As promised, here is the latest progress on the wand. Sanded the burrs and started the symbol burning. One side has a sun and the other the phases of the moon. The text is “Do as thou wilt is the whole of the law, love is the law”
Emerson’s 4th annual Heart in the Park took place this weekend ( Emerson congregation members and friends meet in East Cobb Park the Sunday before Valentine’s Day in a public witness in support of marriage equality. UU’s believe that the First Principle of the faith, respecting “the inherent worth and dignity of every person,” applies equally to people of all sexual orientations and gender identities.)
From the NWS:
Tonight: Clear, with a low around 18. North wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Hope all the new early crops and all the bugging fruit trees and early emerging butterflies and birds do not die tonight.
Spent some time yestarday speaking to a Theravadic Buddhist teacher about our practices, and feel a bit insecure… He knows all the Pali names for EVERYTHING, and a lot of the mythos for all the Eastern deities for Bon, Hinduism and Taoism. I, being pretty western and Zen know a few Koans, the Lotus and Heart Sutras and how to sit (badly.)
Most of what we do on a daily basis is similar– lots of meditation and contemplation. I, as do most Zen pratitioners, will use some Vipassana meditations when under undo stress– such as rush hour on 75. I disagreed with him on his “dispersioal of lust/ desires” meditation– if I have an inattaniable desire which haunts me, I use Tantra to redirect toward a more appropriate outlet (think the Lovers in the Divine Comedy.) but I do not believe in dispersing the energy– to me, that is a waste of some perfectly good mystical “mana”… Not at all a good Buddhist (but I take refuge in the fact that in Zen, the worst horse can be the best… Well at least Suzuki says so…)
But I don’t know all the fancy words and names and heroes. Most of my knowledge of words and heroes and myths and stories come from the West and Egypt. I know a lot about the Greek and Roman Gods, Kemetic Mythos, the Orisha, and a lot about Judaeo Christian beliefs (one of my 2 majors in college was literature and I studied Dante and the Romantics, so I needed to understand their culture and belief structure. Hence, studies into Aquinus and Homer/ Virgil. I also felt that to argue with the Christians, I first had to undersatand their faith, so read Sweedenborg, Kirkegaard, the Bible, Gnostic Gospels, Cotton Mather, etc…)
I am also learning more about the Norse and Celtic pantheons. These did not resonate as much with me as a young person… The first deities I worked with were Pan, Ma’At, Lilith, and Oshun (in that order.) I worked with Baast and Sekmet too, but that was more college. It’s weird, most of the people here are really well versed in the Celtic/ Norse pantheons (maybe because of all the Scotch/ Irish and German immegrants to GA.)
When I describe my upbringing, I state that my grandparents were Buddhist and Earth Centered trad, my mother practiced some form of Native American and other Shamanism, my cousin, a mix of Charismatic Christianinty and Eastern Traditions, and my grandparents other child practices Buddhism and Reform Judaism. This is not 100% accurate. Everyone in my family (that is, once my grandfather completed Catholic Boarding School when he was 18) started out as a member of a Religious Left Congregation, and forged their own spiritual path within the faith communities they attended. (I grew up attending an ELUS congregation and am currently a member of a UU congregation; other relatives are members of Reform Synagogues and UU congregations.)
The main idea behind the Religious Left is for adherants to learn TO think not WHAT TO think. Members of the religious left believe that seeking meaning is a justifiable faith tradition, and as such, will learn about many different belief structures and interpretation of their own belief structures. (For example, at the ELUS Congregation I attended as a child– we had services led by guest leaders from the Hindu faith, the Jewish faith, and Sufi faith. At Emerson, we host a Pagan group, and in the UUA as a whole, there is CUPS, Christian UUs, Jewish UUs, Muslin UUs, etc who will meet regularly, and will be part of services/ lead services and RE. )
One of the reasons that Luther left the Catholic Church was that he believed that people were smart enough to be able to understand the divine without having to have a priest or nun as an intermediary– that they could forge their own communion with the holy and confess or not confess internally and to their own higher power as they saw fit. Francis David stood on a rock in Translvania and declared that “We need not think alike to Love alike”. Thoreau and the Transendentalists believed in direct revelation of thru connection to the Oversoul thru forging a connection to Nature. Reform Jews allow feel that gender should not preclude one’s ability to be a leader in a spiritual community… The list goes on.
Most members of the Religious Left are Progressives politically (my grandparents were very involved Democrats who believed strongly in Single Payer healthcare, the decriminization of alternative medicine, inc medicinal plants and faster time to market for newer cancer drugs, and toward enhancing and preserving safety net programs now known as “entitlements”,) however this is not a requirement for the faith– there are a few Libertarians at Emerson, but very few social conservatives. Most have a faith in action arm, where they do what they can to help the less fortunate, inc animals and the environment. UUA is one of a few churches that supports “Standing on the Side of Love”, a program which promotes human rights and equality (especially for oppressed minorities such as the GLBT and undocumented communities.
Often people ask me why I am not raising the Lauren as 100% Pagan or some mix of pagan/ Zen Buddhism or as a Thelemite. My response is that to do that is to do her a great disservice. It is my job as a parent to expose my child to as many different positive ideas, traditions, experiences and views as possible, and to give her the tools to be able to make informed decisions and to create her own faith tradition. It is also my duty to let her know what I believe, value and fight for, and to explain why I do.
Would I like it if she grows up to be a Voodoo High Priestess who teaches anthropology and Women’s Studies at Berkley? Sure. Would I like her less if she became a Conservative Christian or Muslim? No. (With the caveat that I would not like it if she chose this path as a result of peer pressure or because of some guy she liked.) As long she truely chooses a faith (I am including atheism as a faith for point of discussion) even if she choose one that wildly differed from mine thru self reflection and soul searching, I would be proud of her because she made a conscious choice.
To this end, we have joined Emerson and attend regularly. Lauren is a member of the RE program (Chalice Kids) and I am one of the instructors (it is funny– we have 5 instructors who all have different personal beliefs). I felt that it was important for her to be a stable member of a community rather than to try different places, because having a spiritual home where you have peers where you can share your questions, doubts, insecurities and fears is important to me. (I think If you don’t get attached to somewhere and just drift, when you grow up, you won’t care.)
I also attend pagan events and meditation/Buddhist events, and will have her accompany me to every child friendly one. We also celebrate the 8 seasonal holidays for the Wheel of the Year at home, and she takes an active role in these rituals. At home, she often practices yoga and meditation with me, and I read Buddhist childrens stories, Thih Naht Hahn and some Celtic Fairy stories and Roman Mythology to her. That way, she can see what I practice and understand where my core beliefs come from.
Whenever she asks a question like “what happens when you die” i always try to answer with “No one knows for sure. I believe that there is reincarnation, so you come back again in a new life, as a new person or animal, other people believe in Heaven and angels. What do you think?”
I purchased a great book on UU Parenting called Tending the Flame. I also have a great book called The Spiritual Lives of Children (which is multifaith). Am thinking of getting Circle Round. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to comment. She’s an only (like me), so she’s my only shot 
I believe in the power of place.
As a small child, i remember digging a hole searching for mineral buried in the Franciscan Melange, when all of a sudden the sky opened and engulfed me in its cerillian arms, the yellow gleaming disk above me like the Sun Re symbol in ancient tombs. And I felt alive, complete and whole. I thought smugly, that I was so lucky to live in the perfect place, in the perfect time– when my country of origin was still prosperous and in the middle of where innovations and orchards met.
I have always been connected to places… to place spirits… My thesis was my Liber Astarte for the Land Wight for the San Andreas Fault. Outside was my refuge from all the people who were not smart enough to understand me… and science was what I used to make sense of the outside– especially rocks and the processes which formed them.
There are a lot of people who don’t believe in the power of place, and go with the anthropmorthic view of “wherever you go there you are.” but then they litter the world with their excesses, energy and baggage (both literally and figuratively.) Without a home, one cannot respect their home.
I am taking this Imbolc to make this place my home… to connect and remember that the earth is my home, and that spring is coming.We are going to re-ward the boundaries of the land with cornmeal and offerings for the spirits and local fauna. planning a 9 candle spiral celebration ritual, walking the steps toward spring.
I started sprouting some lentil and beans today– since it is getting warm enough for sprouts to germinate.
I also started the seeds for the starting crop for the year. Come spring, we will have plants! (Since I am reading about their Secret Lives… Its all good)
So have started working on my collection for divination. I am doing this with the Lauren as a way to get her started with Divination– she has some tarot cards of her own (small Rider Waite ones from my grandmother given to her as a gift) and has “told a story” with my Thoth Deck before (even when she was very young)
I
(I see some strained carrots in my future)
But the idea of a collection i think resonates more– we get to pick, find and create the objects we use for divination, and thus will be more connected to them, and the energy will be more “real”. When I was 7, my grandmother started teaching me tarot, and I learned by taking one card a month and drawing my own rendition on an index card. I would read books and look at other peoples versions to get ideas. Finally finished my deck in college, and to commemorate, I got my version of the Moon tatooed on my back.
Here are the elements of our collection so far:
Thinking of adding a small candle for fire and more as we find stuff/ it finds us.
(Note the left side of the Altar– that is where it site. I am also starting on my wand… It finally is dry, so now can start the carving and woodburning!!! Am both excited and scared!)
Here goes another “for all my making fun of the yokels it really isnt so bad” posts…
Last weekend, I started taking earth centered spirituality classes at one of the local pagan groups, and am really surprised at how large, organized and together the Atlanta pagan scene is. Many of the local groups are listed as 501c charitable organisations– which means they are considered real non-profits and are protected religious groups that can marry, bury and perform other legal rites just as the Christian Churches can here. (North Georgia Solitaries also has the same protections, as they were granted “Church” status in GA too, even though their services take place at Red Top Mountain State Park.)
This particular group (I need to ask if they are comfortable with linking to them, since they are a closed coven) is over 10 years old and sits on 38 acres of protected wetlands. They have a building for classes for both their own membership and friends, and for loan to some of the wider groups of pagans in the SE. On their property is a beautiful stone flanked circle and walking paths.
Our first class was an introductory one, and we got to meet many of the older members of the group. Everyone is really down to earth, professional/ scholarly, and not at all full of attitude. (The N.Georgia pagan scene has a lot of successful people in their membership– the leaders of the Emerson pagan groups are a psychologist, a small scientific business owner and a doctor; in this group there are some college students, professors, lawyers, and in NGS, there are teachers, firefighters, and IT professionals.)
Also, the new age-ieness of a lot of pagan/ Wiccan groups is absent here. Amusingly, at the break, 2 of the male members were in the corner discussing the last night’s football game–these same guys willingly call themselves Witches without losing any sort of machismo or insulting their own masculinity, which somehow struck me as pretty cool.
Next class will be a discussion on ethics and tenants surrounding earth centered practices and magick. This should be lively and fun. Already read the coursework and have some points to bring to the table. I think it is always a difficult balance between the “Do whatever you want and be free free free” (which doesn’t work because a lot of people want to do stupid, irresponsible or reckless things) vs being so rigid that you should not do anything other than blessings and reverence and mysticism (which misses the whole “craft” part of the craft.)
My personal ethic is truly “Do as thou wilt shall be the WHOLE of the Law. Love is the law, Love under Will.” (The last part adding the element of forethought and common sense.)
I believe in karma– as the sewing of seeds and of what Crowley calls “The Law of Cause and Effect”; and it isn’t always 3- fold. Depending on what you put into it, and the surrounding influences, it could blow up a lot more than 3 times… think of the old quantum parable of the butterfly, and the effects of gossip in the pagan scene.
I also believe in STRIVING for ahimsa (non-harm), although no one will ever truly attain it under the abyss. I am pro- animal and human rights– I do not eat any being that was killed for food, nor do I wear fur, wool or silk (well, I have a few pre-gan items and gifts, that i will not waste, but will not buy more. Not sure how i feel about recycled leather and wool.) All my eggs come from a great company that only buys from organic family farms and their eggs are blessed by both an Iman and a Rabbi. (I am ovo-vegitarian– transtitioning to vegan. I don’t bake with eggs, but occasionally will have some of Lauren’s breakfast eggs… We are moving toward tofu scramble and omlets– is a bit of a battle for the Omnis of the house…) But I accidentally step on bugs. I am not 100% carbon neutral. But I do my best, and continue to search for ways to improve.
I think everyone should practice responsible reproduction– both for themselves, their prodgeny and for the Earth– and to not be a Duggar- and think of the environmental impacts of overpopulation before conceiving. I think that all types of families are acceptable and love is love, as long as their is respect, caring and genuine trust.
why is it that spring people who try to make the world better for the masses, often end up on a cross (or poisoned– either literally or figuratively) then worshiped, even though they only wished for everyone to wake up and become their own G-d?
Where are the heroes today– the people ready to risk everything to do what they believe? to make things fair for everyone– to rid the world of silly religions of fear and control and economies of disparity?
Where are the voices for the voiceless? The leaders that we need?
I have often struggled with a difficult faith– one that needs action, and nurturing and proof– I study and revere Nature; thru Science, thru Thelema.
And I know that if something is or is not real doesn’t necessarily matter– our energy and our belief and our investment is what counts.
I learned in liberal arts classes that men/women create Gods/Goddesses to explain nature and its processes. But what if that isnt exactly the case?
What if the Gods themselves are real…
And what if the Pharohs we deify (like the April born “saviours”, like Uncle Al and similar people) are really not Gods themselves but people– prophets teaching us where to look to find the real ones, the old ones, the deep ones?
The weather has been really crazy… Had one sort of “snow” day in October/November then it has be between 55- 65 degrees f for the last few months… The Lauren has been busily riding her bicycle and I have been running outside, going hiking at RTM, etc. The animals in the woods do not seem to be sure what to do– I have been watching the same group of gray squirrels displaying nut hoarding behaviour and mating behaviours. There have been sightings of ground chipmunks.
I like it warm, Hashimoto’s and all, however, it has been really hard for me to get in touch with the seasons ritually or culinarily– and i have been a little unfocused on my practice and eating out a lot more than I would like. It is hard to think about welcoming back the light when people are walking to Publix in shorts, or to throw a snowball or make kale and barley soup. Yesterday, the Lauren asked for ice cream!
A feeling of dis-ease has settled over the area– like there is something not right, and not good going on… in a reading last year, we picked up a spirit calling itself “coal” and it seemed like a large, lumbering wolf. (I think it called itself coal because of our associations with the environmental movement, and it was trying to speak our language– kind of saying “I am the thing that you are killing/ I am your species callousness and lack of regret and revereance”) I feel its presence and have seen it out of the corner of my eye on nights when I walk in the woods, or when I candlescrye. I assume this is all related.
I would like to do a ritual to communicate with it in more depth– to find out what our land community needs for more healing and what I can do in order to transform its anger and despair into something more upbeat.
Part of me has been restraining myself from hexing all the “bad people” as the Lauren calls them who pollute, stripmine, log or otherwise terrorize the flora, fauna and land wights of the SE and beyond, but I realize that real world legistaltion and education is probably a better approach to making positive changes. Maybe suplimenting with some energy work to heal the broken areas, and wishing for some mind changing– perhaps an old spell I read in a Santeria book which was originally used to “bring back yer cheatin’ man”, but adapted to bring people’s consciousness back toward Gaia using dragonsblood resin, wind and poppets.
In other news, the holidays were really nice, spent lots of time with family and friends. Am starting to take a class at one of the local Atlanta pagan organisations on earth centered traditions. A friend will be teaching some of the sessions, and I am excited to learn more about what she has to say. I have attended a few of the rituals she has team led, and her seasonal discussion sessions at Emerson for Pagan group, and those were amazing.
Finally, 2 bragging rights! My partner is really cool and gadgety and ordered an iPad 2 for me for Yule, along with a cute case with a keyboard! I started using it today for looking up food substitutions and will soon be busily downloading vegan cooking apps. Last night he ordered a juicer (one that has a wheatgrass attachment!!!) and i woke up early and spent all morning baking soda and greenwising the kitchen getting ready for it!!!
