The Basics of Grounding
Grounding is the act of using the mind and body to clear excess energy away.
Very literally, it is the act of getting closer to the earth, or putting our feet firmly on the ground. Grounding is a fundamental skill, not just in magic and ritual, but in everyday life too. It is one of the basic tools to be used in energy work and is a necessary skill for all pagans who work with energy, and all people who can be quite highly strung!
There are many ways to ground, but the most common way is through visualisation.
Visualisation Method
1. Sit, lie or stand somewhere quiet. Close your eyes (if you wish). Focus on your breathing and try to breathe from your diaphragm (just below the lungs) instead of high up in your chest. Consciously slow your breathing down.
2. Focus on your muscles, particularly tight spots like your shoulders, hands, feet, chest, head/forehead and neck. As you breath in and out, see your muscles relaxing.
3. Imagine that you are a large tree in a wide open field. You have branches that reach to the sky, and roots that reach all the way down, deep into the earth. As you exhale, send all your excess energy or stress, or bad feelings down through your spine, through your legs, and into the roots in the ground. There the earth will recycle or use that energy as it needs it.
4. Continue to do this for as long as you feel you need to, always aware of your slow breathing, and the energy that you're directing away.
5. When you have finished, become aware of your body by focusing on things like; the sensation of what you're lying / sitting / standing on, the feel of any breeze or clothing on your skin, the heaviness of your flesh etc. Make sure that you focus on physical sensations because this is very helpful to the grounding process.
6. Wiggle your toes and fingers. Open your eyes (if you closed them). You should be feeling much more calm and relaxed. This feeling of stability is known as being 'grounded.'
Visualisation 1 can be adapted so that you are sitting against an actual tree and sending your energy through the tree, instead of through yourself. Sitting in nature can be very helpful when it comes to grounding. It can also be adapted for sitting against rocks / buildings / or anything that has part of its structure go deep into the ground. The reason we send excess energy there is because the earth stores it and uses it for later, it safely removes excess energy away from other people, and the element of Earth is a grounding and stabilising element.
Physical Methods
If you are quite a high-strung person (i.e. get stressed easily, lose control of your breathing, aren't very in touch with your body) or aren't used to energy work, then visualisation isn't always the most effective method. In Wiccan covens, it is common to eat after ritual, and one of the reasons for this is that physical activity like the consumption of food and drink is very grounding!
Consider the following activities:
Eating and Drinking
When you have just finished ritual, or are noticing that you're feeling very stressed out, consider grounding through slowly eating and drinking. Eat simple foods, like half a piece of bread, or a biscuit, and savour it. Know that you are sharing with the bounty of the earth, and really notice the flavours and the action of chewing and swallowing. When you drink (hot beverages like tea are really fantastic for grounding), do so slowly, savour each sip and focus entirely on what you are doing. As you narrow your focus, you also force all that excess energy to go away so that you are grounded and stable.
Stretching
Stretching is a wonderful way to ground. Find stretches that are gentle on your body (such as stretching your arms towards the ceiling, or bending down and letting the energy flow out of your hands into the ground directly). The key word with stretching is to go slow. Slow your breathing down, focus on how it feels to move your muscles, and if you feel pain then stop! This should feel good, not painful.
Mundane Chores
Simple household chores are actually extremely grounding, they require physical activity, but they are also generally simple and repetitive, and this combination makes them excellent for helping you to contain your stress and excess energy and focus. When vacuuming or sweeping, imagine that you are sucking up all the negative energy into the vacuum, or sweeping it away. You can even imagine that the vacuum is sucking up your own excess energy. While washing the dishes, become aware of the sensation of water around your hands, and the feeling of the earth against your fingers (most kitchen implements after all, come from the Earth element).
Having a Shower or Bath
Taking a shower or bath can literally help you to 'wash' excess stress and energy away. One of my favourite visualisations while in the shower every morning, is to imagine all my negative and unwanted energy flowing down the drain. It is very refreshing, and the warm water helps us to stay focused on our body instead of letting our head drift into the clouds (which is the opposite of grounding). When cleaning your body, you can literally 'scrub away the bad energy' through visualisation, or wash away the stress.
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The basic goal of grounding is to make sure that you are calm, focused and stable so that you feel more in control (particularly for stress-related problems) and that you are not carrying around excess energy from ritual which can be problematic! Ground before and after ritual, when you're stressed out, after visualisation, and whenever you feel it's necessary! You can do the physical exercises whenever you want to, and if you try and do them once a day you will notice a difference in your general well-being.
Give one or two of them a try and see how you go!
Lughnasagh Poem
O Great Father of the sun and Mother of the grains,
We celebrate our harvest and of the light that remains
All in lifes great garden, we be ever thankful for
As we feast on our treats of bread, cider and more
You give us your gifts that you so lovingly bare
All your crops and your fruits you so humbly share
As we harvest the seeds that we planted before
Of our hopes and our dreams may they now come to the fore
We celebrate our harvest and of the light that remains
All in lifes great garden, we be ever thankful for
As we feast on our treats of bread, cider and more
You give us your gifts that you so lovingly bare
All your crops and your fruits you so humbly share
As we harvest the seeds that we planted before
Of our hopes and our dreams may they now come to the fore
THE DRUIDS DREAMING ?
WHAT IT IS ?What the world needs is Magic, Music and Dreams .....
A Dreamtime
The concept of the Event is to bring AWARENESS and to PROMOTE Tolerance, Understanding with the hope of Embracing others chosen beliefs to the whole community which is mostly Christian orientated and to celebrated the Cultural & Spiritual Diversity in Australia.
It is also the purpose of this event is to raise AWARENESS and Support for a new organization called The Ancient Ways Incorporated:
http://ancientways.org.au
With the current global financial crisis there are many families out there doing it tough. Many of these families will rely heavily on Charity organizations. A great many of these Charity organizations are Christian orientated. Nothing wrong with that as a qualified Youth Worker and Social Worker I have worked for many organization and associations that are Christian Orientated but there are very few Alternative Spiritualist and pagan organizations which have been set up to assist the Community and help those families which are not Christian until now. The Ancient Ways Incorporated is one such organisation.
Music is Magic ... and it helps people forget the troubles of the would and their own personal problems for a while. People need to be entertained and an Event like this is designed to help fulfil that need and to help people become aware that they are not alone. Music can help Bring about Change.
MAGIC CAN HAPPEN
The Cosmic Cauldron Newsletter and The Cosmic Cauldron Radio, Mystic Groves (my partner's business) and myself, Michael Lee-Price are in the initial stages of organising this EVENT to be held here in South Australia, Australia.
Join US!
FEEL THE MAGIC!
Embrace The Druid's Dreaming.
A Brief History
As the late Martin Luther King said ..."I Had a Dream!"
Way back in 2003, I had a vision; a dream of organising a Cultural and Spiritual Music Event. This event was to be called AUTUMN FEAST. Several Bands were organised, promotional and advertising flyers and pamphlets were printed up, businesses in the South Australian suburb of Aldinga were approached as well as the local Onkaparinga Council and a Website was built to advertise and promote the Event.
Due to some personal issues, interference by certain detractors and an inability on my part at the time to source funding, the Event was shelved.
However, some in the Aldinga Business Community saw the potential of such a music event and from the ashes of Autumn Feat a Phoenix rose called The Aldinga Folk Festival.
This wonderful event ran from 2004= 2006.
After seemingly disappearing into the mist of time and the annuals of once Great Events, this Magnificent Event has re-emerged with the new face of "Fleurieu Folk Fesitval"
http://thecosmiccauldron.net.au/notice2.html
This only goes to prove that Dreams can come TRUE, if people are willing to believe in them and are willing to support them.
Like Autumn Feast, I am going to make The Druid's Dreaming happen .. With YOUR Help.
http://thecosmiccauldron.net.au/schedule.html
I will be arranging advance payment for tickets in the next two months.
At present I am thinking of $80 for single ...... $120 -- for couples ... $160 for families (if you can fit all your kids on a CentreLink card ...then that is a family - proof of being a family unit required) ... 10 % off per head on group bookings (10 plus) .... 20 % discount for all TAWI members ... .... this is tentative.
I will be attempting to arrange package deals with airlines and hotels so hold your horses.
Sponsorship of interstate Covens and Groups being arranged. (Hopefully)
At present I have 50 people from Melbourne
7 from WA
13 from NSW
4 from the USA
3 from UK
1 from India
And I haven't even started the ticket planning yet or found a venue ....
So Aaaarrrrggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Thank You
Michael Lee-Price
~ The Wayfinder ~
Owner, Publisher and Editor of The Cosmic Cauldron Newsletter
Owner and Manager of The Cosmic Cauldron Radio
ALL ENQUIRIES TO: cosmic.wayfinder@gmail.com
The Druid's Dreaming Musical Event is a Celebration of the Spiritual & Cultural Diversity in Australia. It is being promoted as a ONE Day Event & an All Day Event. Starting with a Medieval Fair and Culminating with a Concert. Venue and Ticket prices are not available yet. More information can be located at:
The Cosmic Cauldron - Bookmark This page fir further updates !!
The Cosmic Cauldron - Bookmark This page fir further updates !!
Written by Frances - Paganism Australia member
I would love to share two pieces of beautiful poetry with you,
TO SHE
Ancient Mother Goddess
You who was there before all time
Arise from the watery abyss
From whence all life was created
Come to me, Ancient Mother
Teach me the ebb and flow of life
Help me understand that for things to be reborn
They first must die
Show me the inner strength and gifts that lay inside
As my modern world engulfs me
Help me to remain connected to what is really important
Remind me of the messages in the wind
Ancient Mother Goddess
Nameless one but not forgotten
Let me honor you
SILENT RAPTURE
She touched my cheek
I knew I wasn’t alone
And the invisible cloak drew around me
I felt sheltered from the winds of ill thought
That blew my way
Protected in her loving embrace
Safe in the knowledge that as long as I have
The courage to be true to myself
I will never be alone
In silent rapture I caught my breath
For faith I believe.
Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali, Inanna ...
0 comments Posted by About Paganism Australia at 9:59 PM
In Neo-pagan Witchcraft the Goddess is the very essence or central figure of the Craft and worship. She is the Great Mother, representing the fertility which brings forth all life; as Mother Nature she is the living biosphere of both the planets and the forces of the elements; she has roles of both creator and destroyer; she is the Queen of Heaven; and she is the moon. She possesses magical powers and is emotion, intuition and psychic faculty. The Divine Force within the Goddess is believed to be genderless, but within the universe it is manifested as male and female principles. Often within the worship of the Divine Force the Goddess, or the female principle, is emphasized to the exclusion of The Horned God, or the male principle. But, theoretically both are recognized.
The Goddess has many facets, names and aspects. Although in witchcraft and Neo-paganism she is mainly worshiped in her aspects of the triple Goddess: Virgin, Mother and Crone.
Goddess worship dates back to Paleolithic times. Many anthropologists speculate the first "God " or gods of the peoples were feminine. This coincides with ancient creation myths and beliefs that creation was achieved through self-fertilization. Within the concept of creation the participation of the male principle was not known or recognized yet. The Goddess was believed to have created the universe by herself alone.
From this belief came the agricultural religions. It was thought that the gods only prospered by the beneficence and wisdom which the Goddess showered on them. Evidence appears to indicate most ancient tribes and cultures were matriarchal.
Although this maybe true, there seems to be little evidence that the feminine portions of these societies held themselves superior over their male counterparts. Generally Goddess worship had been balanced by the honoring of both the male and female Deities. This is illustrated by the belief in and the observance of the sacred marriage of the Sky God and Earth Mother in many global societies.
Among the first human images discovered are the "Venus figures," nude female figures having exaggerated sexual parts that date back to the Cro-Magnons of the Upper Paleolithic period between 35,000 and 10,000 BC.
In southern France is the Venus of Laussel which is carved in basrelief in a rock shelter. This appears once to have been a hunting shrine which dates to around 19,000 BC. In this carving the woman is painted red, perhaps to suggest blood, and holds a bison horn in one hand.
Also in Cro-Magnon cave paintings women are depicted giving birth. "A naked Goddess appears to have been the patroness of the hunt to mammoth hunters in the Pyrenees and was also protectress of the hearth and lady of the wild things."
Other female figurines were discovered dating back to the proto-Neolithic period of ca, 9000 - 7000 BC, the Middle Neolithic period of ca. 6000 - 5000 BC, and the Higher Neolithic period of ca. 4500 - 3500 BC. Some of these figurines were decorated as if they had been objects of worship. In black Africa were discovered cave images of the Horned Goddess (later Isis, ca. 7000 - 6000 BC). The Black Goddess images appeared to represent a bisexual, self-fertilizing woman.
During the predynastic Egyptian period, prior to 3110 BC, the Goddess was known as Ta-Urt (Great One) and was portrayed as a pregnant hippopotamus stand on her hind legs.
The Halaf culture around the Tigris River, ca. 5000 - 4000 BC, had Goddess figurines associated with the cow, serpent, humped ox, sheep, goat, pig, bull, dove and double ax. These things were known to the people and became symbols representing the Goddess.
In the Sumerian civilization, ca. 4000 BC, the princesses or queens of cities were associated with the Goddess. A king was associated with God.
Throughout the eons of history the Goddess assumed many aspects. She was seen as the creatress, virgin, mother, destroyer, warrior, huntress, homemaker, wife, artist, jurist, healer and sorcerer. Her roles or abilities increased with the advancement of the cultures which worshipped her.
She could represent a queen with a consort, or lover. She might bear a son who died young or was sacrificed only to rise again representing the annual birth-death-rebirth cycle of the seasons.
Throughout the centuries the Goddess has acquired a thousand names and a thousand faces but most always she has represented nature, she is associated with both the sun and moon, the earth and the shy. The Goddess religion, usually in all forms, is a nature religion. Those worshipping the Goddess worship or care for nature too.
It might be acknowledged that author Barbara G. Walker made two comments concerning the thousand names of the Goddess. The first is that "Every female divinity in the present Encyclopedia (Source: 56) may be correctly regarded as only another aspect of the core concept of a female Supreme Being." The author's other comment is, "If such a system had been applied to the usual concept of God, (giving him the different names and titles which people throughout the centuries have attributed to him), there would now be a multitude of separate 'gods' with names like Almighty, Yahweh, Lord, Holy Ghost, Sun of Righteousness, Christ, Creator, Lawgiver, Jehovah, Providence, Allah, Savior, Redeemer, Paraclete, Heavenly Father, and so on, ad infinitum, each one assigned to a particular function in the world pantheon."
Both comments may be considered correct when it is recognized that humankind is only able to speak of God, the Supreme Being and the gods in anthropomorphic terms. As it has been noted elsewhere, the human mind is unable to comprehend any godhead without the aid of anthropomorphism. But, many people such as Simon Magus have gotten themselves in serious trouble when calling God by another name. The early Church Father Hippolytus condemned Simon for referring to God as the Infinite Force.
The beginning of the Hebrew religion with its God Yahweh is said to have marked the end of the Goddess' Golden Age. Approximately this was between 1800 - 1500 BC when the prophet Abraham lived in Canaan.
The Christian Church, and especially the Roman Catholic Church, has fought hard to suppress or root out all Goddess worship. The Goddess along with all pagan deities were labeled as evil. But, little proof has been offered for this. One notable example is The Canon Episcopi.
Even though the Church attempted to completely abolish Goddess worship it never successfully did so. Remanents of it remained within the hearts of the people. An example of such devotion is seen within the actions of the people during the Church Council of Ephesus (432 AD). Until Christianized Ephesus had been a sacred city where the Divine Mother was worshiped by "all Asia and the world" (Acts 19:27). Also in this city of Ephesus, as elsewhere, she was called Mother of Animals. "Her most famous Ephesus image had a torso covered with breasts, showing her ability to nurture the whole world." During this council of bishops people rioted in the streets demanding the worshipping of the Goddess be restored. The prime candidate was Mary, the Virgin and Mother of Christ. The bishops conceded so far in allowing Mary to be called the Mother of God, but the forbade her to be called Mother Goddess or Goddess.
To the very present many, both Catholics and especially Protestants, wonder why Catholics have a great devotion toward the Virgin Mary. Few know the occurrences at Ephesus, and that this devotion is probably the long surviving remanent of their early ancestors' devotion to the Goddess. A.G.H.
The Goddess has many facets, names and aspects. Although in witchcraft and Neo-paganism she is mainly worshiped in her aspects of the triple Goddess: Virgin, Mother and Crone.
Goddess worship dates back to Paleolithic times. Many anthropologists speculate the first "God " or gods of the peoples were feminine. This coincides with ancient creation myths and beliefs that creation was achieved through self-fertilization. Within the concept of creation the participation of the male principle was not known or recognized yet. The Goddess was believed to have created the universe by herself alone.
From this belief came the agricultural religions. It was thought that the gods only prospered by the beneficence and wisdom which the Goddess showered on them. Evidence appears to indicate most ancient tribes and cultures were matriarchal.
Although this maybe true, there seems to be little evidence that the feminine portions of these societies held themselves superior over their male counterparts. Generally Goddess worship had been balanced by the honoring of both the male and female Deities. This is illustrated by the belief in and the observance of the sacred marriage of the Sky God and Earth Mother in many global societies.
Among the first human images discovered are the "Venus figures," nude female figures having exaggerated sexual parts that date back to the Cro-Magnons of the Upper Paleolithic period between 35,000 and 10,000 BC.
In southern France is the Venus of Laussel which is carved in basrelief in a rock shelter. This appears once to have been a hunting shrine which dates to around 19,000 BC. In this carving the woman is painted red, perhaps to suggest blood, and holds a bison horn in one hand.
Also in Cro-Magnon cave paintings women are depicted giving birth. "A naked Goddess appears to have been the patroness of the hunt to mammoth hunters in the Pyrenees and was also protectress of the hearth and lady of the wild things."
Other female figurines were discovered dating back to the proto-Neolithic period of ca, 9000 - 7000 BC, the Middle Neolithic period of ca. 6000 - 5000 BC, and the Higher Neolithic period of ca. 4500 - 3500 BC. Some of these figurines were decorated as if they had been objects of worship. In black Africa were discovered cave images of the Horned Goddess (later Isis, ca. 7000 - 6000 BC). The Black Goddess images appeared to represent a bisexual, self-fertilizing woman.
During the predynastic Egyptian period, prior to 3110 BC, the Goddess was known as Ta-Urt (Great One) and was portrayed as a pregnant hippopotamus stand on her hind legs.
The Halaf culture around the Tigris River, ca. 5000 - 4000 BC, had Goddess figurines associated with the cow, serpent, humped ox, sheep, goat, pig, bull, dove and double ax. These things were known to the people and became symbols representing the Goddess.
In the Sumerian civilization, ca. 4000 BC, the princesses or queens of cities were associated with the Goddess. A king was associated with God.
Throughout the eons of history the Goddess assumed many aspects. She was seen as the creatress, virgin, mother, destroyer, warrior, huntress, homemaker, wife, artist, jurist, healer and sorcerer. Her roles or abilities increased with the advancement of the cultures which worshipped her.
She could represent a queen with a consort, or lover. She might bear a son who died young or was sacrificed only to rise again representing the annual birth-death-rebirth cycle of the seasons.
Throughout the centuries the Goddess has acquired a thousand names and a thousand faces but most always she has represented nature, she is associated with both the sun and moon, the earth and the shy. The Goddess religion, usually in all forms, is a nature religion. Those worshipping the Goddess worship or care for nature too.
It might be acknowledged that author Barbara G. Walker made two comments concerning the thousand names of the Goddess. The first is that "Every female divinity in the present Encyclopedia (Source: 56) may be correctly regarded as only another aspect of the core concept of a female Supreme Being." The author's other comment is, "If such a system had been applied to the usual concept of God, (giving him the different names and titles which people throughout the centuries have attributed to him), there would now be a multitude of separate 'gods' with names like Almighty, Yahweh, Lord, Holy Ghost, Sun of Righteousness, Christ, Creator, Lawgiver, Jehovah, Providence, Allah, Savior, Redeemer, Paraclete, Heavenly Father, and so on, ad infinitum, each one assigned to a particular function in the world pantheon."
Both comments may be considered correct when it is recognized that humankind is only able to speak of God, the Supreme Being and the gods in anthropomorphic terms. As it has been noted elsewhere, the human mind is unable to comprehend any godhead without the aid of anthropomorphism. But, many people such as Simon Magus have gotten themselves in serious trouble when calling God by another name. The early Church Father Hippolytus condemned Simon for referring to God as the Infinite Force.
The beginning of the Hebrew religion with its God Yahweh is said to have marked the end of the Goddess' Golden Age. Approximately this was between 1800 - 1500 BC when the prophet Abraham lived in Canaan.
The Christian Church, and especially the Roman Catholic Church, has fought hard to suppress or root out all Goddess worship. The Goddess along with all pagan deities were labeled as evil. But, little proof has been offered for this. One notable example is The Canon Episcopi.
Even though the Church attempted to completely abolish Goddess worship it never successfully did so. Remanents of it remained within the hearts of the people. An example of such devotion is seen within the actions of the people during the Church Council of Ephesus (432 AD). Until Christianized Ephesus had been a sacred city where the Divine Mother was worshiped by "all Asia and the world" (Acts 19:27). Also in this city of Ephesus, as elsewhere, she was called Mother of Animals. "Her most famous Ephesus image had a torso covered with breasts, showing her ability to nurture the whole world." During this council of bishops people rioted in the streets demanding the worshipping of the Goddess be restored. The prime candidate was Mary, the Virgin and Mother of Christ. The bishops conceded so far in allowing Mary to be called the Mother of God, but the forbade her to be called Mother Goddess or Goddess.
To the very present many, both Catholics and especially Protestants, wonder why Catholics have a great devotion toward the Virgin Mary. Few know the occurrences at Ephesus, and that this devotion is probably the long surviving remanent of their early ancestors' devotion to the Goddess. A.G.H.
Has Neo-Paganism Gone Back Into the Broom Closet?
0 comments Posted by About Paganism Australia at 9:41 PM
Written by Catherine Platine
Having been a practicing Pagan for most of a somewhat long life, I've noticed what appears to be a retreat lately from organized groups back to a solitary form of practice among modern Neo-Pagans. Thirty or so years ago we were blossoming as a religious movement, new groups forming on a daily basis and frequently cited as the fastest growing religious movement on the planet. What happened?
In many ways those very things that were our strengths at first seemed to have worked against us in the long run. We became a religious movement of mostly chiefs and few Indians. Our leaders didn't fail us, the idea that we all needed to be leaders did.
This isn't just a failing of Paganism. It seems to hold true with any marginalized group that has been forced into individualized closets. Thirty years ago while public awareness of Paganism was growing, we still had an era where many local police departments were still operating Occult Squads which were little more than modern extensions of the Burning Times.
The more timid did not openly wear symbols of their religion and did not openly belong to groups. Those who were bursting forth did so in independent open defiance of the status quo. All that was required to be a Pagan leader back then was a soapbox, a loud voice and a general willingness to be out and proud.
It was an exciting time to be Pagan but it also meant that there were a lot of turf wars over ideology and even legitimacy. These are remembered today as the Great Witch Wars and they did hurt us, but at the same time several of our best known Elders came out of this period.
Just as the Women's Movement, which came of age around the same time, the GLB movement and today the Transgender Movement, Neo-Paganism thrusts together highly individualistic and independently minded people under a common cause which at first is very exciting but then gets lost in the individual differences. We can do better than this; we must do better than this if we are to survive. It is possible for us to band together in celebrations that actually celebrate our unique qualities. It is necessary we gather in common to fight for our collective civil rights without turf wars. We need to learn that those whose practices are somewhat different from our own are still our sisters and brothers.
A strange thing happened our way towards revival...traditions that were originally spread by oral teachings, plays, storytelling, mentoring and other non-written forms became enslaved in the written word. This actually changes even the way you think and process what you learn from the emotional side to the logical one. An excellent (ironically enough) book on the subject is The Alphabet Vs. The Goddess by Leonard Shlain, which I highly recommend as vital reading for all Neo-Pagans.
An argument can easily be made that the very revival of Goddess awareness resulted from a shift away from the written word to the visual in the form of movies and television that allowed a return to a more ancient mode of informational processing and yet the paradox of the Neo-Pagan religious movement was a rush towards an ever growing number of Pagan authors as it grew!
Over the years I've witnessed pagans group together in mutually exclusive groups based on different Occult bookstores in an area, the bookstore owners becoming the de facto local Pagan warlords. The Pagan authors have replaced local deities with completely predictable results. Those Pagan centres won at the cost of often great expense and work have trouble getting community support and frequently find themselves at odds with local governments over issues such as basic recognition of religious status.
We Cybelines find ourselves in that position right now, our property denied tax-exempt status locally despite both Federal and State recognition as a legitimate religious group doing charitable work. While we won the right to Pagan clergy in the Armed Forces back in the seventies, recently a major battle was required simply to get the Veterans Administration to acknowledge the Pentacle as a valid religious symbol. We are meekly allowing ourselves to be shoved back into the broom closet once again.
One of the frequently voiced justifications for less than full recognition of our legal status goes like this: Where are the Pagan hospitals, orphanages, and shelters? Those who voice this then point to Christianity, as somehow more worthy for having them but forgetting the Christians didn't invent charitable works, they learned them from ancient Pagans. There exists a smallish but growing groups of Pagans who are restoring ancient forms of living together in religious communities complete with the charitable works. Pagan Pride events now routinely do food drives as part and parcel of organizing their events.
We can do this. We can support each other and still respect our individual beliefs and practices. We can live together in supportive communities. We can and must do charitable outreach as part and parcel of our very spiritual nature.
Without taking anything away from Pagans who personify Deities, I have also witnessed a growth of those whose spiritual awareness has moved towards recognition of the Divine in all around us. Most of those with this viewpoint embrace the ancient Mother Goddess traditions, especially what was known in classical times as the Mystery Religions. Many solo practitioners today also embrace this point of view.
If you understand that everyone you encounter is as much part of the Goddess as you are, you don't need carrot and stick theology to understand that treating others decently is simply another form of worshiping the Divine. You don't require leaders to spoon-feed you the requirements of loving deity to give you your birthright, a personal connection with the Divine that is within you. All you need is those who help you locate the Divine within you and connect with it.
After a lifetime of study and research and soul searching I found this was the Old Religion that in the early days of the Neo-Pagan revival everyone claimed descent from. I found it was almost universal in the ancient world going back as far as is possible to go in history.
I saw it first revived in modern times in the Women's Spirituality movement but much of that became sidetracked, in my own opinion, in understandable feminist reaction to living in a world controlled by the patriarchy. I've been saddened to see some groups retreat into matriarchal thinking that seeks to replace patriarchy with a macho form of matriarchy. It is not so much the actual gender of the individual that is the problem with patriarchy, it's the dismissal an entire way of living and thinking embodied in Goddess traditions that seek to live in harmony with nature understanding we are all intimately connected and the ideals of nurturing rather than dominating. Replacing one form of domination with another is a zero sum game.
It's time that all of us who embrace a Pagan identity ask ourselves exactly what do we hold as core values and do we actually live those values? If your personal answers are similar to my own, how can you celebrate your connection to the Divine without making connections with others part of that?
Why aren't you seeking out groups that share your core beliefs? If you cannot find such a group, why aren't you forming them?
Don't retreat to the broom closets, don't seek answers from others outside yourself, join in celebrations and living with those who share your worldview. Rather than seeking leaders or worse, trying to become one, why not pursue a life of service to others in recognition that they are part of yourself ?
Having been a practicing Pagan for most of a somewhat long life, I've noticed what appears to be a retreat lately from organized groups back to a solitary form of practice among modern Neo-Pagans. Thirty or so years ago we were blossoming as a religious movement, new groups forming on a daily basis and frequently cited as the fastest growing religious movement on the planet. What happened?
In many ways those very things that were our strengths at first seemed to have worked against us in the long run. We became a religious movement of mostly chiefs and few Indians. Our leaders didn't fail us, the idea that we all needed to be leaders did.
This isn't just a failing of Paganism. It seems to hold true with any marginalized group that has been forced into individualized closets. Thirty years ago while public awareness of Paganism was growing, we still had an era where many local police departments were still operating Occult Squads which were little more than modern extensions of the Burning Times.
The more timid did not openly wear symbols of their religion and did not openly belong to groups. Those who were bursting forth did so in independent open defiance of the status quo. All that was required to be a Pagan leader back then was a soapbox, a loud voice and a general willingness to be out and proud.
It was an exciting time to be Pagan but it also meant that there were a lot of turf wars over ideology and even legitimacy. These are remembered today as the Great Witch Wars and they did hurt us, but at the same time several of our best known Elders came out of this period.
Just as the Women's Movement, which came of age around the same time, the GLB movement and today the Transgender Movement, Neo-Paganism thrusts together highly individualistic and independently minded people under a common cause which at first is very exciting but then gets lost in the individual differences. We can do better than this; we must do better than this if we are to survive. It is possible for us to band together in celebrations that actually celebrate our unique qualities. It is necessary we gather in common to fight for our collective civil rights without turf wars. We need to learn that those whose practices are somewhat different from our own are still our sisters and brothers.
A strange thing happened our way towards revival...traditions that were originally spread by oral teachings, plays, storytelling, mentoring and other non-written forms became enslaved in the written word. This actually changes even the way you think and process what you learn from the emotional side to the logical one. An excellent (ironically enough) book on the subject is The Alphabet Vs. The Goddess by Leonard Shlain, which I highly recommend as vital reading for all Neo-Pagans.
An argument can easily be made that the very revival of Goddess awareness resulted from a shift away from the written word to the visual in the form of movies and television that allowed a return to a more ancient mode of informational processing and yet the paradox of the Neo-Pagan religious movement was a rush towards an ever growing number of Pagan authors as it grew!
Over the years I've witnessed pagans group together in mutually exclusive groups based on different Occult bookstores in an area, the bookstore owners becoming the de facto local Pagan warlords. The Pagan authors have replaced local deities with completely predictable results. Those Pagan centres won at the cost of often great expense and work have trouble getting community support and frequently find themselves at odds with local governments over issues such as basic recognition of religious status.
We Cybelines find ourselves in that position right now, our property denied tax-exempt status locally despite both Federal and State recognition as a legitimate religious group doing charitable work. While we won the right to Pagan clergy in the Armed Forces back in the seventies, recently a major battle was required simply to get the Veterans Administration to acknowledge the Pentacle as a valid religious symbol. We are meekly allowing ourselves to be shoved back into the broom closet once again.
One of the frequently voiced justifications for less than full recognition of our legal status goes like this: Where are the Pagan hospitals, orphanages, and shelters? Those who voice this then point to Christianity, as somehow more worthy for having them but forgetting the Christians didn't invent charitable works, they learned them from ancient Pagans. There exists a smallish but growing groups of Pagans who are restoring ancient forms of living together in religious communities complete with the charitable works. Pagan Pride events now routinely do food drives as part and parcel of organizing their events.
We can do this. We can support each other and still respect our individual beliefs and practices. We can live together in supportive communities. We can and must do charitable outreach as part and parcel of our very spiritual nature.
Without taking anything away from Pagans who personify Deities, I have also witnessed a growth of those whose spiritual awareness has moved towards recognition of the Divine in all around us. Most of those with this viewpoint embrace the ancient Mother Goddess traditions, especially what was known in classical times as the Mystery Religions. Many solo practitioners today also embrace this point of view.
If you understand that everyone you encounter is as much part of the Goddess as you are, you don't need carrot and stick theology to understand that treating others decently is simply another form of worshiping the Divine. You don't require leaders to spoon-feed you the requirements of loving deity to give you your birthright, a personal connection with the Divine that is within you. All you need is those who help you locate the Divine within you and connect with it.
After a lifetime of study and research and soul searching I found this was the Old Religion that in the early days of the Neo-Pagan revival everyone claimed descent from. I found it was almost universal in the ancient world going back as far as is possible to go in history.
I saw it first revived in modern times in the Women's Spirituality movement but much of that became sidetracked, in my own opinion, in understandable feminist reaction to living in a world controlled by the patriarchy. I've been saddened to see some groups retreat into matriarchal thinking that seeks to replace patriarchy with a macho form of matriarchy. It is not so much the actual gender of the individual that is the problem with patriarchy, it's the dismissal an entire way of living and thinking embodied in Goddess traditions that seek to live in harmony with nature understanding we are all intimately connected and the ideals of nurturing rather than dominating. Replacing one form of domination with another is a zero sum game.
It's time that all of us who embrace a Pagan identity ask ourselves exactly what do we hold as core values and do we actually live those values? If your personal answers are similar to my own, how can you celebrate your connection to the Divine without making connections with others part of that?
Why aren't you seeking out groups that share your core beliefs? If you cannot find such a group, why aren't you forming them?
Don't retreat to the broom closets, don't seek answers from others outside yourself, join in celebrations and living with those who share your worldview. Rather than seeking leaders or worse, trying to become one, why not pursue a life of service to others in recognition that they are part of yourself ?
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