05:00

Today, I was going over my notes that I wrote when I was reading the book The Individual and His Religion(by Gordon Allport) and came across his ideas regarding religion as a solitary endeavor even within the context of a religious community. I found myself thinking about how this could fit in with the Pagan identity of being largely a solitary practice.

Allport talks about how religion is very personal and and is up to the individual to come to their own religious reality. He is not saying that each person can "make up their own religion." Instead, the idea he is trying to get across is that we each experience religious sentiment in our own unique way. We do not experience our personal sense of religion and our personal sense of faith in the same way as the person sitting next to us. There is not a standard form.

One of my thoughts that I wrote down at the time I read the book says "there doesn't seem to be any one way that everyone will experience religiosity - people have different ways of expressing similar concepts." In the book, Allport says that there is "no common point of origin" of religious experience (p. 6). This makes religion a very personal form of expression.

This has given me a new perspective regarding what it means for one to be a solitary Pagan as well as why there seem to be so many systems of belief within Paganism (that everyone seems to believe something different). While a lot of Pagans say they prefer practicing their beliefs on their own, could it be due to there being no common way to express those beliefs? Being that they are expressing forms of reconstructionist religions, Pagans tend to emphasize their personal experiences by expressing them in ways that are intuitive to them. In other words, it makes it hard to form a solid community around several different forms of expression.

Although I tend to favor having a religious community, I found myself thinking "well, if religion is a solitary or personal endeavor, why is there religious community at all?" While there is definitely more to it than what I will say here, I like to think of a community as a place that inspires personal growth. We often find inspiration in the communities or groups that we are active in. A community is also a place/group that we can go to for support and help. But even within religious community, I am learning that we ultimately have to have an active roll in our own personal religious expression and sentiment.

__________________________

Reference:

Allport, G. (1951) The individual and his religion. New York: Macmillan Company.

Pagan Blogs 4.18.07

2007-04-18T11:07:00.000-05:00

Here are a few of my favorite blog posts from the last week or so:

I recently ran across a new Heathen blog, The Northern Path, that has so far concentrated on news relating to Heathenry in Sweden. This news includes an article regarding the Swedish Government's recognition of a Heathen group as a religious organization.

Speaking of Heathens, one that has been MIA for awhile has resurfaced after some recent health issues. Welcome back, Bernulf!

Kay, from Songs of Unforgetting, recently discovered the concept of Interdependent Origination while reading about Buddhism.

Both Jaspenelle and Jason posted about the shooting at VA Tech, while Chas talks about the shootings from the perspective of a professor. I have not posted these past couple of days as I have been contacting those I know who either go to the school or work there to make sure they (and their families) are okay. Thank the gods, they are.

Jeff at Druid Journal, has been talking about how to determine the meaning of your name. While I've read the article, I haven't worked through my name yet. I plan to print out the article and work on it during my trip.

Paul at Evoking the Goddess mentioned that Blackthorn is currently blooming in his area of the UK and says that he is looking forward to the Hawthorn. I can hardly wait to see it myself when I make the journey to England next week.

Stonehenge: A Monument To What?

2007-04-13T11:16:00.000-05:00

"Stonehenge is a monument to the failure of religion. Whatever or whoever was worshiped here for two thousand years failed."

and

"Faith is only as strong as its believers."

and

"Where do you find yourself in the midst of such dramatic times?"

These quotes/questions come from a book, The Spiritual Traveler, that I am reading while getting ready for my trip to Europe. These quotes jumped out at me as I have not thought of Stonehenge to be a "monument to failure." How can something like Stonehenge be considered a failure? Just the size of the stones alone are a testament to the resolve that these people had. It took them years to plan it, bring the stones from the distance they came from, and to erect the stones in a way that they were aligned with the sun (or moon) on a certain day at a particular time. To me, all of this taken together makes it seem as if it is a testament to their success.

But that is not what the authors are talking about. They are saying because this particular group seemingly abandoned their space of worship, they failed. More to the point, their god(s) failed. I find it interesting that the authors posed their statements in this way.

While I was reading this particular section regarding Stonehenge, I was reminded of the book Catspaw, by Joan D. Vinge. In this book, there is a scene where a group of University students go to a planet that has been abandoned to study various artifacts that have been left behind. The main character, Cat, comes to the conclusion that the main artifact (The Monument) is actually a monument to death. Using this idea as a comparison, the authors of the guidebook are seemingly saying it was the death of a religion that surrounded Stonehenge. The difference between the book Catspaw and the guidebook is that with Catspaw, you get the impression that even though the original inhabitants are gone, the monument is a testament to their success of getting their message across (even though they are no longer around).

I think we need to look at it in way that helps us to realize that things do change. It could be that the people came to a different understanding and no longer needed to use Stonehenge as a religious monument (if that is what it was). But do we really know what happened? No. We can only make assumptions based on what we do know.

This will be something that I will be keeping in mind as I visit Stonehenge (and Avebury) myself.

Walking The Labyrinth

2007-04-11T14:41:00.000-05:00

I have been fascinated with labyrinths for a while: the different types, their uses, their construction. I have often found myself scribbling on a piece of paper while on the phone or watching a movie, only to later become aware of the fact that I drew a labyrinth and had been tracing it over and over.

I have often daydreamed about setting one up outdoors when I get some land of my own. (I think it would be great to be able to light it with candles similar to this). As it is hard to set up a labyrinth to walk when I do not have a place to do so, I tend to focus on small ones that I can hold and trace either with a finger or a tool. I tend to use my finger more often then the tool as I find it easier to connect and find that using a tool removes me from the act and it becomes impersonal.

While I tend to use labyrinths for a calming purpose, they can also be used as a focus for spiritual practice. It has been said that labyrinths can be used to symbolize the idea that we are on the right path. You can use it to work out questions or for problem solving. We can also use labyrinths to connecting to the deepest part of ourselves (as symbolized by the walk to the center). With this in mind, I have been thinking of starting to incorporate the use of labyrinths into a spiritual practice.

For more information and links about labyrinths, check out the links that I have posted at Pagan Links.

Spiritual Time Out

2007-04-09T17:41:00.000-05:00

I'm realizing that I have not taken care of my spiritual needs as of late. I find myself making excuses: I am leaving for Europe soon and need to get everything together; I am busy with the final revision and proofing my research for publication (needs to be finished tomorrow); my karate class; putting in extra hours at work; Easter; and more. I am starting to feel run down.

Last night, I was finally able to sit quietly and read for about an hour. I got a chance to continue reading the Poetic Edda to get a better idea of Heathen lore and enjoyed every minute. I realized that when I finished, I felt calm. I also felt like I was able to connect to my spiritual side by reflecting on what I was reading.

As many Pagans don't have a church or "official" place of worship to go to every week, sometimes it is difficult to remember to take time out from the chaos of daily life to spend time thinking about religious and spiritual needs. While I do have a church community that I attend within the Unitarian Universalist tradition, I don't have any reminders to take time to study or reflect on my personal beliefs.

I find that it is sometimes difficult to keep up with my own studies. I've got to figure out how to incorporate this into my life in way that I have a regular time to dedicate to my study. I find myself curious as to what those of you reading do to keep up with your studies and how you are able to incorporate your sense of spirituality into your daily life.

Interfaith Event #5: Forgiveness

2007-04-03T17:43:00.000-05:00

Here is the next installment of the monthly interfaith event! Jon, from Jesusfollowers Journal, will be writing from a Protestant Christian perspective, and Mike from Unknowing Mind, will be writing from a Mahayana Buddhist perspective. And I will be writting from a Pagan perspective. This month, our question comes from Jon.

The topic we'll be discussing today is the following:

What role does the concept and application of interpersonal forgiveness play in your spiritual tradition?

[Jon's Essay] [Mike's Essay]

The concept of forgiveness is usually tied into many spiritual and religious paths. Within Christianity, the concept of forgiveness comes through Jesus’ sacrifice. In Buddhism, to show forgiveness to another is to lessen the suffering of everyone involved. Within Hinduism, the concept of karma is related to forgiving.

What about Paganism? Doing a quick search on the internet, I find that there are not many discussions on the concept of forgiveness within Paganism. I think it has something to do with the idea that Pagans don’t follow a set dogma and do not discuss it in terms of their relationship with the divine. Yet, it is a concept that is mentioned, just not as directly as it is in other religions and faiths.

It is difficult for a Pagan to discuss the concept of forgiveness within their religion because, in a traditional religious sense, it is tends to be tied to sin. And many Pagans don’t acknowledge the idea of sin. While forgiveness isn’t central to the beliefs of Paganism, I would say that forgiveness is an important concept in life that Pagans do embrace. Pagans are not necessarily looking for forgiveness from the Gods, but from the ones that they have wronged.

When it comes to wrongdoing, Pagans believe that one’s actions need to be dealt with in the here and now. To ignore the fact that you have done wrong against someone else and to ignore that there are consequences in this life, seems like a cop out to me when it comes to the idea of sin. I’ve seen too many people use the concept of sin as a way to forgive themselves of their actions. That has nothing to do with forgiveness.

If I know that I have done something wrong, I try to go to that person right away and deal with the fact that, yes, I am human, and yes, I have hurt people with some of the things that I have done. Humility is a big part of asking for forgiveness. Everyone has difficulty in showing humility and admitting that they have done something wrong.

While asking for forgiveness requires humility, forgiveness also requires showing humility. It is difficult to forgive someone. It is almost as if to forgive someone else, you need to realize that you yourself are not perfect. That is hard to admit. But when you forgive someone else you are showing them that you except them in all their imperfection and are willing to take them for who they are. When you forgive someone, you are releasing your fears, your resentments, and your anger about the situations. And you are reconnecting to the person that is asking for forgiveness.

Problems With Paganism

2007-03-28T11:54:00.000-05:00

Colorado Celt over at Tír na nOuray has written about two things that he finds to be problems within modern Paganism. The first problem that he mentions is regarding the overuse of titles and has this to say:

Terms such as, Druid, Archdruid, Grand Archdruid, High Priestess, High Priest, and many others have become so commonplace as to be virtually meaningless.

He has a great point. If everyone has a title, they do become meaningless, not necessarily to the person using it, but to those around the person. When something is used so much to become common place, it loses the awe factor behind it.

One reason why it loses it awe factor for me is because of the requirements to gain the use of the term. For example, I know about how long my professors went to school to gain the title of "Doctor." They put a lot of work into gaining the knowledge of their field. Within Paganism, there are different requirements for each group. Therefore, there is no way to know how much training they have gotten before they start calling themselves by various titles.

The other problem that Colorado Celt mentioned is the health issues that are plaguing the Pagan community. He says:

...the pagan community deals with obesity issues, diet, and lack of exercise. These are not positive problems for us as we move forward.

This echos what Margot Adler said recently at Pantheacon when she encouraged Pagans to take care of themselves physically.

Another "problem" that I have noticed with modern Paganism is that for a religion that has an interest in the natural world, hardly anyone seems to spend any time in the natural world. When I talk to some of my friends who are Pagan, they express amazement at the amount of time that I spend outside. On the flip side, it amazes me that they don't have an interest in being outside and would rather sit inside in front of their TVs or computers.

Staying inside is taking it's toll on how people interact with the outdoors. As I've mentioned before, people see the outdoors as something to do rather then being a part of life. Because of this, people don't know the natural cycles of their own area as they have removed themselves from the outdoors.

Colorado Celt finishes up by mentioning:

If we started writing and speaking more about these issues individual pagans will respond. Exercise, diet and general physical health are just as important as full moon esbats, Beltaine ceremonies, and visualization techniques.

I agree.

Relationship With Money

2007-03-24T17:40:00.000-05:00

Slade of Shift Your Spirits has tagged me for a meme regarding thinking about my relationship with money from a spiritual perspective and making it a meaningful relationship. He gives the following reasons for thinking about money as a spiritual exercise:

You interact with Money as deeply and as often as any living person you know
You believe in Money as much or more than you do your God, your Guardian Angels, your Spirit Guides (at least, you certainly behave as if you do — you think about Money everyday; do you think about your spirit everyday?)
No abstract concept has a greater tangible effect on your life
Many of the techniques required to personify and talk to Money come from the same head space that you must employ to communicate with your spirit guides
Money / Abundance is one of the oldest, most enduring relationships you have
Your relationship with Money is most likely to remain dysfunctional, because you don’t treat it as a relationship that can be improved upon

He goes on to ask the following question: if money was a person, then who would he be? I start off with my old relationship with money (called Old Money) and move on to what I want my relationship with money to be (called New Money).

Old Money

I had always felt that I had a good relationship with Money. I had been taught from a young age that if you took care of Money, then He would take care of you. He appeared as my friend; someone that looked out for my interests and someone that would be there for me when I needed him.

I soon learned that Money wanted me to invest more in the friendship before He would give me anything in return. And I found out the return wouldn’t be much. I quickly realized that it wasn’t a fulfilling relationship. Money was cold, distant, and calculated. No matter how careful I was around Money, He just didn’t care as long as He got what He wanted.

Though this was a cold and distance relationship, I soon found it was a deceptive one as well. Money didn’t care that I care how much I was putting away, just as long as I something away. He was creating a sense of false friendship. Money showed his deceptiveness within the conflicting advice that He was gave me. “Go ahead and by that CD. It’s used, so it only $8 bucks. You’ve already put money away this month so no worries.” What he didn’t tell me is that it would take more time to get anything in exchange for what I had already given him. I soon realized that this was not what I wanted in a friendship.

New Money

I had to let go of my friendship with Old Money. Before I could find my new friend, I had to decide what I wanted in a friend. I wanted someone that would be there to give me sound advice. I wanted someone that would ask me whether that CD I bought would really enhance my life or get in the way of what I truly wanted. I wanted someone that was looking out for my interests while I was looking out for His. Due to my experience with Old Money, I realized that the relationship had to be reciprocal.

I found just such a friend in New Money. He has made me realize that if I have goals, I need to work towards them. Want to buy a house instead of renting? Stop my consumer habits and save that $8 instead of buying that CD. It all adds up in the end. Don’t have enough room to store all the gadgets collected over the years? Get rid of the ones that I don’t need and I can get rid of the storage unit that costs a monthly fee. “A penny saved is a penny earned – work towards your goals instead of using instant satisfaction,” he tells me.

Finding the Meaningful

As life can not be separated totally from a relationship with Money, I had to find just the right relationship – one that I was comfortable with and one that I felt that I could be friends with long term. I need to know that I could take care of my friend Money, yet at the same time, Money had to be there for me, too.

Yet at the same time, I have to find a sort of freedom from my friendship with Old Money; if I let Him dictate my life, all I will be worried about is the “stuff” that surrounds me; the things that would bring clutter to my life. Instead, if I have a goal, Money tells me that I have to forgo all the little, unnecessary things (the things that aren’t the means to the end) to be able to achieve that goal. He tells me that while I don’t have to live in a world that is marked by the austere, I should choose that which helps me to live the life that I want.

What I would list as being meaningful isn’t necessarily what I have gone after in the long run. I had to learn through my relationship with New Money that to obtain my goals, I have to be willing to sacrifice the things that have not had any success in making my life meaningful.

In the end, I also had to realize that this is not something that I have to think about once and everything will be fine; just like are “real” friendship, I have to continually be aware of what is going on to make the relationship work.

Since this is a meme, I would like to tag any of you that would like to think about your relationship with money. Go on over to Shift Your Spirits to find the instructions for this meme.

The Rabbits Are Hoppin'

2007-03-21T12:19:00.000-05:00

A few days ago, I was reminded that it was spring time - by the rabbits (or hares) in my yard, of all things. It seems that they really like my backyard. I'm guessing they have settled here because it surrounded by a high privacy fence in which other animals are not able to get in to bother them. The rabbits, however, can get through two small holes in the fence. Quick like a bunny is taking on a whole new meaning. Fertility is the name of the game in the natural world this time of year, after all.

I may just have to turn off the security lights in the side and backyards as the rabbits are setting off the motion detectors.

Whether you celebrated Ostara yesterday or you celebrate today (depending on your time zone), I wish you a blessed day.

Pagan Blogs 3.20.07

2007-03-20T12:04:00.000-05:00

There are so many new Pagan blogs that have been popping up recently. While I usually post the ones that I find at my links blog, I wanted to tell you about a few of them here.

First is Evoking the Goddess. Paul, from Yorkshire, GB, has a wonderful blog which focuses on dancing under the moon, local goddesses, and more dancing. There are some beautiful pictures on this site.

Next is Frost and Flame, a Heathen blog written by Frostbeard in Canada.

Next is Alone With The Gods, written by a solitary Witch. It is only two months old, but looks like there will be some interesting perspectives posted.

Birch grove, is written by "a Norse Pagan with kitchen-witch leanings," talks about Idun, Skadi, and Eir.

Last is Shift Your Spirits, written by Slade. He has a style of writing that is very insightful and seems to be another blogger that understands the concept of Gastblogschaft.

The Theatrics Of Religion

2007-03-18T12:22:00.000-05:00

On a forum I am on, someone brought up the subject of Paganism and its theatrics and how she has not been able to achieve the deep practice she wants because of being embarrassed. MaddLlama said*:

"I felt like it was too theatrical, like I was just some person in weird clothing with weird objects who likes fantasy books, movies and RPGs just a little too much. It always just felt fake and I didn't know how to move past that and just get over it."

This made me think about my own experiences and I realized that I had felt about it in a similar way when I was younger. I felt self-conscious and silly performing the rituals that I had found in books and that feeling of self-consciousness was renewed again when I started working with a group in my late teens/early twenties. But I remember that the feeling wasn't as bad within a group.

As I sat and thought about how I would answer the above statement, I realized that there are "theatrics" in all religions. Each religion has their trappings: their clothing, their tools, and their ways of ritual and ceremony. I think that a lot of Paganism seems like it is over theatrical because the ritual is in the company of either just yourself (if you are solitary) or in the company of a fairly small group of people. We are so used to thinking of a ceremony being for a large group rather than in terms of being for the self.

With larger groups, there almost needs to be more ceremony or structure if you will. There needs to be clues so that people are on the same page and know what is going on. Otherwise, certain aspects of the symbolism is lost. For example, in the beginning of the service, there is always something that clues people into the fact that that the service is starting. It helps people to get into the mindset of worship. (Not that smaller groups or solitary work doesn't need this structure, it maybe just needs a different structure.)

One example of this needed structure is that in many churches, candles are lit at the front of the room. Back in the early '80's, I was an acolyte for the church I went to at the time. I was part of the ceremony (the theatrics, if you will) that signified the beginning of the service. In the UU church that I currently go to, lighting the chalice helps to signify the beginning of the service. When I have a private ceremony to connect to the gods, I often light candles as well. It is something that helps to set the mood and get me thinking about things of a spiritual nature. Of course, there is also more symbolism that goes along with it as well.

I personally have trouble with the idea that I "need" to have all those tools that the so-called beginner books list to be able to connect with the gods. It took me a while to realize that it is not true that I need them. I do know people who do use them as a part of their symbolism and that is fine, too. I see the things that we use as tools that help us to symbolize the ideas that we are representing when we worship. What works for me, doesn't necessarily work for others as we each have different views of the overlying (and underlying ) symbolisms. My ideas of how I should worship come from how I view my connection to the gods. My "trappings" tend to be few as I see them as more of a hindrance. (The more "tools" I use, the more I am concerned if I'm doing things "right.")

About as theatrical as I get is lighting a few candles and maybe sing a song (to the horror of those passing by). Other than that, most of the time, I am silently sitting at an overlook about Lake Superior thinking about my relationship and connection to the divine, my friends and family, and myself.

I wonder if this is something that many people think about as they are first learning about Paganism and as they first start to practice their beliefs. I wonder if this is something that holds many people back from considering themselves Pagan. And I wonder how people work through these feelings to get to that sense of deep practice.

*Quoting MaddLlama with permission.

Out In The Natural World

2007-03-17T18:30:00.000-05:00

Today as I was sitting at work, I found myself daydreaming of hiking the Appalachian Trail again. After all, it is that time of year when the majority of the thru-hikers start their pilgrimage to Maine from Georgia. To spend six months surrounded and walking in some of the most beautiful settings on the east coast sounds absolutely divine right now. Ah, how I wish I could be starting that trek again.

Since I hiked the trail a few years ago, I have realized that I have a different appreciation for the outdoor world than most of my friends. They see activities such as hiking, kayaking, and rock climbing as "something you do" on the weekends to stave off boredom. Since my hike, I have seen it as getting back to the real world and look forward to my time spent at State Parks, on hiking trails, and on lakes. I feel at home and enjoy the time I spend outdoors and try to get out as much as my schedule allows for.

The picture above was taken at the psychological half way point of the Appalachian trail, over-looking Harper's Ferry, WV and the Potomac river; just over 1000 miles hiked. (The "official" half way point is about 100 or so miles north.) This six mile climb was hard won. A thunderstorm, the 90 degree heat and the very steep climb made it difficult. The experience I had that day with everything combined is why this picture is such a treasure to me. Three months and 1000 miles down, three months and just over 1000 miles to go.

The next 1000 miles were to be tough as boredom set in when the experience became more about hiking the miles rather than enjoying the natural setting. The goal was to hike the trail, and to do so, I had to reach Maine by the end of September or the first few days in October.

There were many times when I wanted to quit and go home. But in the end, I'm glad I didn't. It is views like the one to the right that made it worth continuing. This picture was taken after four miles of climbing in the rain and mist up Mt. Katahdin in Maine. I stopped to take a break as I reached the point that marked the last mile of the trail. I sat for a few minutes, feeling defeated due to the weather, thinking that I would not get the view from the top that I had been dreaming about since I first thought of hiking the trail back in 1995.

When I looked up, it took me a few seconds to realize what I was seeing. The mist and rain was starting to dissipate and the wind had pushed the clouds over to the east of the ridge that I had just climbed. I could see the trail and a couple of my fellow trekkers! I started crying as I realized that I would get a view from the top; as I realized that this was the end; as I realized that I would no longer be seeing the people that I had spent 6 months hiking with; as I realized that I may not have the chance again to live this close to the natural world. I feel lucky to have had this experience.

As spring nears and the snow is nearly melted, I find myself looking forward to my summer adventures outside.

Book of Shadows

2007-03-15T15:08:00.000-05:00

In a forum that I frequent (even if I don't post often), a thread came up asking people about their Book of Shadows. As I love hearing about what everybody has in their BOS, I though it would interesting to go through mine again, to remember what information I have collected over the years and how I have organized that information.

While I don't call my collection a "BOS", I do have a three ring notebook that I keep (or several, really). One part has articles, new articles, information from websites and blogs that have been printed out (I go through a lot of ink and paper!). Another part is a notebook in which I write down my thoughts about anything that pop up at anytime during the day (It used to be a regular old notebook, but recently I have switched to Moleskine journals). A third part of the three ring binder includes papers and articles that I have written myself regarding what what works for me, my beliefs, ethics, etc.

This is a system that I started when I was about 15, so as I said above, I have several of these three ring binders. I have one from early on that has many things printed out from The Riders of the Crystal Wind BOS, which is a collection of articles written by people who frequented the old BBS systems back in the day. I have a couple more that include other things that were printed out on the web from when I was younger.

I have one that includes information about gods; "dictionaries," pages of myths, list of various pantheons, list of what gods are connected to (such as these gods are the gods of war; these are the gods of charity; etc.)

I have another one that includes only information regarding Heathenry (or Asatru) as that is what I have been interested in recently.

Most people see a BOS as a place to store their collection of spells, poetry, and stories, amongst other information. As I'm not into spell work and I admittedly dislike poetry (I do try to like it, I just can't seem to get past it), my collection contained in my books includes articles written on concepts, ideas, ethics, history and much more.

Someday, I may organize it into something that is more cohesive and "permanent" but for now, this system works for me.

So, I ask you, what is your Book of Shadows like? What information do you have in it? How do you organize it?

Paganism With Homework

2007-03-13T12:45:00.000-05:00

I've seen the phrase "paganism with homework" when referring to learning about Heathenry. I am beginning to understand why as there is so much information available.

As there is so much to read about, sort through, find references for, and learn a whole new vocabulary on top of everything else that it is much like taking a class on the religion and mythos of Heathenry - home study version. And because it is the home study version, it is hard to know where to begin, what to do with all the incoming information and how to sort through it and keep it straight. (I've been trying to keep a notebook, but it is already pretty thick with the pages that I have printed off from the internet as well as the notes that I have been taking as I read.)

While I started with looking up information on Odin and few other gods, I have recently been delving into the books that contain much of information that is known about the gods. The Poetic Edda (translated by Hollander) is where I have started. I will soon be starting in The Prose Edda followed by a book on Norse Mythology. This should give me a good base; a good starting point. But as I don't know a lot of the terminology, I've had to do a lot of learning as I go. (Internet browser open so that I can type in a word or phrase that isn't explained or write it down in my notebook and look it up later.)

I find it interesting that while not much information of pagan religions have survived the arrival of Christianity, the Norse myths did. I guess it all has to do with timing really, as I have read that the northern countries were more difficult to reach and therefore it wasn't until later that the Germanic people were influenced by Christianity.* Surprisingly, it was Christianity that brought with it the ability to write down the stories of their people that had been passed down orally throughout the ages.*

I'm kinda liking the fact that Heathenry is considered "Paganism with homework."

*Hollander, L.M. (2004). The poetic edda. University of Texas Press: Austin.

Thoughts On Pantheism

2007-03-10T15:12:00.000-06:00

For a long time, I have more or less thought of myself as a pantheist - that is, one who views everything as "God" with the idea that everything is part of one, big whole. I was quite taken with the idea and the concept of connection as a way to explain my pantheist views.

me --> nature --> God

I like the idea of an interrelated web where I was only one part of the greater world; a connection through being a part of the whole, which is usually labeled as "God."

Along with this idea that everything is a part of the whole, I began to think of the different gods as individual representations of parts of this whole. Gods and goddesses are usually said to be "the god of ...." or "the goddess of ......" with only a few of their interests or "domains" being mentioned. But I am starting to realize that to acknowledge only a part of them (what we think of as their correspondents, domains, etc) is to deny the rest of their own individual wholeness. Each god is a being in his or her own right, not just a part of another being.

I thought that to say they each had their own distinct personalities was to deny their connection to the greater whole. I am starting to realize that to say that the gods are individuals on their own doesn't deny them that important connection to the rest of the world, just like I wouldn't be denying my connection to my friends and family to say that I am my own individual.

I've got some more to think about....

Longing For Spring

2007-03-08T16:33:00.000-06:00

We often don't notice the little things around us. Have you ever stopped to look at and take in all the detail of a leaf? The patterns of the veins of the leaf; The browning around the edge of the blade; The holes from insects taking a bite to eat; The color of the midrib of the blade (in this case, red); The length of the petiole (or stem); The grouping of the leaves; When the leaves bud in the spring; When it starts to change color in the fall.

By sometime in April or May, the buds will start to appear on the trees in Minnesota. I love to go walking through the woods at this time. It is a time when everything seems to be waking up: The birds coming back from their wintering locations; The leaves start to turn the landscape different shades of green; The winter snow melting and finding is way to various lakes by way of temporary streams.

However, this year, I won't get to experience this event that I look forward to every year in Minnesota. Why? I'm not going to be here. I'm going to Europe. I get to experience spring time from a different area of the world this year. What is it like in England and Wales during April and May? What is it like in Germany? I will soon be finding out.

Photo Copyright © 2006 S. Nichole.

What's In A Name?

2007-03-06T09:57:00.000-06:00

How can words convey so much meaning and yet that meaning be slightly different for each person because of the connotation? How can names do the same thing for different people? Do people think about their words within their own connotations verses someone else's? How about names?

I've been thinking a lot about the meaning of names and how they say a lot about a person. This can be any type of name - your "real name," a nickname, a spiritual name, and even a name you are called during the heat of an argument. All these names say something about you - who you are, who other people think you are, if they like you, and if they don't.

I've been thinking about this subject of names in regards to two things: my own name and how I use it as well as the use of spiritual names. With my own name, I tend to prefer my middle name. When my first name is used, it is by family and long time friends who have trouble thinking about me in a way that allows them to call me by my middle name. As one of my friends said (after repeatedly asking him to use my middle name), "I just can't think of you as Nichole. Sorry." Other people had no problem with the change and told me, "It fits you better than your first name." While I have not taken the time to contemplate the differences in treatment when one name is used verses the other, I know there are differences. And it could be one reason why family and some friends still refuse to call me by the name I prefer.

But there is another realm of names that I have been thinking about as well - spiritual names or as Pagans like to call them "Craft names." Up until recently, I have seen no need for them. I thought them to be something of a pretense, a show, one more thing that screamed "I'm different! Look at me!" But there is more to it than just being different, I am starting to realize.

There are many religious groups and cultures that have used special or secret names as a way to express aspects of their spirituality. For example, a friend of mine who is Catholic chose a spiritual name at the time of her confirmation. The one she chose fit her perfectly because it was an aspect of her personality she wanted to express.

Another example of how names are used in different ways, and I've seen it in both in real life and in literature, is the "real name" verses "daily use name." In the Earthsea Trilogy by Ursula Le Guin, the characters and called by one name from birth until they hit their naming day. On their naming day, they are given their "true name," one that gives other people power over them if someone knows what it is. They are not to give this name to people. I thought that this was a unique concept and was surprised to find that there are cultures that hold this very belief today.

After having a conversation about this subject with a friend of mine, and thinking about some of the above, I now realize that a spiritual name name is a way to show connection of who you are to your religious and spiritual side/life; a way for you to connect to your beliefs. It can be used not only to identify you within your community (if it is a public name) or a way for you to connect to the divine (if it is a private name or even a public name).

Names are so much more than just something that is used as a label. They are a tool for you and others to connect; to connect to each other, to the divine, to your culture, to your religion and to your spirit. Although I won't be choosing a spiritual name just yet, I now have a lot more respect for them than I used to have.

Heathen Gods: Odin

2007-03-03T12:31:00.000-06:00

I was given some advice by a friend regarding the beginning of learning about a new religion, in this case Heathenry. He told me to start with the Gods. So, that is what I am doing. And who better to start with than the God that is said to be the main God of Heathen religions? Today, I start with some of my notes that I have taken down as I have found information about Odin.

What Is Odin The God Of?

Odin is considered to be the chief God of the Æsir clan.

Although the most likely realm attributed to Odin is that of war, battle, and death, he is also the God of wisdom. He is considered to be the patron of poets, writers and thinkers. He also has been known to use magic, both rune and seidhr magic. Seidhr magic was typically used by women and for that reason Odin was driven out of Asgard for a while. Odin was the God who gained to the knowledge of Runes for the Æsir and used that power to resurrect himself.

He is the God that is most concerned with human affairs and watched the human race from his high seat.

He is said to be the shaper of Wyrd.

What Does He Look Like?

Most say that Odin appears as an older man with a long beard. He is most likely to be depicted as wearing a dark blue cloak and is carrying his spear, gungnir, which he uses as a walking staff. He is missing an eye after sacrificing it to gain wisdom at the well of Mimir. His eye is said to remain at the bottom of the well.

No one seems to know which eye is the one that has been sacrificed as there are depictions of him missing either eye.

He is also known for his ability to take on other shapes.

Odin’s Connections With The Other Gods

Frigg – Frigg is Odin’s first wife and helps him to look over the world.

Balder – Odin and Frigg’s son.

Hod – Odin’s blind son who represented darkness.

Thor – Odin’s son by the Goddess Jord.

Loki – A giant that is often sited as Odin’s blood brother. He is also the mother of Odin’s eight-legged horse, Sleipnir.

Common Stories of Odin

Sacrificing his eye, he throws it into the well of Mimir to be able to take a drink to gain wisdom.

To gain the knowledge of Runes, he hangs himself from a tree for nine days and nights and pierces his side with his own spear.

What Else Is He Known For?

He is known as the leader of the Wild Hunt.

Giving poets the mead of inspiration.

The slaying of the giant, Ymir, to form Midgard.

Updated 3/3/07 at 6:40pm to reflect corrections as told to me by Bernulf of Expanding Inward.

Could it be?....YES!

2007-03-01T10:59:00.000-06:00

Last night after looking out my window, I just knew I had to be outside. Could it be? Was it ..... SNOWING? Yes! I got my winter gear on an headed out for a walk in the crisp, late night air.

I walked a little ways from my house and stood in the driveway with my face turned up to the skys just to feel the cold flakes fall on my face. As I started walking, I heard the crunch of new fallen snow under my shoes. I was soon looking at the snow collecting on top of the branches of the trees. It was coming down fast.

I walked towards the local park and its walking paths through the woods. Everything was quiet and still around me. The only noise was my footfalls. I sat down in the snow to take in the quiet and found myself grinning at nothing. I was happy that we finally had two decent snowfalls in Minnesota during the last week.

As I sat there listening to nothing, I realized just how much I have missed the snow this year. It's not that we haven't had any up until this point, but what we have had hasn't lasted long. My lawn was brown last Friday. Now the whole neighborhood and surrounding parks areas are a winter wonderland. And it is beautiful.

When I looked down at the sleeve of my coat, I realized that I could see the patterns of the individual snowflakes. Due to what I saw, I realized that I have really never paid any attention to individual flakes before. The harsh lines and angles of the crystalline forms made me lean in closer for a better look. I quickly realized my mistake as my warm breath caused the flake to melt in about half a second.

Seeing the flake melt was a interesting experience. Have you ever watched a snowflake melt before? The tines melted first and looked as if they were shrinking into the main body of the flake until all that was left was a tiny bead of liquid. Such a simple thing had me transfixed. Why had I not paid attention to this before?

I don't think I had given myself the chance to do so before. As our world rushes by, who has the time to sit and watch snowflakes melt? And who has the time to care? This was why I liked the snow and why I had missed it: when it snows, our world slows down just enough for us to start paying attention to things a little closer. And that was just what happened last night.

Pagan Blogs 2.26.07

2007-02-26T13:41:00.000-06:00

Looking through my regular round of blogs, I've noticed that there are quite a few posts regarding religious inquiry and reflection. Some have a bit of confusion mixed with frustration; some are filled with wonder at what is happening; some talk about their new "discoveries" and others talk about modern Paganism "growing up."

Kay at Songs of Unforgetting has been visited by a deity that seems to want to make her presence known.

Jenavira from Essais has been wondering if she is heading down the right path after a night of insomnia.

I have recently "discovered" Heathenry and learned about the concept of wyrd. (And have been holding back and trying not to turn this blog into a Heathen blog.)

After Pantheacon, Deborah Oak of Roots Down talks about how Pagans are maturing.

Colorado Celt, in a conversation with his wife at a restaurant, agrees that Pagans are growing up but that they need to stop bashing other religions. (And I wholeheartedly agree!) He soon begins to wonder what the guy at the next table is writing down as he eavesdrops on the conversation.

And because of my own searching, I have been delving deeper into Jeff Lilly's series on how to choose your religion, which I highly recommend.

1 Intro
2 Definition of Religion
3 Summary
4 Why Be Religious?
5 Common Pitfalls: Community, Fear
6 The Search For Truth
7 Languages of Spirit
8 Old Religions, New Religions

Concept Of Wyrd

2007-02-24T11:08:00.000-06:00

Recently, okay, within the last few days, I have started to read up on Heathenry and I am finding that I am very interested in what I have read so far. I am coming to realize just how different the path of Heathenry is from general Paganism, when I never really thought there was much of a difference. That's what you pick up from reading.

The concept within Heathenry that has really stood out for me is the concept of wyrd. Some people would say that it is similar to the concept of karma, and to some extent, it is. At the same time, there is more to it as it is something that you yourself have a little more control over as it is about the decisions you make and what reaction comes after. At it's core, it is the concept that every action has it's consequences. Of course, that is over simplifying things a bit.

One of the explanations that I read regarding this concept, used the idea of weaving to explain the effects, which made perfect sense to me because I used to weave, so that is what I will use as an example here. With every pass of the shuttle through the warp (the vertical strands), a new thread (the woof/horizontal strands) is laid down into the fabric and pressed down against those that came before. These new threads are, in turn, connected to the previous threads that came before and creates a pattern for the world to see.

In the terms of wyrd, each new action that you make is not only determined by the decisions you have made in the past but will also determine what actions are to come in the future. Every decision you make is connected through your life pattern and effects the choices you will make in the future. Not to say that you don't have free will; it's just that you are laying down the patterns for how you react to various events in the future. Your wyrd is being constructed at the same time that it has a hand in constructing your reaction.

The thing that I like about this concept is that with this deeper understanding of every action has a reaction, you also have to take greater responsibility for your actions. You are responsible for you do. Those actions that you have chosen color everything in your future and there is only one person that can take responsible for those actions: you.

I'm not sure if I've got it quite right and I know there is more to it than what I have written, but this is my initial thoughts on what I have read. I'm sure as I learn more about Heathenry, I will be writing more regarding some of the concepts I am learning about.

Ritual In A Tin

2007-02-21T19:14:00.000-06:00

Thanks to Fiacharrey over at Cypress Nemeton, I have been introduced to new way of traveling light and still being able to carry necessary ritual items. His creation is small, compact and easy to personalize for your own needs. Very cool idea.

My Unique Family

2007-02-20T10:35:00.000-06:00

Did you watch TLC’s show My Unique Family's episode about Rev. Kendra Vaughan Hovey and her family last night? I was a little weary as I started to watch the episode as it is usually difficult to say how an individual, family, or group will be portrayed for this type of show. For once, I was actually quite surprised and pleased with it. The family was portrayed as being regular people who had regular concerns within their family and in daily life.

It seems that the main theme of this episode was religious tolerance, which makes sense to me. There are so many people that do not have an understanding of Pagan religions for several reasons, including not having any exposure to it. One thing that struck me was that Rev. Kendra Vaughan Hovey said that she would rather have people say things to her face rather than saying things behind her back. That way, they have a chance for communication and education.

But it wasn’t just a theme about tolerance within the overall community. Both parents talked about how they are open to the fact that their children have the right to decide what religions they want to follow later in life. I think that that made an important point about how open minded the Wiccan faith is regarding tolerance of other religions.

There have been a few questions of the clerical collar that Rev. Hovey wears. Within the first few minutes of the show, this question was answered when she stated that she wears the collar as a way to be recognized as clergy. Which is fine, I guess, but then there were the two towns people who automatically took that as a sign that she was making fun of Christian clergy and were rather disgusted. Wouldn't there be a better way to show that you are Pagan clergy rather than using a symbol of the Christian clergy? Any ideas out there?

Overall, I think that this was a great show. For once, a TV program showed an intelligent, articulate, and normal Wiccan family.

Naughty Students

2007-02-18T14:22:00.000-06:00

Naughty, naughty. You've been caught (whoever you are) copying some of my writing.

Apparently there is a program in which student papers can be uploaded and checked to see if there is any kind of plagiarism by checking the internet and comparing content. I knew that there were ways, but hadn't given much thought to how student work could be checked. I guess that this is one option for teachers.

How did I find out that someone had plagiarised my writing? I checked my referral links in my stats and saw one that I hadn't seen before. I clicked the link and it showed me the paper that had been turned in, as well as what parts of the paper were suspicious with links to my site to the pages they "may have" copied. There is no doubt that they did (at least in my opinion). While they were not exact copies of what I wrote, it was so similar that I am guessing that the person thought that changing a few words and changing the wording slightly would make it their own. NOPE! It's still my writing.

Plagiarism is not cool, people. Naughty, naughty.

I'm thinking about adding a Creative Commons license to the site.

Mercury Retrograde? Huh?

2007-02-16T14:24:00.000-06:00

Okay. I admit that I know barely anything about astrology besides that it exists and what to answer when someone asks "What's your sign, baby?" In the past, I have tried reading some information about the subject but soon put it aside because of how quickly I become confused. I've also realized that although I don't have much interest in the subject, I'm still curious what people mean when they talk about things like "mercury retrograde."

The last few days has seen a rise in of posts about astrology, specifically those referencing mercury in retrograde and I find myself thinking "What are they talking about?" There seems to be some differences in what it means to the individual from Angela-Eloise at Blogickal telling us to "Batten down the hatches" and Dream Angel at Blessed Be! blaming her boyfriend's current behavior on mercury retrograde. However, there are others that take a different view such as Jenavira from Essais saying that she feels full of motivation during this time.

So, people, what's up with this astrology stuff? Maybe you can help me out.

About Me

2007-02-15T12:15:00.000-06:00

It’s about time! After a year and half of blogging, I have finally put an “About Me” page together.

About Me

Name: S. Nichole
AKA: Sojourner
Age: 30 something
Location: St. Paul, MN
Current Occupation: Social Work
Education: AA General; AA in Photography; BAS in Psychology
Future Plans: PhD in Psychology or History

My interests include photography, art, music, cooking, extreme bookworm-ish tendencies, disability rights, volunteerism, world religions, philosophy, psychology, the brain and how it works, and jewelry making.

I recently graduated with a BAS in Psychology and have decided to take a couple of years to decide which direction I will go in regards to continuing my education. I am looking into programs in cognitive neuroscience, psychology of religion, and history of religion in the U.S. as possibilities for graduate school.

I am a member of a Unitarian Universalist congregation in the Twin Cities Area.

Why A Blog About Paganism?

A Pagan Sojourn is my space to reflect about different aspects of Paganism and occasionally general religion and psychology in relation to religion.

Although I had been reading about and studying Paganism since my mid-teens, I didn’t get very serious about the study. While I have continued to be mildly interested in the subject, my interest was renewed when a classmate disclosed a secret to me: She had decided to become Pagan. When she couldn’t answer some of the questions I was asking, I decided to seek out the answers, or various versions of them, for myself.

It was at the same time that I found a blog for the first time and I realized its potential in helping me to keep my thoughts on Paganism in a semi-organized manner. I also realized that the platform of blogging allowed for people to add to the conversation and saw it as a way to interact and learn from those that read my blog.

I don’t claim to be an expert, I do try to be informed, but I definitely have an interest in the subject of Pagan religions.

What’s With Your Name?

I go by “Sojourner” on my blog. However, some people erroneously list me as “Knowledge Sojourner” because of my email address. Maybe telling the story behind the email address will clear up some confusion.

When I announced to my friends and family that I would be going back to school, I got the expected, good natured teasing. “You’ll be going to class with people who are more than 10 years younger than you!” They seemed to think this was funny. So I told them that I would only be “dwelling temporarily within the walls of knowledge” and then would move on to bigger and better things. As a joke, I set up the email and planned to use it while in school. Instead, I used it for this blog as it fit with my blog title and pen name.

What’s With The Blog Name?

Sojourn

Main Entry: ¹so·journ
Pronunciation: 'sO-"j&rn, sO-'
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English sojorn, from Anglo-French sujur, sujurn, from sujurner
: a temporary stay < sojourn in the country>

(source: Merriam-Webster Online)

While many people use the term “sojourn” to mean “a journey” or “to seek,” it also implies a temporary stay. This blog was meant to be a year long study of Paganism, before moving on to something else. However, when I got to end of the year, I realized that I had more that I wanted to learn. I am currently thinking about changing the name of my blog to reflect my longer stay.

I Want You To Participate!

Please, if you have something to say, SAY IT! I want you to participate in the conversation, even if you have a different perspective. I like hearing different perspectives, as it is a great way to learn. All I ask is that you try to be respectful. I will try to do the same.

Feel free to comment even on older posts, as I do keep track of comments that are made on them.

Invested Authority

2007-02-14T09:23:00.000-06:00

Another part of the quote that I want to talk about from the book, Pagan Theology, is “the authority that is invested in them.” When scholars and well-known people within Paganism dedicate their time to help grow the body of knowledge, it helps to provide a base of information to better understanding of Paganism. These people are investing their status as an authority and allowing themselves to become an example of what the Pagan religions represent. By example, they become almost a type of public Pagan Ambassador.

I would think that a major part of each religion’s validation has to do with the body of writing that is produced by its followers over many, many years. Ideas are produced, discussed, and expanded upon. Some of those ideas become more popular than others, and some ideas fall flat before getting very far. Over all, the speed at which Paganism has become a suitable choice within the religious landscape has been very quick when compared to the history of other religions. I would say that one reason why this has happened is technology. We can not deny that the internet has helped with the popularity of Paganism. (Not that the internet is the only technological advance that has helped. It is merely one example.)

Because of the technology, as well as the education system, we have today, it will not take as long to acquire a significant amount of “valid” religious writings within different Pagan denominations. The time that is invested in producing these writings will effect the future of Paganism.

* This post is a continuation of the previous post on the Authority To Validate and was written before all the comments.

New Feed Option

2007-02-12T13:00:00.000-06:00

As many people like to use readers to keep track of the blogs they read, I have added a new option for subscribing to my feed through Feedburner.

Using feed readers helps when you read a large amount of blogs and other websites and keeps all your subscriptions in one spot. All you have to do is go into your reader to see which blogs/websites have new posts - you don't have to go to each site.

I invite you to subscribe to my blog. To subscribe, all you have to do is click on the button below, choose which reader you want to use, and then start reading. This subscription button can also be found at the bottom of my sidebar.

Authority To Validate

2007-02-11T17:43:00.000-06:00

In the beginning of the book, Pagan Theology, I noticed this line: “If religions are to be seen as unfolding maps of greater degrees of complexity, they can still be only as valid as the authority that is invested in them,” (pg. 3 ). It got me wondering about who has the ability or the authority to "validate" a religion, either from within the religion or from those on the sidelines.

Within Paganism, who has the authority to help it be viewed as being “valid?” A few people that came to mind at first included authors, professors, and reporters/journalists. But why is it that these people have authority? Just looking at the list, I would guess that their level of education has something to do with their ability to influence the public as an “authority.”

Another thing is that most people in these types of careers is that they are in the public eye. As they are well-known, they are able influence public opinion regarding Paganism. That they are in the public eye also opens up the possibility for new opportunities. One example of this is Margot Adler's career as a journalist with NPR opened up the opportunity to research and write her book “Drawing Down the Moon.”

But what about being validated from outside of Paganism? I know that many people say that there is no need to have validation from others because it is what they believe. While I would agree, I also think that there are some event that wouldn't be happening if there was that sense of validation. Events like the denial of Patrick Stewart's headstone and the various court cases that have been brought to public attention are some things that come to mind. How these events play out will have an effect on how the general public views Paganism and to what extent they view it as a valid religious expression.

On the other hand, there is much that can invalidate religions as well. Those in positions of authority have the ability to, sometimes with only a few sentences, do damage to the reputation of someone else's belief. And it doesn't help when people within the religion question their own religious scholarship as Brandy William pointed out at the Seattle Pagan Scholars Position of Studies Tea in 1997.

So, how do we bring about religious validation within both the Pagan community and the larger society? Is this even important given the argument that the only person that needs to valid your beliefs is yourself? Or is there more to this issue?

Life And Experience

2007-02-06T14:06:00.000-06:00

Another birthday and come and past, and I realize that I am losing a piece of myself for every year that I age. It's not that I am losing a sense of who I am. On the contrary as I know myself better and have more confidence than ever before. It's more a feeling of losing that sense of mystery that comes with experiencing something for the first time. It's the lack of surprise, shock, or state of disbelief that comes with being unprepared for a new experience.

The more new things that are experienced mean that I have more life experience in general. The more life experience I have, the more I am able to anticipate what may happen depending on the decisions that are made. While there are still opportunities for surprises, I am realizing that I that there seems to be less and less of them.

I am beginning to cherish every experience that brings me out of my comfort zone and helps me to realize that there is more to life than just the everyday. On the Appalachian Trail, I frequently had the sense that I was in the moment and had a sense of wonderment regarding the world that surrounded me. I also felt like it was the best time of my life. Abraham Maslow described this as a peak experience.

In the preface of Abraham Maslow's Religions, Values, and Peak Experiences, he briefly mentions this phenomenon of losing one's sense of wonderment as people become older. He also mentions something about peak experiences that I had not considered before. As we all know, mental health has been known to be a significant contribution to our overall health. Maslow said that there is a definite cognitive element about peak experiences (even though they can also be purely emotional).

This made me wonder if peak experiences are almost necessary for positive mental health. If you lose your sense of wonderment, how does that effect your outlook on life? I am guessing that it has a huge effect on one's life.

How do you keep that sense of mystery in life that may help to keep a positive outlook? While part of this may be to get out and experience new and different things, I wonder if making a conscious decision on how to live life would effect not only the type of experiences I have, but how I define those experiences (as far as being "new" or not). There is also a question of how the element of youth and inexperience comes into the mix. Looking back, much of the wonderment of a new experience was because of being unprepared and frankly, I don't want to go back to that time of being unprepared as it can also create a sense of confusion in life.

Maybe I have to learn to redefine the meaning behind my experiences. I am in a time of life where although I am not considered "old," I am no longer considered "young" either. Instead, I feel as if I am in a position to define my life as old or young simply by my approach to life.

I feel that I am at a crossroads and this is the time to choose what my future is going to be like. Ten years down the road, will others consider me old beyond my years or will I be able to surprise everyone when my age is revealed? Instead of wondering, I need to decide what direction my life will go in instead of just going with the flow. So I decide that I will go forth and live with a youthful vibe while approaching things with maturity. After watching Oprah yesterday (a rare occurrence, that), I know who I have to look to for inspiration.

Celebrating The Day

2007-02-02T14:07:00.000-06:00

As Pagans celebrate the day, their writing about the holiday takes over their bogs. Here are a few posts from around the blogosphere.

Jason, from Wild Hunt, tells us a little about Brigid and gives us a collection of quotes about the day.

In honor of the day, Deborah Lipp posts a poem for Brigid.

Sarah Sutterfield Winn also posts several poems for the day.

Anne over at The Gods Are Bored has me laughing as usual when she mentions playing a game of Monopoly with Brighid.

While not specifically about the day, Colorado Celt reminisces about how he would like to see "[his] experience of Celtic paganism to be a little more earthy."

On Deaf Pagan Crossroads, Ocean wishes everyone new beginnings and posts a song from a Imbolc ritual from a few years ago.

Elle at Domesticated Bloggage mentions a few things that you can do to celebrate the day.

Angela-Eloise over at Blogickal has given her site a new look and goes into some of the history of the day.

I wish you all a wonderful day!

Reading

2007-01-28T13:00:00.000-06:00

Now that I have a little more time to pursue my goal of reading books other than texts, I have been able to start a few of the books on my list. These books have influenced the posts that I will be making over the few days.

So far, I have started reading:

Pagan Theology by Michael York
Toward a Psychology of Being by Abraham Maslow

Ordered and waiting on my bookshelf are:

Ritual Theory, Ritual Practice by Catherine Bell
The Triumph of the Moon by Ronald Hutton

And of course, being the bookworm that I am, I have added a few more psychology books to the list that I am currently reading as well. They are:

The Individual and His Religion by Gordon Allport
Religions, Values, and Peak Experiences by Abraham Maslow

Deaf Pagans

2007-01-27T01:02:00.000-06:00

Have you ever wondered what issues arise for the deaf Pagan community? I found a new Pagan blog, called Deaf Pagan Crossroads, which gives us a fresh view on what it means to be Pagan.

However, because the blog is only about two months old , there are still a few bugs that need to be worked out and I admit that I had some trouble navigating it. Don't let this stop you from checking it out though, as you will miss out on a unique perspective. My main issue is that I couldn't find the archive links, so I ended up manually typing in the archive links. I hope that links to the archives will be added to the site soon.

Although the blog is young, it looks very promising and I hope it continues.

Modern Myths And Pagan Minnesota

2007-01-22T09:23:00.000-06:00

Come celebrate the winter season - Minnesota style. In other words, the St. Paul Winter Carnival is upon us! With the Carnival running for 10 days, Minnesotans have many opportunities to give up their need for a comfortable temperature and spend a few hours outdoors enjoying winter during one of the coldest months of the year.

What I find interesting about this local celebration of winter is it's set of myths, which were written in the 1930's. There is definitely a Pagan flavor to them. The legend behind the festivities of the St. Paul Winter Carnival starts with:A long, long time ago, Astraious, the god of Starlight, and Eos, the goddess of the Rosy Fingered Morn, were wed. The union was blessed with five sons: Boreas, Titan, Euros, Zephyrus and Notos
This next week and half (or so) includes the pageantry of the Queen of the Snows and the Princesses, as well as the singing talent of Klondike Kate among part of the festivities. Another favorite activity, which started yesterday, is the treasure hunt with it's elaborate, daily clues. However, even though I have loved this local ritual of Minnesota since I was a child, I think I still fear the Vulcans.

Pagan Misconception #6

2007-01-21T16:44:00.000-06:00

With my recent readings bringing up more misconceptions of Paganism, I've decided to continue my series that I had started last summer. If you want to read the first five misconceptions I wrote about, here are the links:

Misconception #1 – Pagans worship the devil
Misconception #2 – Witches/Pagans have magical powers that normal people do not have
Misconception #3 – Paganism/Wicca can be whatever you want it to be
Misconception #4 – All Pagan rituals are full of sex rites and orgies
Misconception #5 – Pagans are trying to lure minors to Paganism through popular books such as Harry Potter

Pagan Misconception #6 - Pagan Religions are cults.

Another misconception that people use as a criticism of Paganism is that it is a cult movement. I hear this from many places: friends that know that I, students groups on campus, the internet, in books, and in comments on blogs and forums. I have noticed that this is not only because there are many different views of what Paganism is, but also because there is confusion of what a cult consists of.

Well, then, what is a cult? Most people I talk to think of a cult in a similar manner to this line from the article What is a cult?:

....groups which hypnotized or brainwashed recruits, destroyed their ability to make rational judgements and turned them into slaves of the group's leader.

Another website, Cultwatch, states:

...cults can survive because their members rarely think about what they believe...

Can Pagan religions be considered cults, then? In my opinion, no. Take the last quote from above into consideration. Followers of Pagan religions encourage others to think their beliefs through and then putting those beliefs into practice, either by themselves or within a group setting. Within many Pagan groups, the leadership of the group does not rely on just one or two people, but the whole group. Everyone has a say in what is put into practice.

Another reason why I can not consider Pagan religions a cult movement is a point that lies in the first quote above. Cults actively recruit to increase their membership. Without people actively recruiting, their movement would die. Pagans do not recruit. If you are interested in joining a Pagan group, you have to do some work to find a group to join. This is not only to find one that you are comfortable with, but also a group that feels that you are a good fit with them. One thing about cults that seems to be common is that they will take anybody into their membership - as long as they don't question the leadership, that is. Pagans are taught to ask questions and to research their questions to determine their beliefs.

Why would people spread this kind of misconception? Of course, we can all think of some reasons as there are so many of them. One is that there is quite a stigma behind the word "cult" and the type of people that follow cult movements. Because of the negative stigma on the word "cult," if people can be made to believe that Pagan religions are cults, then those religions lose their possibility of being considered valid. Paganism can not be a valid religious movement if it is considered a cult, right?

I think that most of the misconceptions of Paganism come from misunderstandings, whether they are spread out of malicious intent or not. Misconceptions do undermine the validity of a religion. That, however, will be the subject of another post.

New Orleans

2007-01-16T13:35:00.000-06:00

Helping to rebuild a part of New Orleans will be an experience I will never forget.

When we first arrived in the area of New Orleans, although one of the first things that everyone noticed was the trees, we soon saw other signs of the wide spread destruction of the area. We saw debris such as chairs, coolers and other furniture on roof tops, cars and boats in unusual places, and rows upon rows of empty, torn houses. At night, it was strange to drive through some of the neighborhoods and realize that there were only a few houses here and there that had any sort of light on.

The first day, the thing that really caught my attention was the markings on the buildings. Every single one had a marking (a huge X with information in each section of the X) denoting the date the building was checked, the national guard unit that had checked it, if there were pets that were seen in the building, and the body count. Every. Single. One. It was difficult to drive past a house that had a number other than zero in the bottom part of the X, as we soon found out that that number meant that someone one had died in that house.

On Monday, we started working on several sites, including the Musician's Village. The Musician's Village is a project that has Harry Connick, Jr. and Branford and Ellis Marsalis partnering up with Habitat for Humanity to get musicians back to New Orleans. Why is this project so important? One resident that I got to meet, Ellen Smith, said that it is difficult for musicians to come back because rent is now two to three times higher than it was before the hurricane with an one bedroom apartment now priced at $900. Smith will hopefully be able to move into her house this weekend. Here is a video of the building and dedication ceremony of the first few houses in the Musician's Village.

Throughout the week, I got to try my hand at landscaping, framing and hanging bedroom and closet doors, and putting the exterior trim around several windows on a house. While I came down to N.O. to help, I admit that I learned many skills that I will be able to use in the future when I get a house of my own. I will no longer be intimidated by doing my own home repairs.

Even with the destruction still widely visible, there were signs of hope. Even though there were not very many, every house that had a light on reminded our group that people were coming back to New Orleans; They were coming home. Signs posted at different locations helped to remind residents and visitors alike to stay positive and that the area was recovering. We could see the hope in people's faces as they would drive up to the area and stop to talk to volunteers and thank them for coming to help people that have virtually been forgotten. We told them that we would not let people forget them and that we would spread our tales any way that we could.

A sign of hope that really touched me, as strange as it may sound, was the rose bushes that I saw. How could the trees have died, yet many rose bushes throughout the area still survive? The ones that I saw were flourishing! I saw rose bushes in all areas, but the one that spoke to me was the one in the Ninth Ward. With many of the houses in this area already torn down, I was touched when I saw a fully bloomed rose bush next to a stair case leading up to where a house used to be. While this area of N.O. may never recover, that one rose bush reminded me that there is still hope.

I encourage all of you to get a group together and go down to New Orleans to help out if you can. For more information on helping check out the N.O. Habitat site.

Sites and things of interest in New Orleans:

Mardi Gras Masks
King Cake
Bourbon Street
French Quarter
Cafe du Monde
Beignets at Cafe du Monde
Palm Trees
Fima trailer villages
Fima trailers in people's front yard as they repair their homes
Fleur-de-lis symbol
St. Bernards Parish
Ninth Ward
The colorful houses of the Musician's Village
Water lines on houses
National Guard markings on the houses
Holes in roofs where people had escaped from their homes
Ann Rice's House
Real World House
Jambalaya
Gumbo
Po Boy sandwiches
Harry Connick, Jr. (Yes, I did get to meet him)
Branford and Ellis Marsalis (I met them, also)
Ellen Smith singing at Cafe Brazil
A McDonald's that looks like a church
Swamp tours

Thank You

2007-01-16T08:45:00.000-06:00

I would like to thank Angela-Eloise, Jeff, Bernulf, and Mike for guest blogging while I was in New Orleans. I appreciate all the hard work and effort they have put into this past week and encourage you all to visit their blogs.

Impact of Wicca on Everyday Life

2007-01-14T09:47:00.000-06:00

"How has your religion changed your daily, everyday life?"

My answer to this question essentially is a heightened perception of my own abilities to affect the things around me and a greater awareness of energy. Wicca has changed my life in other ways too, but these are the things that truly affect me every day in a way that they didn't before I began to study witchcraft.

Every thought you think is magick.

This one quote from Christopher Penczak's book Instant Magick sums up for me the most profound way that witchcraft has changed my everyday life. After I began my formal study I learned how powerful not just spoken words but thoughts and feelings could be in manifesting things in our lives.

As I have followed the way of the witch there have been a few "a-ha" moments when certain principles and beliefs from the craft have suddenly become startlingly clear on a very personal level. I remember talking with a classmate from my Witchcraft 1 class about how much I disliked someone I was working for and how unhappy I was in that job. I realized that I had a habit of complaining and being very vocal about my unhappiness when it related to work. We had just been learning about thought forms in class, so suddenly, in that one conversation I got it. By thinking and talking about how miserable I was, that was the energy that I drew to myself as a result and misery was what I was using my power to manifest. This may seem obvious to some but that's only because magick truly is all around us and we all have more power than we think. Once I realized the power that words and even thoughts have, I appreciated the neutralization technique we had learned, wherein you perform some action - be it a spoken word or a gesture - to neutralize the energy of something you didn't mean to say or don't really want to send out to the universe. A magickal "do-over" if you will.

As a witch, I've become much more aware of how my thoughts affect me and those around me and certainly more vigilant against unintentional manifestation of things that run counter to what I really intend. I've also come to recognize the periods in my life when I was manifesting good things by the sheer power of my force of will. Before I began to study witchcraft I didn't realize what I was doing. Now I know. I was working magick.

Just as I learned early on how my words and thoughts had power, I also began to learn about energy. This work is at the core of witchcraft - you need to be able to work with energy to be an effective witch - and no matter how advanced a witch becomes, she will always return to these basic lessons again and again because they are at the heart of magick.

Have you ever walked by something and gotten a shiver - we used to call it the "heebie jeebies" - or met someone who just rubbed you the wrong way? We all have. Every day we come in contact with the energy that is all around us and sometimes feel it enough for it to affect us. As witches, we are trained not only to sense those energies but to recognize them, protect ourselves from them if necessary, harness them if they can help us, and heal them when called upon. As many people have, I sure that I have always been aware of energies I experience on some level. Now, with the training I've done, I'm much more sensitive to their existence and have a greater capacity for knowing what they are and what to do with them.

This doesn't always mean we have to act upon energy we encounter; sometimes it just gives us deeper understanding or appreciation. For example, the other day I bumped into someone I worked with a long time ago and hadn't seen in many years. Just like that, out of the blue. Seeing him was enough of a pleasant surprise but I was struck by how strongly he was emanating the most energized, upbeat aura. I remembered how I had always thought he had such sparkly eyes. He still does. But now I know that those sparkly eyes are but a hint of how sparkly his personal energy is. As a witch I could experience that energy in a way that I never had before.

Energy, just like thought, has tremendous power to transform us. Witches are taught to respect this power and to use it to serve our highest will - the expression of our divine selves - making sure that it harms no one, including ourselves. That is what the phrase "An in harm none, do what thou will" means. This is one of the guiding principles of Wicca. Anyone can call themselves a witch and practice magick. But to be Wiccan means to take personal responsibility for our magick and to exercise the power that we have in an ethical way.

Impact of Druidism on Everyday Life: Requited Gratitude

2007-01-14T07:39:00.000-06:00

"How has your religion changed your daily, everyday life?"

In my original post on the essence of Druidism, I wrote about how gratitude was the essence of what drew me to the religion -- gratitude for our ancestors, our teachers, and our gods. I have found, though, that since beginning my practice, my whole experience of gratitude has changed.

I was not raised with gratitude at the center of spiritual practice. The first fundamental truth of Buddhism, the religion I was raised with, is that the world is afflicted with suffering; and a fundamental truth like that does not engender much gratitude. One of the famous sayings of Zen is "If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him". Again, not much gratitude there. This is in no way intended as a criticism of Buddhism -- I know that many Buddhist meditations are very effective in encouraging the development of gratitude, and it is an important part of many kinds of Buddhist practice. My point here is simply that the practice of gratitude per se was not part of my personal Zen-influenced upbringing. When I grew older, and abandoned Buddhism in favor of atheism and agnosticism, I was removed even further from gratitude.

Of course, I did feel gratitude for being alive, and for the forests and the sunsets and so forth. But I had nowhere to direct that gratitude. I was grateful, but there was no one available to say "you're welcome". It was a sort of unrequited gratitude; it was like being in love with someone who doesn't even know you exist, except of course it was really being in love with someone whom you don't even know exists.

As I entered into Druidism, I began to use visualization techniques to make contact with those I was thankful to. I was able to thank the gods and ancestors specifically, by name, for their blessings, and I saw them smile and acknowledge the thanks. Having your thanks recieved with love is a wonderful thing -- it is an additional blessing on top of everything you're already thankful for.

It particularly transformed the Winter Solstice. I always enjoyed that time of year, and the evergreens and gift-giving and so forth spoke to something inside me. In the past, we have always put a Santa doll at the top of the tree -- mostly because it was quirky and cute and Santa was not an angel. But this past Solstice was the first time it was really meaningful for me. When I put Santa up -- and him wearing the traditional red, white and black colors of the Celtic Otherworld -- I knew I was giving proper reverence for a real spirit that was coming into my home. This was probably the happiest Solstice season I've had in my life, simply because I was really celebrating something I believed in. (Well, that one time when I was five and I got a Lone Ranger doll -- that was pretty awesome, too.)

This changed experience of gratitude has opened a door. Somehow, all the things I've been grateful for -- my family, the sky, the earth -- are brighter, more colorful, and more real. I feel more alive and present. I'm going to close with a quote from C.S. Lewis's "The Last Battle" which describes the change in my daily life most vividly:

"Perhaps you will get some idea of it, if you think of it like this.You may have been in a room in which there was a window that looked out on a lovely bay of the sea or a green valley that wound away among the mountains. And in the wall of that room opposite to the window there may have been a looking glass. And as you turned away from the window you suddenly caught sight of that sea or that valley, all over again, in the looking glass. And the sea in the mirror, or the valley in the mirror, were in one sense just the same as the real ones: yet at the same time they were somehow different -- deeper, more wonderful, more like places in a story: in a story you have never heard but very much want to know...every rock and flower and blade of grass looked as if it meant more. I can't describe it any better than that: if you ever get there, you will know what I mean."

Impact of Buddhism on Everyday Life

2007-01-13T13:00:00.000-06:00

"How has your religion changed your daily, everyday life?"

"As human beings we all want to be happy and free from misery…we have learned that the key to happiness is inner peace. The greatest obstacles to inner peace are disturbing emotions such as anger and attachment, fear and suspicion, while love, compassion, and a sense of universal responsibility are the sources of peace and happiness." (Dalai Lama)

Buddhism is a religion based upon empirical testing and observation. As the Dalai Lama notes in the quote above, the key to true happiness is inner peace. The primary manner in which Buddhism has changed my life is by showing me the means to obtain such happiness. And by that, I don't mean through pedagogic discourse but through not only giving me the tools to examine myself and my world directly, but also by making it clear that examining the world for myself is the only method by which I can discover the way to happiness--being told about it or reading about it won't get me very far.

In a sense, Buddhism has given me a toolkit with which to examine all aspects of myself and the world around me. Through application of mindfulness, I can slow down and examine the minutest aspects of phenomena. Of course, the ability to do this takes much time to develop--I certainly am not at the point of being able to be mindful to that degree--but the tools allow me to see progress for myself. What's the benefit of mindfulness of this type? As the Dalai Lama stated, anger is one of the primary impediments to happiness. As I slow myself down and look at anger as it arises, I can begin to see it for what it is--a body-less emotion that I, solely, am responsible for generating. Only with mindfulness can I avoid attaching to my anger, which prevents it from controlling me. I can then directly observe its causes, the conditions required for it appear in me, and the ultimate effect it has on my peace of mind and others around me. It is only through this method that I can see for myself the true damage that anger causes me, the effect it has on my inner peace. And it is only through this method that I can observe the true nature of anger.

This same process allows me to examine happiness in life. As the Dalai Lama stated, inner peace is the key to true happiness. But doesn't buying stuff make us happy too? Doesn't a good meal make us happy? Yes, but those happinesses are fleeting, impermanent, and ultimately unsatisfactory. How do I know this? Through mindfulness. Looking directly with penetrating insight at the feelings that arise when I buy something I really want makes it clear that this feeling is based on attachment. I see that after the initial thrill wears off, I need to buy something else to continue the "high." Is that really true happiness?

Buddhism has truly given me the tools to work with my everyday life, to see the true nature of every aspect of myself. It has given me a stronger peace of mind, and I've observed for myself the increase in happiness that comes with such inner peace. I'm thankful for coming to Buddhism when I did because it has allowed me to see for myself the things I do that are wholesome and beneficial, and the things I do that are unwholesome and harmful. It has also given me a 2,500 year old proven process to increase the wholesome and decrease the unwholesome.

Impact of Heathenry on Everyday Life

2007-01-12T21:35:00.000-06:00

"How has your religion changed your daily, everyday life?"

One of the things most Heathens figure out pretty quickly is that Heathen isn't something you do, it's not something you get, and it's not something you practice on weekends - Heathen is something that you are. This realization has had a continuously profound effect in my life. I've always been the informal type, raised to be loosely Christian (by which I mean I was never forced to go to church as a kid...although I had no concept for existing religions aside from Christianity). I'd say that for most of my life, I was much more spiritual than religious...and for a number of years, I was definitely setting up my tent in the pantheist camp. So when I first realized there was this thing called Asatru, that there was this living, thriving religion based on gods I once lamented as being dead, I experienced what would be the first of many shocks.

Heathens, among other things, are die-hard polytheists. Walk into a room full of Heathens and suggest that our gods and goddesses are part of a universal Goddes and / or God concept, and are thus the same as Egyptian gods or Babylonian gods, and you'll be lucky if you're just politely ignored. We believe that our gods and goddesses are unique and individual, separate from the deities of other pantheons...suggesting that they aren't is in many cases taken as an affront. I had the luck of joining what would become a Heathen forum populated by some of the most notorious über-Heathens on the Internet, suggesting something I'd once heard about all the gods and goddesses of the world being a multi-faceted gem. This, I assure you, did not go over very well. My change from pantheism did not occur over night - in fact it took a few years - but learning to understand the gods as individuals, as relatives and friends, separate and unique was probably my first real step towards being Heathen. At the same time, there was the slight tendency I had toward seeing the gods as something along the lines of archetypes. This, too, has changed as I've gotten to know the Heathen gods as individuals...they aren't an inherited memory of the Germanic race, they aren't a mental construct, they're real, and they are with us. So in this regard, I went from being a Christian-based pantheist spiritualist, to walking and talking with my gods...it's not just an impact in my daily life, it's a nearly complete rewrite of the part of my mind that deals with things on religious and spiritual levels, as well as an added awareness in my daily life.

One of the fundamental virtues that Heathens strive toward is hospitality. This has quite a lot to do with the concept of community, which of course is essential in Heathenry. Hospitality is of such high importance, that many modern-day Heathens, as well as did Heathens a thousand years ago, believe that the gods sometimes walk this world in disguise, testing the hospitality of our homes. Some form of this belief can be traced back as far as the 5th Century, CE, when 'Old Man Winter' would visit the homes in a village looking for food and drink, as a form of placation for a bit of leniency from the harshness of Winter. I take the virtue of hospitality a bit further with part of one of my own maxims: True hospitality does not lock itself indoors, nor does it suffer the hindrance of inconvenience. In other words, wherever I happen to be standing, it's within my power to offer hospitality, and unless I've been insulted or offended somehow, I can generally be counted upon to do just that. Although I've always been interested in things like community service, charity and even offering a clean, warm environment for guests in my home, Heathenry has added a sacred aspect to hospitality for me that I see not just as an effect, but a benefit in my life.

One of the other great impacts for me has been in the way Heathenry approaches Nature and technology. We embrace both with great enthusiasm - Nature isn't absent in technology, quite the contrary, it's as present in technology as it is in anything else. This isn't a stated belief in Heathenry, but it's one that can be inferred from our history and general approach to things. For a person who loves the outdoors, but lives in the city, learning to see the natural in even the synthetic on a daily basis has been a great benefit to my sanity, as well as being a balm to my spirits, because it helps me to feel as though I'm always connected - not in the digital media sense of the word, but in the sense that I'm always connected to my gods and ancestors, as well as the community around me.

Don't You Go to Church?

2007-01-11T13:41:00.000-06:00

Zen and the Art of Childhood

Being a non-Christian in the United States is not always easy. I know, because I grew up here, and I’ve never been Christian.

I was raised essentially Zen Buddhist in the southeast, a region not known for its tolerance and open-mindedness. My mother was Zen; my father and his family were Baptist.

When I was in kindergarten, in 1979, my teacher used to lead the students in Christian prayer before lunchtime. She would do it surreptitiously in the classroom, not in the cafeteria, because prayer in a public school was illegal. When my mother found out, she was irate; she demanded that the school put a stop to it. They didn’t. But in a small southern town, you can’t raise too many waves. My mother dropped it.

In fourth grade, I remember my teacher reading stories to the class – Bible stories. Again, there was nothing we could do.

As I approached puberty, the emotion I most frequently associated with religion was incredulity. Whenever the other children found out that I didn't go to church, or that I didn't believe in God, they were incredulous. Aren't you afraid you'll go to hell? they'd ask. No, I don't believe in hell. But the Bible says... I don't believe the Bible, either. But the Bible says... Why do you believe the Bible? The Bible says... (I'm not making this up.)

For my part, I was incredulous about their beliefs, as well. I was amazed that people could just completely believe every word of a two-thousand-year-old self-contradictory book, without, as it seemed, thought or question. Especially when the Bible had so many things in it that were obviously just wrong -- things that contradicted evolution, geology, astronomy, etc.

We were children; we couldn't argue these things out properly. I couldn't explain my point of view, and they couldn't explain theirs. The upshot was that I was just too weird to be friends with them. That was ok with me, though, because I thought they were weird.

A Foreign Homeland

As I grew up, the simple directness of childhood religious conversation became more nuanced, but the results were the same. People asked me what church I went to, or invited me to attend theirs, and I tried to deflect the questions by saying things like "I don't really go to church". This would generally end the conversation and any possibility of friendship, too. Their unspoken assumption was this: if you don't want to go to my church, you don't want to be my friend.

One result is that I have never, ever felt like I was part of mainstream American culture. I'm not even sure I know what it would feel like to be part of a culture. Effectively, I grew up like an immigrant -- except there was no country I had emigrated from.

Eventually I started to hide my beliefs as much as possible. I never lied about it, but neither would I ever bring it up or wear it on my sleeve. I did sport a yin-yang necklace in high school classes, where everyone already knew I was strange and it wouldn't do any damage. But I didn't wear it to work or to visit my father's family. It would have started too many uncomfortable conversations.

Was I religiously discriminated against? It didn’t feel like that. It was more like I was treated like I was slightly insane.

But probably the reason I didn’t feel discriminated against was that I could hide my religion whenever I wanted to. In the South, discrimination can get pretty bad, and there are lots of people who can’t just hide the fact that they’re not white Protestant conservatives.

I decided pretty early on that I would rather not live in the South. I’d heard things were more progressive elsewhere. Not everywhere else, of course; there are plenty of places in the U.S. where the discrimination is just as bad, but less overt. Now I live in western Massachusetts, and I can be open about my beliefs. I don’t introduce myself by saying, “Hi! I’m a Druid! What about you?”, but I have been able to mention my beliefs or rituals in passing, and no one has batted an eye.

A Majority of Minorities

While just about every minority suffers some discrimination here (and some majorities, too – e.g. women), some have had a lot more success fighting it than others. African Americans made a lot of progress at great cost in the middle of the last century, but (at least from what I’ve seen) not much movement has happened since. That is striking compared to the rapid progress made by homosexuals in the last thirty years. Admitting to homosexuality was nearly unthinkable in the 1960’s; it was worse than admitting to insanity. Now it’s still not easy, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll lose your job, your house, and your family.

Why the difference in progress? I’m no sociologist, but if I had to guess, I’d say it’s partly because of the 1960’s sexual revolution, partly because of the publicity surrounding HIV, but mostly because straight white Protestants sometimes discover that their children are homosexual, but straight white Protestants never discover that their children are black. If fine, upstanding, rich Southern white people, through the grace of God, sometimes had black children, that would make a world of difference. It would be much more difficult to dehumanize them, which is the first step in discrimination.

It may be that our situation as pagans is more like that of the homosexuals than of the African Americans. We are in the same families as Christians, and we can allow Christians to get to know us and like us before we let on about our differences. This makes it harder to “dehumanize” us. On the other hand, our beliefs directly challenge Christianity in a way that homosexuality doesn’t. If, by some miracle, our numbers swell, and we are perceived as taking believers away from Christ, will we be directly targeted? After all, not long ago, they were setting fire to Christian churches simply because the congregation was the wrong color. Will the sacred groves be burned again?

I no longer think all Christians are insane; I know that Christianity is ultimately a religion of love and tolerance, and many good friends of mine are Christians of that order. But discrimination, especially religious discrimination, has been a hallmark of Western civilization for two thousand years, and its roots run deep.

Floating My Way Through

2007-01-10T23:00:00.000-06:00

Few words evoke the kind of visceral and immediate loathing and fear as the word witch. All of Glenda's pink, glittery sweetness aside, most people still see the ugly green version, replete with evil animal companions and maleficent deeds. We only have to look to the countless depictions of witches as icons of ill throughout the creative imagination expressed in our culture to know how pervasive that childhood fear of the cackling hag actually is. With all of the misconception, bad press and hysteria that witches have endured for centuries, is it any wonder that many of us prefer to stay in the broom closet?

Wicca is one of the fastest growing religions in the world. If you've ever browsed the children's section of a book store you will see that fantasy and magic make up the theme of a vast majority of new literature. Almost as if in rebuttal to negative press, large numbers of articles have appeared in the media recently about Wicca and Neo-Paganism that present an honest attempt to discuss our beliefs in an accurate and respectful way. All of this suggests that there is a certain positive interest in Wicca, witchcraft and Pagan forms of spiritual practice that is tempting to view as a budding acceptance of alternative religious beliefs. Nevertheless, there are enough documented cases of people losing their children, being driven out of their homes, and losing their jobs because they were Wiccan that it gives a Wiccan pause, whether she lives in a progressive environment or not, to be completely open about her religious affiliation. Cases like Laura Mallory's charging that Harry Potter books promote Wicca, however false, still sensationalize Wicca and put it into the spotlight, where it becomes an easy target for those who may not be as open-minded and accepting as we might like to believe people have become.

Witches don't proselytize and we don't stand on street corners handing out leaflets printed with the Wiccan Rede, but wearing a pentacle raises eyebrows that crosses don't. Your Christian friend who enjoys wearing the gold cross she received as a first communion gift doesn't have to think twice about wearing it to work; most witches I know do, however, tend to leave the pentacle they received upon their initiation into the craft in the jewelry box before they go into the office.

I have long been aware that I live in a rarified world. Between Boston and San Francisco I've lived in places where people espouse progressive ideals and are culturally both diverse and accepting. Not only has it been easy for me to find practitioners, teachers, resources and like-minded friends as I have pursued my spiritual path, but even those outside the Pagan community have approached my Wiccan-ness with more interest and respect than hostility or derision. When people find out I read tarot, they enthusiastically ask for a reading. People admire the beautiful pentacle ring I had made and ask me about it. Still, I'm not entirely out of the broom closet and I choose very carefully in whom I confide that I am a witch.

About a year ago, I wrote on the subject of coming out of the broom closet. Even after maturing in my faith and my practice, and after coming closer to merging my Wiccan self with my public self, I'm not sure yet how truly open I want to be. My most recent boyfriend made jokes about me turning him into a frog and I know it was because he was a bit uncomfortable with me being a witch, but he seemed to accept it well enough for it not to be a major issue between us even if it never was an open topic for dinner conversation. Would I mention that I'm a witch on a first date? No. Thankfully, most of my friends are not very religious themselves - the subject of religion rarely comes up and I simply choose to be discreet about my practice and the other religious parts of my life. I'm not certain that some of my friends would understand my choice; I worry that as an out witch that makes me too weird for them. At this point though, there aren't many of my close friends who don't know, and I think that speaks to my level of trust in them as much as it does in my confidence in myself as a witch. However, if I were just starting a new job I wouldn't tell anyone I was a witch. How would I know how safe I truly was? Is my environment really that progressive or have I just been lucky?

Religion in this country has become a political pawn as the "Religious Right" loudly proclaims its persecution at the hands of anyone who doesn't share their beliefs in an effort to parlay post-9/11 fear into motivation for people to vote for the Republican party. What do they care if a side effect of their vote mongering whips up a little regressive hate and discrimination? The unfortunate results are examples of how powerfully those childhood beliefs about witches manifest in very devastatingly real and grown-up ways. In the era of the Patriot Act and the Bush administration's destruction of constitutional protections, is it so difficult to imagine what a modern-day witch hunt might look like?

I'm grateful every day that I'm fortunate to live in a place where I don't have to live in fear for my religious beliefs. But for now, I'm still going to err on the side of caution.

Challenges of Non-Mainstream Faith

2007-01-10T22:00:00.000-06:00

How do you deal with the cultural/societal challenges involved in following a non-mainstream religious path?"

In my life, the challenges that have arisen due to following a non-mainstream religious path (in the US, that would generally mean not being Christian) have been of two types -- external and internal. Initially, the external challenges seemed harsher and more difficult to deal with. But I've since learned that not only are the internal challenges more important, but the external challenges are really internal challenges in disguise.

In terms of internal challenges, my main struggle is acceptance; not wishing for acceptance from others, but being accepting of other's religious choices. Buddhism is a tolerant religion that states that other religions carry value insofar as they develop your inherent beneficial qualities of love, compassion, peace, generosity, and discipline (to name just a few), and insofar as they reduce the poisons of greed, hatred, and laziness. I see adherents of other religions benefiting from them along these lines regularly. I applaud them for finding a religion that suits their makeup. But I admit that I struggle understanding how people can choose certain beliefs--in particular, monotheistic faiths--as my experiences have been so contrary, my insight so opposite, to theirs. It's my own attachment to being right; it's my internal challenge for which I train to develop insight. The seed of this attachment is difficult to unearth, but that's partly why we undertake such spiritual training.

The external challenge I faced was one of being surrounded by those of Christian faiths during times of traditional ritual--holiday meal prayers, religious weddings, etc. I quickly realized, however, that this wasn't an external challenge at all, but an internal one. It was my own insecurity acting out. Experience after experience has proven to me the validity and benefit of my own faith, and each one has helped me to realize my choice is right for me, regardless of others' choices. Now, during holiday meal prayers with family, I just feel thankful for food and family in my own mindful way--I pray in a Buddhist manner. At religious ceremonies like weddings, I practice in my own way by generating loving-kindness for the lucky couple.

I've learned that any external pressure I feel is solely a product of my own internal state, which clear insight can break right through. Such challenges have truly turned out to be a blessing because they have spotlighted areas where my practice was weak, where my views were unwholesome. Now, I am thankful for each and every one of these challenges.

New Orleans Trees

2007-01-10T11:11:00.000-06:00

Wow. It's hard to know how to start this and what to mention first regarding the devastation of N.O. area. The devastation is still so wide spread even a year and a half later. It is amazingly, well, scary.

My area rolled into the N.O. area around 7am on Sunday morning. A hush fell over the bus as we watched the scenery roll by in the early morning light that was shining through the mist. As the sunlight poked through the clouds, the first thing that was mentioned by almost everyone was the trees - the dead ones, the wind-blown ones, the ones that were no longer there. The huge amount of dead trees rather scared a few people.

Later that day, we asked our tour guide about the trees. What happened is that in some places, the sea water wasn't pumped out for several weeks, causing the salt to get into the soil and kill the roots of most of the trees. The only trees that seem to be alive are palm trees and a few cypress trees. It was so strange to go through places like the ninth ward and see nothing but a few dead trees and then come up suddenly on a very much thriving palm tree.

Because of the lack of living trees and because the soil will no longer be able support most types of trees for many years, I was proud to be able to plant a few trees at building site that I was working at on the first day. When they said that they needed people to be landscapers for the day, I jumped at the chance. I wanted to help to replace some of the trees that had been lost. I even got to meet one of homeowners whose tree I helped to plant.

While I was proud to have planted that tree, I wish you could have seen her reaction to the news that not only would she be able to move into her house soon, but that she had a tree! Tears were rolling down her face. I started to realize that the trees here in N.O. meant as much to the residents here, as they seem to mean to the volunteers.

I will write more about my experiences and post some pictures when I get back.

Dealing with the Mainstream

2007-01-10T09:44:00.000-06:00

"How do you deal with the cultural / societal challenges involved in following a non-mainstream religious path?"

When I first read this question, I had to laugh. Not because I think the question itself is funny, but the circumstances in my life have presented me with two very different approaches to dealing with this, based on the experience of living in two different cultures / countries, each with their own take on religion.

In Germany, where I currently live, you don't really talk about religion all that often. I've lived in this country for a few years now, and I can still count on one hand how many times I've been asked about my religious beliefs...despite my wearing a Thor's Hammer pendant, and talking about one day opening up an esoteric center. At least in the region of Germany in which I live, one's religion is considered a very private matter - asking someone about their religious beliefs (unless they are family or a very good friend) can be taken as a very rude intrusion, and is a sign of poor social skills. It's pretty close to being a social taboo. So while it would be safe to say that Christianity (although to a growing extent, Atheism) is the mainstream choice for religion, it's also safe to say that religion itself is not a mainstream topic of conversation here. If I were to bring up religion in day-to-day social interaction the way it is often brought up in America, regardless which religion I brought up, I'd be branded as a fanatic and people would go out of their way to avoid me. For the most part, people here want to get to know whether or not you're a decent sort of person - and to the mainstream people I've encountered here, one's religious affiliations do not determine one's decency.

I know that, for many of you who are reading this in America, I've just described paradise...but even paradise requires a bit of adjusting to. When I first moved here, I thought I was going to go nuts - I figured if no one asked me about my religion, that meant they really didn't want to get to know me. When I was teaching one of my classes about American culture, I naturally assumed they would be interested in knowing about how religion is approached in America...I was quite stunned by their reaction. It was getting to the point where I was about ready to spark up a conversation with one of the Jehova's Witnesses that stand around our main train station, just to get a bit of religious action. Finding other Heathens in this town, other than my wife, was next-to-impossible...even looking for people wearing Thor's Hammer pendants fails when you live in a place where little kids wear them on their necklaces the way American kids wear arrowheads. You see, I'd spent the prior third of my old life living in the American Midwest. I lived in the same town that fueled Dubya's fanaticism, I spent time in other cities that were nearly as fantical, having at one point lived a good drive of the golf ball from one of those so-called mega-churches that boasts a congregation of 4,000. I was so used to having to hold up a small wall that when I moved here, it was like the wall fell out from under me.

In America, I really did hold up a wall. On my side of the wall, I was armed with plenty of facts, philosophies and educated guesses. I believed that the only way to deal with the mainstream was to lob these things over my wall whenever it looked like someone was approaching, then walk out and have friendly and informative exchanges with whoever was left (usually either Pagans, Heathens, or people who were of a more tolerant nature). In the American Southwest, I never really had this problem...but then during the first two thirds of my old life, I wasn't aware that there were options outside of Christianity, so it could have been just as bad and I wouldn't have known the difference. Since I've come to Germany, the hardest part about dealing with the mainstream has been to de-program myself from my years of living in the Midwest. My old wall has been dismantled...with nobody intruding, there's no reason to keep the thing up, it blocked my view and limited my perspective. I'm still a pretty religious person...I have no problems doing outdoor rituals out in public view, I research, study and contemplate religion whenever I have the chance, I have a pair of blogs that are each dedicated in their own way to religion...but I approach all of this now from the point of view of someone who lives in a place where he's able to share his beliefs and perspectives with people who are interested, rather than having to defend them from those who are intolerant.

Children in Paganism

2007-01-09T21:25:00.000-06:00

This past Samhain, my family and I went up to New Hampshire to attend a festival thrown by the Spiral Scouts of Peterborough. The Spiral Scouts are a sort of Boy/Girl Scout group for non-monotheistic children, and the event, to be held in the Unitarian Church, was geared toward all ages, with crafts, music, drumming, a costume contest, storytelling, and ritual. We figured it was the perfect opportunity to plug into the local Pagan community and meet some other families with children that we can build relationships with.

We succeeded; but I have to say we were also a little disappointed. There were clearly over a hundred people in attendance, but only a dozen of them were children. Four of those were mine.

No Children's Crusade

Now, I'm not saying that we pagans need to get out there and start being fruitful and multiplying and such. No pagan doctrine that I'm aware of contains such an injunction and I think most people would agree that childhood indoctrination is not the best way to fill out the rank-and-file in any case. Most pagans today are adults who have found this path through their own wanderings, and this is probably ideal. Given the choice between a community of people who have arrived at their faith through a process of reflection and personal growth, versus a community of people who simply remain pagan because it's how they were brought up and it's what they're used to, I'll take the former every time.

Still, it's a shame that children make up such a small percentage of the pagan population. We've found that our children have enriched our pagan practice and experience in completely unexpected ways. Children invigorate and vitalize pagan faith.

Neo-Neopagans

Children seem to be born with an innate reverence for nature, which fits right in with pagan belief. They fill their pockets with acorns, oddly shaped rocks, bits of fluff and feathers, and young blossoms -- they can feel the raw magic sparking off such things. They can easily sense the quiet awe of a forest, and they are most at ease when surrounded by natural materials -- cotton and wool clothing, wooden toys, silk drapes.

They are naturally attracted to seasonal holidays and ritual. They can feel the long, slow, majestic change of the seasons, and they are excited to celebrate their passing. They join in eagerly when an adult thanks the earth, the trees, and the sky, because they can sense the connection viscerally. They love repitition of familiar things, whether it's a short verse of thanks to the sun as the candles are lit for dinner, or decorating a tree every Winter Solstice. The rituals of paganism are the rhythms of childhood. (You can read about some of the rituals we've done with our children here and here.)

And children seem like born polytheists. The world of nearly every child, even those of monotheistic parents, is populated with spirits and guides and gods of all kinds. Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and Jack Frost (to pick few American favorites) are just the tip of the iceberg. My oldest daughter spotted fairies four times on her own while we were still waffling between Zen, agnosticism, and atheism, and one of her best school friends, whose parents are Christian, sees them even more frequently. And all children feel the power and presence lurking in odd corners and nooks in the house... places where adults rarely go, where darkness and silence are allowed to gather. The children can sense the goblins as well as the gnomes.

Teaching Children, Children Teaching.

If you are not pagan, then maybe these facts about children seem like just quirky things that children do. Isn't it cute? (Or, in the case of monsters under the bed, When will they grow out of it?) As they grow up, they have to be gently led away from these beliefs. They must be carefully taught that the trees are not guardians, just large plants; that the sun is no loving father, but a deadly inferno of plasma; that the Earth is not a mother figure, but simply the stage upon which the human play is set. All the love and reverence children have for these things must be somehow transferred to whatever is revered in your religion.

But if you are pagan, you can see clearly that your children don't need to be taught your religion; they are already living it. They may not know the names of all the gods, or the specifics of the rituals, but they can already feel what's important. All you have to do is fill in the details.

So I encourage all pagans -- if you don't have any children in your life, go find some. Target especially children below the age of seven. Take them to your sacred spaces -- walk with them in the woods, stand by the sea, or just sit in your backyard. They will find powerful natural talismans -- stones, feathers, nuts -- and bring them to you. Watch where they linger, and you will know the fair folk are living nearby. Listen to their talk, and you will catch echoes of what Spirit is whispering in their ears. You may not be able to hear the Earth singing her love song to you, but they can.

Update: Cosette at Pandora's Bazaar has a great post about the inherent paganism in humanity, and the universality of pagan symbols.

Essence of Buddhism

2007-01-08T21:00:00.000-06:00

What is the essence of Buddhism? We can represent the essence of Buddhism in several different ways. In terms of views, which is the approach I will discuss in this essay, we have what we call the Three Dharma Seals. As defined by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, "Traditionally, seal means something like a hallmark that confirms authenticity." (Shambhala Sun, January 2007. Pg. 52). These represent the views that underlie all Buddhist theory and practice. If a practice contradicts these views, it is not a Buddhist practice.

The first seal is that all conditional things are impermanent. Is there anything in our known universe or in your experience that is permanent and unchanging? We buy a new car and are happy, but that elation wears off and passes away. A family member dies and we are sad. But the sadness dissipates in strength over time. Perhaps it may never disappear, but it is always changing as we adapt to it. When we slow waaaaaay down, we can see our individual thoughts rise and fall as well. Even our sun is slowly dying, and in about 5 billion years will expand into a red giant, whose edge will reach approximately to the edge of the earth, to be followed over time by a slow decline to its end as a white dwarf.

The second seal is that all things are without inherent existence. The key word here is "inherent." The chair in which you sit exists (or else you'd be floating in mid-air!), but it does not do so inherently. By "inherently," we mean independent of all other things. If the chair existed inherently, there would be a quality we call "chairness" that we could identify, that was not dependent on any other phenomena. But look at your chair. It is composed of parts. It has legs, arms, a seat, a back. There is nothing there that you can call "chair" independent of those parts. We are no different. As beings, we have body parts, we have feelings, we have thoughts, we have consciousness. But there is nothing we can find within us that is independent of all other things. There is no independent "self" that we can point to and say, "This is independent of all other things." Everything in us is dependently arisen! Hence, we have no inherent existence either.

The third seal is that Nirvana is perfect peace and happiness. This says that our true nature is perfect peace and happiness, which is only obscured by the defilements, like anger, hatred, greed, and delusion. Hence, if we can eliminate these defilements, our natural peace and happiness will shine forth. This seal actually plays two roles. Not only does it show us that we are already perfect beings, only we just don't know it because we've hidden it beneath a fog of delusion, it also says that we can re-discover this perfect peace and happiness in our lives. And nobody can do it for us. Others can help point out the path, but only we can attain this rediscovery ourselves. I often say that Buddhism is the ultimate optimistic religion, and that is because this seal tells us that regardless of the suffering we feel, regardless of our current faults and challenges, we are truly perfect and are fully capable of realizing that perfection if we only try.

These three seals underlie all other Buddhist principles and practices. They form the basis for Dependent Arising, for mindfulness, for generation of perfect compassion and loving-kindness, for ethical training, for meditation, for generosity, for the Four Noble Truths. And what I find particularly amazing in the Buddha's teachings is that a blind faith in these seals is unnecessary and counterproductive. Rather, the practices are undertaken (perhaps initially motivated by the belief that these seals may be true), and they lead to a direct experience of these truths. Nowhere does the Buddha say, "Believe in these seals, my teachings, and you will be saved." Instead, he said, "Contemplate. Meditate. Discover these truths on your own." I find this last point to be the key essence of Buddhism. Spend your time practicing and experiencing mindfully, not studying for intellectual knowledge or playing mental philosophical gymnastics. While studying can give you knowledge, practicing will give you wisdom.

The Essence of Heathenry

2007-01-08T16:00:00.000-06:00

"What is the essence of Heathenry?"

As the word, essence has multiple meanings, so, too, does Heathenry have more than one quality that could be described as being essential. And to be honest, the answer to this question will tend to differ among Heathens.

In one of my posts here last summer, I stated that the true essence of Heathenry was to be found in home and community. This statement is a good leaping-off point, just as the post from which it comes, Heathenry in 300 Words or Less, would be a good refresher for readers who may not be fully familiar with what Heathenry is. Our Heathen forebears spent a lot of time in their homes with one another, and lived in some pretty tight-knit communities. Children grew up hearing stories of gods and heroes, of relatives who traded, explored and sometimes fought in distant lands. In some cases, people might be treated to the eloquence and complexity of a skald's presentation of our lore; but the majority of the entertainment and story-telling would have taken place in the mundane home, provided by family members. The people they would have enjoyed this religious entertainment with would be the same people who were relied upon to hunt, trap, fish and grow food, to provide them with all the other necessities of life, including defending them from predators and enemies with their own bare hands when necessary. In time, these children would grow up to take their places within the family and community, providing what was within their power to provide, and telling stories of their own around the hearth fire at night - and thus the cycle would continue. This, then, is one of the essences of Heathenry, past and present, that our homes, our families, our communities are the sources of our lives and a critical component in the foundation of what we deem sacred. It's likely that this tradition connects us to our forebears as far back as the cave-dwelling days; and likely that it will connect us with our future kin and communities dwelling in the shelter of lunar craters. Hávamál, stanza 50, might best explain the emphasis Heathens place on kin and community:

On the hillside drear | the fir-tree dies,
All bootless its needles and bark;
It is like a man | whom no one loves,--
Why should his life be long?[1]

This stanza compares people to trees (from which our lore tells us we were made). The man, 'whom no one loves' represents someone who has neither friend, family nor community. Like the lone tree on the wind-swept hill on a dreary day, such a person has no one to offer support, no one to act as brace or break from the howling winds life sometimes sends in our direction. The fir tree, especially back in the days when this poem would have been written, is not normally seen as being fit for general lumber uses - neither was the person who had lost all support from family and community seen as being very useful. This stanza is meant to describe the importance of our friends, family and community...what we have, we should treasure and seek to be as useful to as possible. We should seek not just those who might shelter and bolster us in times of need, but also seek how we might be able to do the same for others. Important as this typically is to people, to most of the Heathens I've encountered, it could be called essential.

The man in the stanza above, cut off from love and support, would fit the description for someone who had been banished - among the most severe of punishments among our forebears. One of the reasons for this is because banishment also disinherited one from the Wyrd and luck of family and community. Wyrd would be the second thing I would say is safely considered an essential part of contemporary Heathenry. Wyrd, as I defined in another post from last summer (Beyond Midgard), is a dynamic, always-turning, always-becoming process that many liken to Karma. Wyrd is something Heathens believe we are all subject to and a part of, even our gods...it is the natural process by which the fabric of the past is woven into the fabric of the present. We are not just a part of Wyrd, our existence is a result of our Wyrd. To say that Wyrd is essential to Heathenry is one way to put it...to say that Heathens believe Wyrd is essential to everything would be another. As you might imagine, one's own fabric is strengthened when interwoven with the fabric of a strong network of friends and family.

Tied in with our family, friends, communities and our Wyrd are our Elder Kin, which is another name for our gods. While most Heathens see our gods as being a part of our family I'm treating this area as a separate essence because our gods are our mightiest members of family and community. Many of you will already know the names of several among our gods: Odin, Frigga, Freyr and Freyja, Thor and even Loki are pretty well-known (for a more complete list, check the Wikipedia entry for Norse Gods). It is to Odin and his brothers that we owe the creation of Midgard, while Thor stands between us and those forces that would destroy Midgard. Despite the importance and high value we place on our gods, some might observe a certain degree of irreverence that Heathens (both historical and contemporary) seem to show when dealing with our gods. Actually, it's our informality that I tend to see as our highest sign of reverence for our gods: they are a part of our family, a part of our community and although they deserve (and receive) the highest of respect as our community's mightiest members, we are essentially as one and at ease with our gods, as we are one and at ease with our families and friends.

So if I were to try to blend these three things together, and pull from them a single, unifying thing that could be described as the essence of Heathenry, I would say it is the way in which we tend to see all things as interwoven, interconnected, and interdependent. While this interwoven state can be found in many things throughout Nature and the cosmos, I think for us it's found most truly in the relationships we build with those around us. But just as interweaving denotes multiple things joining to become one, the interwoven essence of Heathenry reminds us that multiple essences are true and play their part in the greater whole.

__________________

[1] Hovamol, Henry Bellows Translation, made available on the Internet Sacred Text Archive

The Essence of Wicca

2007-01-08T14:25:00.000-06:00

Trying to distill the essence of Wicca is a bit like trying to answer the question "What is art?" You can circle around the question and get close, but the amount of information is vast and everyone you ask will have a different answer. I do believe, though, that with Wicca, as with art, it is possible to arrive at a few core ideas that serve to represent the essential elements of the thing at hand.

Strictly speaking, Wicca is the religion created by Gerald Gardner and revealed to world in the 1950's after Britain repealed its anti-witchcraft laws. Following in the footsteps of nineteenth-century scholars who led a resurgence of interest in ceremonial magic and regional mythology, Gardner had a deep interest in the occult and studied a number of mystical traditions before compiling his knowledge into his book Witchcraft Today. He worked with Doreen Valiente to build the tradition of Gardnerian Wicca and his student, Raymond Buckland, brought the tradition to North America. Based on information about ancient traditions that could be cobbled together from archeological evidence, ancient texts and reasonably informed speculation, drawing specifically on Celtic, Saxon and Germanic traditions, Wicca became the modern expression of the "Old Religion." That same repeal of the Witchcraft Act allowed many other practitioners of witchcraft, who had been carrying on their hereditary traditions in secret for many years, to emerge and create movements of their own. Women dissatisfied with the oppressive, patriarchal nature of traditional religions were drawn to the renaissance of goddess religions and created feminist branches of Wicca. In 1972 Wicca became a legally recognized religion in America and ordained priests and priestesses have the same rights as traditional clergy. Today there are many forms of Wicca, analogous to the various denominations that fall under the umbrella of Christianity.

But what IS Wicca?

Wicca is a nature-based spiritual practice, meaning that it is fundamentally connected - both in belief and practice - to the cycles of life in nature and in the belief that the Earth is the Great Mother. It is based on practices of ancient peoples who lived close to nature and whose survival depended on their ability to attune to its power and changes. The Moon was their first calendar, and they viewed the cycles of the Sun as a divine force governing their lives. This led to the eventual acceptance of the three phases of the Moon as representations of a Triple Goddess - maiden, mother, crone - and the Sun as the embodiment of the God who was her son, lover and consort. The concept of Moon and Sun as the highest expressions of the divine spirit are one of the few basic tenets of the Wiccan faith that are generally accepted across various traditions, although some traditions place the Goddess in a more prominent role. Just as the ancients attached deities to specific places, objects or animals, most modern Wiccans believe in the existence of elemental or nature spirits. This is not the same as worshipping nature; instead it is venerating nature as a tangible sign that the creator of all things is alive and well and dwelling both within us and outside of us. The common Wiccan expression "As above, so below; as within, so without" holds at its core the belief that if deity can create, so can we.

Wicca is often referred to as the Craft of the Wise. The very word Wicca is derived from a number of etymological roots that range in meaning from "wise" to "to bend and to shape," "to practice witchcraft," "to bewitch or divine the future," to "holy." Wicca refers to the modern revival of witchcraft. Though you can make a strong distinction between the definition of witch and Wiccan, or between witchcraft and Wicca, most practitioners accept both words and identities. Whatever their particular form of spiritual expression and its practical application, all Wiccans believe in their own personal ability to connect to divine and to effect change through the active direction of intent.

As much as it is a belief system filled with the mysteries of the past, Wicca is a living religion. It lives both in the sense that it changes and adapts according to the acquisition of knowledge and from necessity and the desire of its practitioners, and in the ways that Wiccans integrate our spirituality into our daily lives. Every thought, word, action and breath is a manifestation of the divine that lives within each one of us.

The Essence of Druidism

2007-01-08T12:01:00.000-06:00

Asking the Priestess

Not long ago Ellen Evert Hopman, a druid priestess with whom I’m acquainted, was asked, “What is the essence of druid practice?”

The asker was a very old friend who had just had a powerful mystical experience, and came to her for help. They talked for most of the day, having tea, walking in the forest, and so forth.

At first, when he asked her this question, she was speechless. Ellen is a priestess of great experience, a master herbalist and researcher in the old ways; so if anyone knows Druidism, she does. But Druidism is not a cohesive faith. There is no World Archdruid, no Universal Grove; there is no Druid Bible or Founding Father; there are no druid missionaries carrying the True Faith around the world. Each druid is called, one by one, alone, to the path, by whatever gods, guides, or spirits there be. So naturally there’s a certain amount of disagreement about what the essence of Druidism is.

Probably the biggest split within Druidism is between what are called the “Revival” druids and the “Reconstructionist” druids. Very simply put, Reconstructionist druids are those who try to cleave most closely to the practices and beliefs of the ancient druids of pre-Roman Europe, according to the best historical and archaeological evidence. “Revival” druids instead adhere to a body of practices and beliefs that arose first in the 18th century among British antiquarians, a reaction against the upheaval and chaos of the Industrial Revolution — a mixture of ancient druidism and early modern mysticism, further influenced by 19th century movements such as theosophy and ceremonial magic. Both groups rightly claim to have a rich tradition and a long history, but they are very different as well: they may celebrate different holidays, with different rituals, and even call upon different gods. Where is the essence there?

Somehow, Ellen found a way to answer him.

Ellen’s Answer

Druid practice, she said, can be boiled down to three things: Water, Fire, and Trees.

Water. All over Europe, sacred springs are found — springs where supplicants come to draw strength, health, or wisdom. People still come to them and tie rags to the branches of trees hanging over the holy waters, binding there their hurts, worries, and ailments. For druids, water is also the element of the otherworld, of the ancestors, and the realm of the Sidhe.

Fire. The fire that cooks our food, forges our metal and warms our bones is also the vehicle that carries sacrifices into the beyond. It is the spirit that sparks creation, the mother of poetry and magic. It is the element of the sky, the stars, and the gods.

Trees. If there is one thing that all druids agree on, it is reverence for trees. The oak was especially sacred to the ancient druids — one etymology for druid is “oak-wise” — but for druids, all trees are ladders to heaven, links between the earth and the sky. The tree is the giver of gifts and knowledge, the friend that stands guard round your house and the watcher in the shades of the night.

Notice in particular two things about this list: first, it is a list of natural things, elements of the earth. Druidism is thus foremost a nature religion, with reverence for the sacred earth at its heart. Second, it is a list of three things. Three is a number that appears again and again in Druidism, both ancient and modern, in all things.

A Triad of Gratitude

I can’t presume to speak to the essence of Druidism myself, since I’m so new to it; I started down this path less than a year ago. But I can speak to what drew me to Druidism — the essence of why I am a druid.

One of the great traditions of Celtic literature is the triad: a saying that compares or contrasts three things (there’s that number again). Here are some examples:

Three glories of a gathering: a comely mate, a good horse, and a swift hound.
Three false sisters: “perhaps”, “maybe”, and “I dare say”.
Three things not loved without each one its companion: day without night, idleness without hunger, and wisdom without reverence.

I saw a triad recently that summed up what drew me to Druidism; here it is:

Three whose debt can never be repaid: parents, a good teacher, and the Mighty Ones.

Parents. Extended to include ancestors, this debt we owe to our forebears is too great to be imagined, much less paid back. Those of us living in the Western world at the beginning of the 21st century are sailing on a sea of material wealth and knowledge that is impossible to really comprehend. There is an unfortunate tendancy to congratulate ourselves on how very clever and rich we are, instead of acknowledging that it was all handed to us, for good or ill, by previous generations. What we have today, we owe to our parents, our grandparents, our ancestors of 500 years ago, a thousand years ago, 100,000 years ago — these people who were born, made their way as best they could, loved their children, and ended their lives in glory and tragedy. The debt of gratitude can never be repaid, but it does us good to try.

A Good Teacher. All of us have had teachers that challenged us, drew us in, and made us more than we thought possible. Teaching is at the heart of Druidism: classical writers spoke repeatedly of aspiring students who traveled across Europe to learn with certain druids. Those who were fortunate enough to be chosen pursued their studies for twenty years. One of the more famous druids of Irish lore, an advisor to a king, had one hundred students at a time. In modern Druidism, there is a long tradition of druid orders offering coursework in all manner of arcane lore, from astrology to herbalism. The teacher stands between the student and the knowledge, between the child and the adult, drawing the two closer together, like a tree between the earth and the sky.

The Mighty Ones. As the Earth and our ancestors support us from below, the Mighty Ones reach down and draw us up. They give inspiration for creative acts, grant fertility and bounty in our endeavors, and guide us between the worlds. The spirits, guides and gods — Lugh of the Long Arm, Bridget of the Sudden Flame, and their kind — are the sky and stars towards which we reach.

Druidism shows us gently everything that has been done, and is being done, for us; and asks us to give of ourselves in return. For while our debts cannot be repaid — while the sacrifices of our ancestors and the Earth can never be sufficiently honored — we can choose to make those sacrifices worthwhile.

Guest Bloggers

2007-01-06T00:10:00.000-06:00

I leave for New Orleans in just a few hours, but I want to let you all know what is happening over the next week. Last August, I had three guest bloggers take over my blog while I was on vacation. This time around, I don't know if I will have internet access, so I invited the same three bloggers back to write again. This time they are joined by a fresh voice so there are now four perspectives instead of three.

First, we have Mike from Unknowing Mind representing the Buddhist faith. Next, we have Angela-Eloise from Blogickal representing the Wiccan faith. Next, we have Bernulf from Expanding Inward representing his Heathen tradition. And last ( but definitely not least), we have Jeff from Druid Journal who is representing Druidry.

Our guest bloggers have chosen several topics to write about from the perspective of their own tradition. Make sure to join in on the conversation and leave a few comments for our guest writers. I hope you enjoy this next week!

Her Hidden Children

2006-12-29T13:53:00.000-06:00

I just recently finished the book, Her Hidden Children, by Chas Clifton. While it was an excellent book, one particular chapter (chapter two) really intrigued me with it's mention of the three different categories of "nature religion" - cosmic, gaian, and embodied nature.

From my notes about the three categories:

The comic nature category includes heavenly bodies, astrology, ritual magic, tarot, and other forms of divination. From my understanding, this category is taken to be more about Witchcraft than being a religious movement.

The gaian nature category includes anything to do with the planet earth (i.e. - trees, bodies of water, etc). This aspect of "nature religion" grew out of environmental consciousness, personal relationship with nature, nature as having a life of its own, the earth as deity, and natural cycles.

The embodied nature category includes the person in both the body and the mind, sex as a sacrament, and the invocation of and possession by the Gods.

I found this chapter interesting due to how it was able to answer some of my questions that I had written about in September regarding Paganism as nature religion. Clifton points out that there are three different categories that can be used to define the term "nature religion" and it helped to clarify some of my questions. I had thought of "nature religion" in the sense of the second category, gaian, but not the other two.

I also liked the chapter (Chapter 4) about Wicca and popular culture. It was interesting to find out how different media such as books, magazines, and TV shows have influenced the way the people have written about Wicca and Witchcraft and how it came into the cultural radar.

Overall, the book was well-written, easy to get into (I should have been studying for my finals, but couldn't put the book down!), and very informative. I would really recommend picking up this book.

Abracadabra!

2006-12-28T10:40:00.000-06:00

How important are the words that you use while in ritual? magic? everyday life? Aleister Crowley seemed to think that words are very important. Important enough to change the spelling of the word "abracadabra" to "abrahadabra." I was reading up on Aleister Crowley and noticed a word that he had "created" and thought it would be interesting to learn a little more about it.

Of course, I noticed the spelling right away, thinking that it was a mistake. I soon realized that it was not a mistake and looked into this a little further. My first question was why the change in the spelling of the word? According to About.com, "Crowley "corrected" the spelling to Abrahadabra, in order to achieve a particular gematric value."

So what is the history behind the word abracadabra? We have all heard it being in the use of stage magicians when they are trying to create that moment of suspense by using it as an incantation. However, the use of this word goes back to ancient times when it was used as a cure for fever and inflammations according to the Wikipedia article. There are many possible origins of the words as outlined by the above article.

Then what is the history behind the word abrahadabra? The Wikipedia article on abrahadabra mentions the story about how Crowley came up with it. And here is more information on the word Abrahadabra that I found interesting.

In any case, it seems that the spelling, and the words themselves, are important.

Pagan Concepts Of Deity

2006-12-27T12:33:00.000-06:00

Like with many things to do with Paganism, the pagan concept of deity is viewed in many different ways. Each person is going to have their own view of what "deity" entails. There are those that believe in many Gods (polytheism), everything is God (pantheism), God is immanent but also transcends the universe (panentheism), one Goddess and one God (duotheism), following one God even though excepting the existence of other Gods (Henotheism) and sometimes even that all Gods are one (Monism). With many different concepts of deity, it can quickly become confusing for someone who is not familiar with Pagan beliefs.

While some Pagan traditions have a distinct view of what their concept of deity is, I see many others that seem to take a more relaxed view and mix some of the above concepts to arrive at their total concept of deity. I know someone who states a belief in a more or less pantheistic viewpoint, yet concentrates on several Celtic deities as a way to connect to the symbolism of the divine. I've also seen articles on websites that seem to mix different theistic concepts.

To me, it seems that the most common "theism" to be associated with Pagan religions is polytheism, although there are others that are used frequently as well. Some definitions of the words Pagan or Paganism tend to include something to do with the concept of it being polytheistic in nature. An example of Pagan use of polytheism is when people use whole or parts of different pantheons such as those of Celtic or Roman cultures.

While Wicca has been associated with being a polytheistic religion, there are other people that have stated that it is a duotheist religion instead, bringing a fairly new concept into the limelight. Wicca's view of a God and a Goddess is duotheistic by this definition but I can also see how it can be viewed as a polytheistic concept as well due to the use of the trinity of the Maiden, Mother, and Crone. While the trinity is seen as different aspects of one Goddess, each aspect is sometimes identified as separate Goddesses.

Pantheism seems to be another common term used to describe Pagans today. It does seem to fit nicely within Paganism due to the widespread view of nature as sacred and as part of the divine. It is also sometimes used along with symbolic, but not literal, worship of Gods and Goddesses as in the example that I mentioned above. But it has not always been associated with Pagan religions according to this article on Pantheism and Paganism.

Sometime I think that critics use inconsistencies, including the different viewpoints of concepts of deity, against Pagans to "prove" that it is not a "real" religion. I have noticed that people frequently do express some of these ideas, especially when nature is involved, even if they don't express it as an idea of their concept of the divine. I see this aspect of Paganism as an asset because people are able to find a way that expresses their beliefs of the world in a way that connects them to the divine.

The Little Spirit Cedar Tree

2006-12-24T20:23:00.000-06:00

I've been thinking about sacred spaces again and how they influence people's lives. This time, the sacred place I am thinking about is here in Minnesota and it is one that I've been intrigued by for many years. Maybe you've heard of it as it is fairly well-known in Minnesota. It's called the Little Spirit Cedar Tree (even though most non-Native Americans call it the Witch Tree).

This tree is said to be either over 300 or 400 years old (depending on the source) and seemingly grows out of rock on a ledge overlooking Lake Superior on Hat Point. It is a special tree as it is the traditional place where the Ojibwe placed offerings of tobacco and other things to ask the Gods for a safe passage before they were to journey on the lake.

While tourists used to be able to walk right up to it, due to many years of abuse of the area and damage done to the tree, the area is now protected. People who want to view the tree need to have permission from the Grand Portage Reservation. I think that it is for the best, especially after I read this account from a website on the tribal uses of Juniper:

The only time I went there, with a family from Nett Lake to pray for their
brother, we were actually photographed and pointed at by repulsive, noisy
tourists. I never went back, it was somehow spoiled for me. When I think of that
tree, I can't help but feel it is spiritually dead, because for us it was killed
spiritually by those tourists, their silly babble, their cameras.
(scroll down to the 4th section of the page)

To have a sacred spot ruined by the inconsiderate actions of onlookers is just heartbreaking.

Here is more information regarding the tree that I found:

A beautiful story of how the tree came to be.
A picture and article about the tree and the land around it.
Grand Portage article

What A Week!

2006-12-23T20:36:00.000-06:00

I am now in my new home and working on getting settled in. Good thing I don't have to host any holiday gatherings! With boxes piled everywhere and nothing organized, I almost don't know where to start.

The Yule sunrise was a no-go. At dusk on Thursday, it starting misting. A few hours later the temperature dropped just enough for the roads to become solid sheets of ice. In a city like Duluth (think somewhat akin to San Fransisco), it is impossible to go anywhere when the roads are that icy. Going back to my apartment after a "we're graduating" celebration dinner with friends, I barely got up the smallest of hills. Then, at the top of the driveway to the parking lot of my apartment, I went around a slight curve and ended up doing a 540, stopping only because of my tires hitting the curb and ended up doing a bit of damage to my car. Damn.

I decided that I was not about to go back out on the roads unless the sunlight was able to melt the ice the next day. So I slept in and waited until I could get my vehicle checked out for the long drive to my new home.

This week has been quite the week. It starting with my computer setting on fire and having to rewrite two papers that were due (I stupidly did not back them up!). Ending with finals, graduating, spinning out and driving to my new home. What a week! It's time to relax and regroup.

One another note, Neosnoia tagged me for a meme. So here it is. If you would like to do the meme, as well, go for it. Leave a comment to let me know that you posted your answers. (Note: As I don't celebrate Christmas, I changed "Christmas" to "holidays."

1. List three things that you would like for the holidays.
2. List three things that you don't want for the holidays.
3. Finally, list the names of five fellow bloggers and inform them on their
own blogs that they have been tagged to do the same thing. They will then come
to your blog for the instructions. Then after they make their list, they have to
tag five bloggers, etc.

The three things that I want:

1. More time to read. I am ready to get back to the books that I actually
want to read and read them on the time schedule of my choice.
2. I want to find a job that involves using my degree.
3. Getting the chance to get to know some friends (new and old) on a
deeper, more authentic level.

The three things that I don't want:

1. I don't want to be woken up early by the pattering of (not-so-)little
feet. Let me sleep in, please.
2. I don't want a messy living space.
3. And I can't think of a third.

Again, tag yourself if you would like to participate!

Winter Solstice

2006-12-16T10:47:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, Angela-Eloise over at Blogickal mentioned the Winter Solstice and it reminded me that the day is coming up quickly. As I have been bogged down with end of classes, papers, and finals I never stopped to check what day Yule falls on.

I was quite pleased to find out that I would still be near Duluth, MN and would be able to celebrate the day by getting up early and greeting the sun as it rises up above Lake Superior. Have you ever seen the sun come up over Lake Superior? It's gorgeous.

So next Friday, I will be somewhere along the lake shore watching the sun come up, celebrating the day. But that's not the only meaning that day holds for me. While I will spend a few hours exploring the area that I will watch the sun come up, I will soon be driving to my new home about three and half hours away.

Books To Read

2006-12-14T19:12:00.000-06:00

As of an couple of hours ago, I finished my last college class - until I go to grad school, that is. Not the finals, mind you, as those are next week. But when I got home, I started wondering what I am going to do for the next year and a half or so. Get a "real" job obviously. But there needs to be something more to keep me busy.

No more assigned reading that needs to finished by a certain time means that there will be more free time to read what I am interested in learning. I had heard of people taking on things like "50 books a year challenge." So I decided to set up my own reading challenge. No number has been decided on yet and may I just decide to read as much as I have time for, instead. On the other hand, it is nice to have a goal.

Some books that I would like to read over the next year or so are listed below in no particular order. Feel free to suggest books (in any genre!) that you have enjoyed.

Pagan/Religion

The Apple Branch by Alexei Kondratiev
A World Full of Gods by John Michael Greer
Pagan Theology by Michael York
The Mist-Filled Path by Frank MacEowen
Way of Four by Deborah Lipp
NeuroTheology: Brain, Science, Spirituality, Religious Experience
Ritual Theory, Ritual Practice by Catherine Bell
The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure by Victor Turner
Stations of the Sun by Ronald Hutton
The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles by Ronald Hutton
The Triumph of the Moon by Ronald Hutton
Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe By H.R. Ellis Davidson

Minnesota's Natural Landscape

What's Doin' The Bloomin'?
Minnesota's Natural Heritage
Minnesota's Geology
Minnesota Underfoot
Prairie Skies: The Minnesota Weather Book
Minnesota Weather Almanac

Psychology

A Way of Being by Carl Rogers
Toward a Psychology of Being by Abraham Maslow

'Tis The Season

2006-12-09T17:45:00.000-06:00

Ah, this is the time of year (again!) that I get really busy with finishing up loose ends with school and finals, moving to a place that seems as if it is half way across country, and the holiday rush. Oh, and getting ready for New Orleans! Forgive me if I don't update that often for the next week and a half or so.

Druidry

2006-12-05T08:41:00.000-06:00

I have recently become interested in learning more about Druidry due to finding three sites on the subject. The first site, Little Heathen Fox, is the blog of Kitsune who is a member of the group that put together the site, Celtic Tale. Her blog is her personal journey of her path. The second site, Celtic Tale, which is the site of the aforementioned group in Colorado that has laid out their group's beliefs in a well designed site. Druid Journal is the blog of Jeff Lily, a linguist who has recently embarked on the path of Druidry with the AODA.

I found it interesting that Druidry as can be seen as a set of beliefs and spirituality but that it can also be approached as an Art. Because of this, people of many different religious backgrounds decide to go through the training. According to the AODA site:

[The] AODA has Pagan members who participate in many different traditions, but it also has Christian members, Jewish members, Buddhist members, and members who belong to no particular tradition but find that Druid nature spirituality speaks to their needs and their understanding of the world.

I was curious as to how long the training would last. The Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids (or OBOD) has a training program that lasts about 3 years. The Ancient Order of Druids in America (or AODA, link above) has a training program that lasts about 6 years. A third group, Ár nDraíocht Féin, says 3 to 5 years, depending on program. And of course, you can take longer to work through any of these programs. The numbers above are minimums. I thought that all these groups seemed to have set a reasonable amount of time considering what they propose that you learn. I also found it interesting (and refreshing) that some groups recognize training from some of the other groups.

While looking for information of grove/group/etc. in Minnesota, I found a group called the Old Belief Society. I admit that this group raises feelings of doubt and makes me somewhat uncomfortable, especially considering the main person involved is only 25 years old. He expects people to train for many years under him while he is yet a babe himself. (Of course, I haven't heard anything bad about them. This is my opinion based on what information is on the site. Others could have quite a different view.) This particular example just goes to show me that people have to be careful about what group to become a part of. This doesn't just go for Druidry, but for any group that one is looking to join.

I will be talking more about this new interest in the future, I'm sure.

New Orleans - Here I Come!

2006-11-30T09:02:00.000-06:00

I've been approved! What are you approved for? you may ask. Well, I just got my approval notice saying that I get to help build a house for Habitat for Humanity in the New Orleans area in January.*

I have wanted to help in some way ever since Katrina hit the gulf area, but I didn't want to just send money and pretend that I had helped. I was worried that the money would not get to the people that needed it. Besides, I wanted to get my hands dirty; I wanted to experience what it is like in person; I wanted to make sure that my efforts were actually being put to their proper use. Now that dream is finally coming true.

Since I will be graduating in December, I have a little time between school and getting that dreaded "first real job." I will soon be moving on to new responsiblities and a new stage in my life. I feel that this will be a great way to mark the rite of passage between my new responsibilities and finishing school.

* Because they get so many offers of help, you have to sign up and wait to see if your help is needed and when there is an opening. Then, Habitat matches you up with a building site that needs the help. If you want to help as well, go to "how to get involved" to get more information.

The Wandmakers Guidebook

2006-11-29T10:00:00.000-06:00

Sometimes, there are things that awake the child inside me.

When I was looking at The Wandmakers Guidebook at the bookstore a few nights ago, I giggled with delight.

Kits that are marketed toward children, such as this one, usually don't interest me. I find them to be a little on the cheesy side, and this one, truthfully, is no exception. While it is definitely geared towards kids, I found that the information presented was actually quite interesting (although not necessarily accurate) and the story that goes along with it is entertaining.

I was glad I checked this one out. I may buy this one just for fun.

Witches Weekly

2006-11-28T10:15:00.000-06:00

While I've known about Witches Weekly for a while, none of the questions were ever something that I felt a need to answer. One of the questions from back in September, however, caught my eye and I would like to answer it:

What is one thing relating to your spiritual path that you’ve always wanted to do, but haven’t due to lack of money, time, etc. (Examples could be….creating your own altar room, going to visit a historical monument related to your spirituality, etc).

While there is not a monument that I feel relates to my spirituality and I have no need for a separate room for an altar (I think that altars need to be incorporated into your everyday life, not set aside), there is something that I have wanted to do relating to my spiritual path. I would love to take a year or two to just study religion and not do anything else - not work, not school - just time to take my study seriously.

I feel that I don't have the time to look into the complexities of religion. What most of us "see" of religion is surface aspects - the ritual, the words, the movements. While they are definitely elements that catch our attention and we tend to focus on them, there is also another aspect of religion that people don't seem to mention as often - the underlying symbolism that accompanies religion but doesn't get talked about that often. It is difficult to get to an understanding at a deeper level, which is what I feel I lack at the moment.

A part of this, of course, would be the reading aspect. You can not study religion without reading a lot. I love to read, but here is the problem that I am running into: I do not have enough time or money to support my reading habit. While yes, there are libraries that I could check out books from, most libraries do not have a wide selection when it comes to the genre of books that I would like to read. Plus, I like to be able to quickly reference the books that I have read when I need to and that means that they should be on my shelves.

I believe that one of the reasons why I have remained a seeker is due to this lack of time to truly study the subject matter in depth. I believe that before I commit myself to any particular religion, I have to make an effort to know as much as I can about it.

Interfaith Blog Event #3 - Connections

2006-11-27T11:34:00.000-06:00

Here is the next installment of the monthly interfaith event! Jon, from Jesusfollowers Journal, will be writing from a Protestant Christian perspective, and Mike from Unknowing Mind, will be writing from a Mahayana Buddhist perspective. This month, I got the opportunity to present the question for the event and here it is:

Within your religious traditions, what rituals and/or traditions give you a
sense of connection to your fellow congregants, beliefs, and communities?
What actions do you take to ensure the stability of those connections? Do
you feel that the connections that have been made are sufficient for your
spiritual and/or religious needs?

Here are the links to the other perspectives:
[Jon's Essay] [Mike's Essay]Direct links will be provided when available
Even though I am not officially affiliated with any particular religion, I have been attending an Unitarian Universalist church off and on for the past few years, but never really got involved with the activities of the church. Recently, I started to attend on a more regular basis and also started getting involved .

I am in the beginning stages of making those connections that help to build a sense of community within a religious tradition. As I start to make connections with the people of the church, I am finding that there is a new set of rituals and traditions that are beginning to support feelings of connection. Some of them are:

I love the lighting of the chalice at the beginning of the service. People have a chance to share their personal stories, their favorite quotes and songs, or dedicate the lighting to someone.
Reciting the opening words and the closing words in unison with the members.*
The first service in September, where everyone is coming back from their summer vacations. Every year, a different element is highlighted (this year - water) and people bring something back from their travels to symbolize coming back together as a congregation.
I volunteered to help out in the kitchen. While talking to a member of the church, I found out that the gentleman that was in charge of the coffee, tea and snacks between the services was overwhelmed and needed help. I thought that this would be a great way to meet and connect with people.
I will be signing up for the adult education classes in the church regarding various topics.
Lunch after service. This happens about once a month. This is a great time to sit and socialize and get to know the people of the church. I will soon be helping out with the preparation of the food for lunch.

While I haven't explored this option yet, this particular church happens to be involved with a lot of social action and is very proud of its activities. Many of the members are involved with other groups in the community that promote religious tolerance, GLBT rights, and other social action. As my time frees up (when I am finished with my schooling in December), I will be looking to get more involved with this aspect of the church. I feel that this will help to deepen my connection with the church and it's members.

One of the reasons why I started seeking a congregation to join is that I didn't feel satisfied with what I was currently doing, which to be honest, was hardly anything at all. As I have stated before, I didn't grow up with any particular religious background and because of that, I feel that opened up the possibilities in finding a system of beliefs that is truly for me. Even though I was not brought up with a religious tradition, I have felt the need as of late to reach out for this type of connection.

I think that all human strive for a sense of connectedness whether they find that connection through family, friendships, and/or a church membership. I am starting to feel a sense that my needs are being met. I am starting to feel that I am connected to something that is larger than myself.

*opening words are "Love is the spirit of this church, and service is its law. This is our great covenant to dwell together in peace, to seek the truth in love, and to help one another."

Closing words are "May peace dwell within our hearts and understanding in our minds. May courage steel our will and love of truth forever guide us."

Sgt. Patrick Stewart

2006-11-26T17:28:00.000-06:00

A plaque with a pentacle has now been affixed to the previously empty spot on the Veterans' Memorial Wall at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in honor of Sgt. Patrick Stewart. Here is the story at MSN/NBC. Also, The Pluralism Project at Harvard University has been keeping up on this story and has articles from the beginning of this ordeal.

While searching for more information about the plaque finally being in place, I came across a site which is dedicated to the men and women who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. Patrick Stewart's page is rather empty, with no picture and no news of what has gone on after his death. If anyone has a picture of Patrick Stewart, please think about sending it to the person maintaining the site.

Ethical Relativism

2006-11-24T13:04:00.000-06:00

(The first post of this series can be found here: For What Reasons?)

While reading a book of opposing viewpoints on the subject of Religion in America, I noticed that there were two essays regarding Wicca in the military. The author of the first essay, Robert L. Maginnis, mentioned his reasons of why Wiccans shouldn’t be allowed in the military. While that was the main point of the article, he also presented the idea that Wicca holds an ethically relativist viewpoint of the world. He used this point to illustrate that Wicca should not be allowed legal status because it weakens our “military readiness.”

Defining Ethical Relativism

Before I get any further into the content of the essay, let’s take a look at what the term “ethical relativism” is defined as. I typed each word in at Merriam-Webster.com and found the following:

ethic

the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation
a set of moral principles : a theory or system of moral values
a guiding philosophy

ethical

involving or expressing moral approval or disapproval
of or relating to ethics
conforming to accepted standards of conduct

relativism

a theory that knowledge is relative to the limited nature of the mind and the conditions of knowing
a view that ethical truths depend on the individuals and groups holding them

Using the above definitions, ethical relativism could be said to mean “conforming to a set of conduct, morals and/or philosophy in which views depend on the individuals and groups holding them.” While this may be this denotation, there seems to be more to what Mr. Maginnis is implying. So what was Mr. Maginnis’ connotation? After I typed in the individual words, I typed in the whole phrase. While they did not have a definition for that exact phrase, another expression of interest popped up:

higgledy-piggledy

in a confused, disordered, or random manner

Ah! Now this definition seems to fit more with how Maginnis’ presented his viewpoint. He used the term ethical relativism to cover up that he really sees Wicca as a religion that is random and has no order, no set beliefs, or no morals. That is just not true and it is something that I talked about in the third post of the misconception series back in July.

Maginnis uses a quote from the Covenant of the Goddess (“What is good for one may be evil for another and vice versa”) as an example of forms of relativism in Wicca, and takes it somewhat out of context. He is using this line to “prove” that Wiccans believe they do not have to worry about whether the actions they are taking are right or wrong. Heck, he is trying to imply that Wiccans do not have a sense of what is right or wrong at all because morals are not taught within their religion. What is implied by the CoG is that the ability to determine what is right and wrong has to do with the context of the people involved as well as having to take the situation into account.

More Viewpoints Regarding Ethical Relativism

A site regarding Christian apologetics talks about ethical relativism:

One advantage of ethical relativism is that it allows for a wide variety of cultures and practices. It also allows people to adapt ethically as the culture, knowledge, and technology change in society. This is good and a valid form of relativism.

The disadvantage of ethical relativism is that truth, right and wrong, and justice are all relative. Just because the group of people thinks that something is right does not make so.

If it is true that just thinking something is right, or wrong for that matter, does not make it so, then why are some religions "okay" and other are not? Just because someone thinks that this is so, does not make it so, huh, Maginnis? I need not point out that we could use that logic on your view of Wicca as well.

An article on Religious Tolerance also makes a great point regarding people’s difference in beliefs with this statement:

Some people believe that wives should be submissive to their husbands and that equal power sharing in marriage is forbidden; others believe the opposite. Some believe that an early abortion is the least unethical action for a woman in some circumstances; others believe that abortion involves the murder of a human being. The list goes on endlessly.

People are always going to disagree on how to approach different ethical and moral issues because there is no 'black or white.'

While there is definitely more that I could talk about in regards to this issue, I will instead point out some links that have talked about the two essays in the book Religion in America and some other information regarding ethical relativism.

The online version of the Robert Maginnis essay that I read. (The version I read was an edited version, the online version is the full version. Scroll down to “Brewing Up Trouble: Wicca and the U.S. Military.”)

Chad Anctil - The counter-viewpoint in the book. "A Veteran Witch Speaks Out"

Religious Tolerance – Wiccans and Military Readiness

Chas Clifton – Fort Hood’s Wiccans and the Problem of Pacifism

Witches Voice

More Pagan Blogs

2006-11-20T08:44:00.000-06:00

As usual, I love when I find more Pagan blogs. Some of these are new blogs and some have been around for awhile. Enjoy!

Craftwork Of A Jewitch
Druid Journal
Kitchen Witch
My Thoughts Exactly
Nine Ravens
The Pagan Files

For What Reasons?

2006-11-19T10:11:00.000-06:00

(Part one of a series)

With the recent focus on the case of Nevada National Guard Sgt. Patrick Stewart, and the law suit against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for first amendment rights, I have often wondered about the exact reasons of why some people in our government have expressed opposition to the practice of Paganism on military bases. Yes, I know that a lot of it has to do with people wanting to deny Wicca legal religious status, but what are the arguments that they use to uphold their point of view?

In an essay in the book Religion in America, Robert L. Maginnis states a few problems with Pagans serving in the military. He says that Wicca undermines

“....military values, adherence to norms, willingness to kill, and recruitment and retention among the majority who hold a generally theistic worldview and regard witchcraft as an abomination.”

How does Wicca do all this? He goes on to say,

“Wicca represents a direct affront to Christian and Jewish teaching.”

He never really expands on this statement. Here are the reasons that Robert Maginnis argues that Wiccans shouldn’t be allowed:

Military Values

So what are these so called military values? According to Maginnis, three of the values include military discipline, order and readiness. I don’t see how being Wiccan could have a negative effect on those three things. For that matter, I don’t see how being Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, etc could have a positive effect on those three things.

Adherence To Norms

What norms are we talking about here? Just because those of the Wiccan faith do not hold the same beliefs that Christians do, please do not automatically assume that Wiccan don’t adhere to any sociatal norms. Wiccans hold jobs, have families, take vacations and participate in PTAs meetings and politics. By implying that Wiccans don't follow society's norms, Maginnis is really trying to say that Wiccans are not normal.

Well, what is normal? Going from a psychological perspective, there is such a huge range in what is considered normal. Everyone has some behavior or habits that others look upon as a little strange. But those habits are not enough to say that those people don't follow sociatal norms.

Cultural and regional differences also has a huge impact on what is considered normal. The norms that I am familiar with and follow in Minnesota are not always followed in, say, Mississippi, let alone in another country. Yet, we don't go around saying that people are not normal because they are from a different region or country.

Willingness To Kill

For this point, Maginnis uses the Wiccan Rede to demonstrate that Wiccans will not be able to participate in combat. Yet, earlier in the article he mentions that there were 2228 Buddhists in the military services in 1998. They, too, hold a pacifist point of view but Maginnis doesn’t seem to have much of a problem with including Buddhists in the military services.

Maginnis uses this argument to say that Wiccans will not be "ready" to fight when they are called to action. However, as he is mentioning the Wiccan Rede, Maginnis fails to mention that one of Christianity's own commandments is "thou shall not kill." Wouldn't that also effect the readiness of the military (using his own argument)?

Recruitment and Retention Problems

By this, I am guessing that Maginnis thinks that our Christian military personnel will leave in droves. If this argument was true, wouldn’t there currently be more Pagans than Christians in the military? Based on the numbers that were stated in Maginnis’ own article, I would have to say that the recruitment and retention of personnel of the Christian faith seems to be just fine.

In the counter-essay, the author, Chad Anctil, states that his experience as a Wiccan on base was very different. He never hid his religion and was allowed to practice it undisturbed. Only three people in his six year military career ever had a problem. It doesn't sound like people were leaving the military in regards to Anctil's relgious beliefs.

Next Post: Ethical Relativism

Leonid Meteor Shower

2006-11-17T17:51:00.000-06:00

This weekend is a great time to view the Leonid meteor shower. While peak activity is supposed to be tonight, the best night to view may be on the 20th. Why? There will be no moonlight to compete with the show in the sky.

An explanation of the name from StarDate :

The Leonids are named for the constellation Leo because they all appear to “rain” into Earth’s atmosphere from that direction. However, the meteors can streak across any portion of the sky, so you do not have to look toward Leo to see them.

For best viewing, make sure to get away from city lights. For best viewing time, try to go out after midnight. Here is a list of future meteor showers from Star Date, complete with peak date and moon phase.

I love watching meteor showers. I may have to brave the cold and go find a place to watch it tonight.

Indescribable Moments

2006-11-14T16:20:00.000-06:00

I'm sitting on top of Dragon's Tooth in Virginia, with a complete 360 degree view. The valleys and the mountain sides are covered with every imaginable shade of green, the sun is beating down, the sky is bright blue with some huge, fluffy clouds. Laying back, I rest my head in a depression in the rocks, spread my arms out to the side and just feel. I am in the moment. I feel connected to everything and have never felt so connected in my life. I don't remember ever feeling this good. This moment in time will be remembered as a favorite.

Today in one of my classes, we talked about indescribable moments. An indescribable moment is an experience in your life that has moved you in some way, yet, you struggle with the words to describe the meaning behind the moment. It is a type of experience that everyone has had at one point or another.

These types of moments or memories can have the sense of being spiritual experiences. They allow you to look deeper within yourself and see yourself from a different perspective. These moments are also a way to get to know other people at a deeper level, especially when you feel the pull of their story as they are telling it. (Have you ever been pulled into a story so much so that when the story ended, you looked up and it took a few seconds to 'get back to reality?')

Much of Paganism tends to be about taking in the feeling of the moment and letting yourself realize your surroundings. It relies a lot on intuition and feeling, but at the same time, sensory experiences. Looking back at my recent exercises with the elements, I noticed that many of the items on my lists for Air, Fire , Water, and Earth had to do with sensory input. However, most of the items are on my lists because of the feeling behind the memories.

I think that these types of experiences are important in one's life because they demonstrate the type of person that you are, they influence your reactions to different situations, and show the connections that you have within your life.

Scribe Jamboree 11/10/06

2006-11-10T09:22:00.000-06:00

It is time to highlight some posts by my fellow Scribes! Please check them out!

Jill at JVoices talks about her recent viewing of the movie Borat and how it is a satire of the United States, not Kazhakstan.

What is truly skillful teaching? Mike at Unknowing Mind fills us in on the Buddhist approach.

Scribes get political! There was much talk about voting and politics this week: The Mindful Mission, JewSchool, A Pagan Sojourn, Arbitrary Marks, Yet Another Unitarian Universalist, and Blogickal. (Plus many more! Go on over to the Daily Scribe and check out the archives from the last few days!)

I Am Connected: Earth

2006-11-09T08:02:00.000-06:00

Continuing with my exploration of connection with the elements. My other posts regarding connections with the elements are here with Air, Fire, and Water.

The element of Earth is another element that I tend feel familiar and comfortable with. I spend much of my free time outdoors including the two years in a row that I spent a significant amount of time on the Appalachian Trail. I find that my friends describe me as being "down to earth."

(The picture is of Dragon's Tooth near Roanoke, Virginia on the AT. I took the picture a few moments before I climbed to the top in 2003.)

What earth means to me:

Picking up a pebble in Georgia and walking it 2000+ miles to Maine along the Appalachian Trail
Agates found along the North Shore of Lake Superior
Making a Dorodango , a pastime of Japanese school children
Walking barefoot along the shore of Lake Superior, feeling the small rocks that have been tumbled by the waves.
Eating good food that has been harvested from my garden
Laying in a grassy meadow after a 10 hour day of hiking
Climbing up to the top of Dragon's tooth on the AT
The feeling of being "grounded"
Being described as a "down to earth" person
My rocks and agates that are on my alter, bookshelves, wall shelves
Jewelery making using beads of wood, semi-precious gemstones, metals
Planting a few pumpkin seeds and watching the plants take over my garden
Geodes
Indoor plants - bringing a little of the outdoors, indoors

I Am Connected: Water

2006-11-08T08:57:00.000-06:00

I would have to say that water is one of my "favorite" elements. I love the sound of rushing water and waves. I feel most at home when I am near a body of water. That could have something to do with growing up in the "Land of 10,000 Lakes."

What water means to me:

Sitting next to a stream, listening to it rush over the rocks
The first thaw in the spring
Lake Superior, my favorite body of water to sit by
Feeling cool water go down my throat and into my stomach
A lazy summer day with friends playing at a hidden swimming hole on the North Shore of Lake Superior
Washing and cleansing
Taking hot water out on a well below zero temp day (such as -30) and throwing it in the air. The water freezes instantly.
Movement, water is always on the move
Seeing the surface of Lake Superior still as glass
Kayaking under Split Rock Lighthouse on Lake Superior
Rehydrating camping food
Waterfalls
Watching a storm sweep across the open land in Wyoming. You can see the storm coming for miles!
Watching the rain of a downpour from the shelter of a porch or a Appalachian Trail sleeping shelter
The two liters of water that I carry with me at all times
The water that I added to the bowl at the UU church that I attend during the welcome back service. (The water in the bowl was from the places that people had travelled during the summer and represented everyone coming back together. The water I added was from my trip through WY, CO, SD, and MN)
Staying up all night, just to see the first snow with my newly-transplanted California neighbor
Making Snow angles with anybody that is willing to be silly enough to lay in the cold, wet snow
Making snowmen and snow forts
Having a snowball fight

I could go on and on, really, but I will stop here.

I Voted

2006-11-07T09:44:00.000-06:00

I voted. Did you?

No matter your political persuasion, I encourage you to get out and vote today. It is important for everybody's voice to be heard. This year, I was finally able to convince my parents and my siblings to vote for the very first time.

(MN voters - check out the Star Tribune site for a listing of candidates, other issues up for consideration and to find out where to vote.)

I Am Connected: Fire

2006-11-07T07:56:00.000-06:00

Continuing with my exploration of connection with the elements. My first post regarding connections with the elements starts here with Air.

As I sat down to think about my connection to the element of fire, I realized that I was having a difficult time finding things that I can relate. Fire is usually referred to "as itself" (Lipp, 2003, p. 8), lust and passion, action, and change. This is an element that I will have to find a way to incorporate in to my life in more ways.

How I am connected to fire:

Sitting in a dark room with the only light coming from a single candle
A bonfire
A warm, cozy house
A heated debate (friendly, of course) in which both people are passionate about their point of view but still respect the other view point
Curled up in a chair next to my fireplace reading a book
Feeling the heat of the sun on my face
A hot cup of tea, coffee or another hot drink
Anything that makes me want to take action
The feeling that you get when you are just starting up a new romantic relationship

Lipp, D. (2003). The Elements of Ritual. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications.

I Am Connected: Air

2006-11-06T09:38:00.000-06:00

Earth, Air, Fire, Water. The what and why of elements is basic level information that every beginning Pagan learns soon after starting to follow this path. We see many charts and lists regarding the "correspondents" of the elements and what they represent and what they can be represented by. While there are common representations that most people use within ritual, have you ever sat down and thought about how the elements have influenced or been a part of your life?

I started thinking about this after something that I was reading regarding transpersonal psychology in which the author was talking about his experiences with each of the elements. It hit home and I realized that I, too, have had many experiences with the elements but had never thought to focus on them as something that connects me to the elements.

How I am connected to Air:

Standing on top of a mountain and feeling the cooling breeze after a three hour hike in the summer heat.
A child's secret whispered into my ear
Air filing my lungs as I take in a deep breath
Watching prayer flags fluttering at Devil's Tower
Watching the smoke from incense curl as it rises
Seeing my breath on a cold winter's day
Climbing up Max Patch Mountain in North Carolina and almost being knocked over by the wind
Flying kites, especially my favorite type - linked two line stunt kites
Laying down in the grass, looking up at the clouds trying to decide what the shapes remind me of (best when done in the company of a friend)
Daydreaming

Scribe Jamboree 11/03/06

2006-11-03T00:07:00.000-06:00

It's time to highlight some great posts from other members of the Daily Scribe!

Dave from Mindful Mission is having trouble finding a job that is meaningful to him and thinks that his undergraduate degree in biblical studies may be what is holding him back from some jobs. It is too bad that we have to worry about being judged by our religious affiliations in different aspects of our lives. I wish Dave the best in his job hunting.

Susan Cooper's young adult series "Dark Is Rising" is being made into a movie! Jason at the The Wild Hunt has the scoop.

Tim at Pop Occulture had this to say about Halloween costumes and an insight he had while attending a party.

Mike from Unknowing Mind gives us a poem as he waits for the bus.

CK of Arbitrary Marks successfully defended her thesis. Congratulations, CK!