Pagan interest thread

[MoonFaceMama]

Hello,

As a pagan who practices alone i sometimes find it difficult to mark the passing of the wheel of the year in a secular society which largely ignores there things (ie, i sometimes forget special days ) I get the feeling there might be others on here who feel the same, or who do remember, and that maybe we could support each other in reminders and suggestions for celebrations...

Personally i tend to mark the seasons in ways that feel appropriate and are informal, i'm not big into ritual (but willing to discuss this with those who are). Now that i have a ds i think i'm more concious of helping him to have structure to his year (when i was little i had this through the church) and am considering joining a local pagan group so that i have a community of support in this, which might, in time, be available to him should he wish to access it.

So...a place to discuss pagan celebrations, ideas etc... Any takers?

Thank you, Happyhome.

I've made it with rapsberries as well, it's a lovely summery taste in the middle of winter!

Blackberry brandy here I come! That sounds wonderful.

I hope you all get to celebrate this Equinox, it is always quite low-key in the earthy household, just a chance to relax, reflect and meditate in the presence of the Goddess.

This is such a beautiful, bountiful time of year, I love everything about it. The Moon was glorious on Tuesday night so we grabbed a chance to sit in the garden and drink ale!!

Our new grandchild will be born in the next few weeks so there is more joy to come in my world.

My lovely mother died two years ago today, and it is bittersweet knowing she won't hold our newest family member in her arms. However, we will keep her memory strong and she lives in all our family stories.

Bright Blessings to all of you from Wales, EM xx

happy equinox

i am off to the end of the garden to watch the light fade, make a small fire, open my heart to the beauty of the wheel of life, the cycles of mother earth as she turns, turns, turns to the autumn...

blessings x

I love this thread - I have very vague pagan/wiccan leanings, but I read some of your posts earlier and it made me feel very upbeat and strong, just when I needed it! - thank you all for posting, enjoy all your celebrations tonight...x

Hi Jenpet, you sound like me, my leanings are vague too.
Case in point, I have a thread at the moment about Catholic Readings for my wedding
What I like about paganism is it's about what you can see, about Life as it's lived by all beings really. So I don't feel any contradiction.

Bright blessings, everyone.

So lovely to hear about your beautiful days.

(I spent the evening asleep in bed! )

(oh, by the way, Wukter, I have both the Goddess and Jesus on my home altar and see no contradiction in that. Probably my beliefs don't tick too many boxes of the Nicene Creed these days though

congratulations on your wedding )

Spiritmum, at the Spring Equinox celebration in the Chalice Well, Glastonbury a young man who identified as a Christo-Pagan spoke about his beliefs at the 'Conversation Cafe'.

I found it very interesting and moving as a former Christian; he described how he embraces the 'nature' element of paganism in a way that is not inherent in most Christian traditions. (in my experience!)

this is back of of my blonde head at the silent reflection at the Well Head.

When's the Wedding, wukter?

morning all and welcome jenpet!

well we had a taste of summer yesterday but today definatly feels like winter! We had a lovely walk, though got caught in the rain, but the woods protected us from the worst of it. And nature provided again in the form of lots of brambles and apples. We also saw lots of interesting fungi including a big group of amazing fly agaric! The spotty red and white fairy tale toadstools! Some of them were huge too and it felt such a treat and a blessing to stumble upon them. I took some photos so will try and figure out how to put them on here. [ludite emoticon]

In the evening we lit a fire and reveled in its warm glow and in the darkness enclosing us. I had a real sense of the balance of the year shifting. I gave thanks for a blessed year.

Spiritmum i hope you and your dh find a way to resolve your issue. The image of your children making the hare a bed is a beautiful one. I love hares.

Will go for now but hope to get on the computer later and sort out those photos and check out everyones links.

I love hares too - i wear this <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=stjustin.co.uk/cornish-handmade-jewellery/images/smalls/pn650.jpg&imgrefurl=stjustin.co.uk/cornish-handmade-jewellery/shopexd.asp%3Fid%3D1459%26bc%3Dno&usg=__AmnE5DEzw2kwUuMjlb4uepoa0zc=&h=115&w=115&sz=3&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=xI-Df7j-RY67gM:&tbnh=92&tbnw=92&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dst%2Bjustin%2Bthree%2Bhares%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1024%26bih%3D649%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=405&ei=SGecTPvgO4zqOJun1YcL&oei=SGecTPvgO4zqOJun1YcL&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=13&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0&tx=44&ty=49" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> necklace alot - it is one of my faves.

Autumn has well and truly arrived in Shropshire too - rolling black clouds and pouring rain. We will be harvesting our apples (cookers) this weekend before they blow away!

Afternoon all.

It's well and truly Autumn here with the trees turning. Open fires, woolly jumper lamplit evenings here.

The wedding is in 2 weeks - quite a lot to do yet. Even though it's a Catholic ceremony, the priest is willing to bless our two joined hands, so will be a nice handfasting element to it.

Hi all, we are just back from two days in Glastonbury.

It was a very laid back experience this time as we went with family. DP and I tend to cram as much in as possible so it had a very different rhythym.

The weather was amazing, so warm when the sun shone but a definite autumnal bite in the shade. I bought a lovely woolen coat in a charity shop so I'm hoping for crisp winter days to wear it.

(I am obsessed with the perfect winter coat )

The Goddess Temple was packed with people when we went in, which was fantastic. However, it was so funny as it seemed as though they had not been before. They were very into it, but also really wide-eyed and watched each new person avidly to see what they did. It was unnerving to be so closely observed and I felt as though I was a real disappointment, as though I should have been far more theatrical!

I didn't sleep too well so I'm off to bed now, hope you are all well and I send bright blessings EM x

Hello all!

Well i still haven't made it to the computer (it's tucked away in the coldest, smallest room. Brr) so still haven't looked at the links but thought i'd pop in to say it's autumn here too. Since the equinox really. Colder and suddenly much darker. It's odd how that tiny imperceptable shift in the balance between day and night makes a difference. At the moment i revel in it but know that come spring i will long for the first sky lark.

For now i'm making a mental list of the things that will change between now and samhain...there are still a few poppies but their place is being taken by lords and ladies...the elders will be picked clean of berries but the sloes will remain...the swifts and swallows will have gone but the crows will plough through the low sky, cawing...fewer leaves will be on the trees, some such as conkers and alders are already begining to carpet the ground...there will be no more warm afternoon rain, but misty crisp mornings will unfurl into bright cold days...skeins of geese will have made their way across the sky... I'll keep my eyes peeled for these things as you never know i could be wrong. Any one for any more?

Closer to home i'll have to start doing some paid work by then...a sign that as far as the state is concerned my little boy can do with out me now ...he cut his first tooth last night, i wonder if he'll have any more by samhain?

Hi, everyone,

Earthymama, I think Christo-pagan probably sums up my beliefs if I were going to put a label on them. Christians believe in a Son God born to a Virgin who is then sacrificed in order for there to be new life. The pagan wheel of the year tells us that the Sun God is born to the Virgin Goddess and is then sacrificed in order for there to be new life. Tis all the same thing when you dig a bit deeper, it's just that people have dressed it up in different ways.

So my belief is that 'God' is one energy but that I can understand that energy in many ways - male, female, beyond gender, within nature, infinite, creative, love. I will always believe that Jesus was am amazing man and teacher and equally deplore what Christianity has made him into. Equally awful is the way in which Mary is relegated from creative Goddess to passive vehicle; there ar eall kinds of other teaching around Mary which have fallen from belief in most places but still do exist, such as jesus being miraculously delivered so as not to go through the birth canal and out through Mary's vagina; and the 'brothers and sisters' of Jesus being no such thing so that Mary could stay as a virgin.

Another interesting thing: whilst I have little time for the Davinci Code and its ilk what is indisputable is that in medieval times the church deliberately linked the woman caught in adultery with Mary Magdalene in order to undermine her authority as a possible priestess (as we would understand it). It also gave them an excuse to paint some medieval porn dressed up as theological teaching.

Penny, that necklace is amazing, so lovely. I have one that I wear each day, it is a very simple Celtic triquetra that the dc bought for me for Mothers Day - it has three tiger's eye stones, one for each of them.

I hope to get to Chalice Well next year, a friend of mine is hosting a retreat there. Hopefully I will be running my own retreats and workshops by then, although not in Glastonbury!

Very definitely autumn here. We have a wise old ash who stands guard over us and he has lost quite a lot of his leaves in teh heavy winds over teh weekend. It's rained heavily, too, and it was misty this morning. The kind of weather makes me long for a dog to walk!

We are hoping to move but can't decide where. We do live in the countryside but I really yearn for somewhere wild; but at the same time I don't know how practical it woudl be with three young dc. To throw a spanner in the works we now have a very valid reason for staying where we are but for other reasons moving would be better for us. I'm finding the whole thing really draining and exhausting and can't work out how to get clear. Ironically I do this kind of thing for a living but I think I am too close to work this one out by my usual methods. Does anyone have any tips?

just wanted to say I've seen your post and will think on your problem.
EMx

hi spiritmum, it really sounds like you are in a quandary. I tend to fall back on an old chestnut, it's quite practical but all i can think of at the moment.

I try to imagine what, on my deathbed i would regret. Obviously this requires options so I try and invisage my life in five, ten, twenty years time and weigh up the different scenarios.

Also i consider how far i could go down a route and where the "get outs" might be should i need a plan b. Also working back from each possible goal create an action plan of how to get there. Are there avenues you can begin to explore that move you in the right direction for both? This might buy you time and experience to make a decision. So if it were me considering moving somewhere wild i personaly would need to consider work so i might look in to what my options would be re that and them see if i could explore that from where i am, before i commit. That might mean training or developing related avenues of work now as a cross over iyswim. Sort of dipping my toes in the water iyswim.

Were you hoping for more spiritual ideas?

buy loved what you said about mary as creative goddess. I was brought up catholic and this was very much how i felt about her as a young girl. But i also picked up that she was different from, and therefore inferior to, god/holy trinity.

Thank you, EM xx.

MFM, thank you, I'm all for anything that helps, spiritual or practical! Yes, I have tried going out into the future and working my way back but the problem is that I can't decide whether I would regret most not living the life I think I dream of (in the wild, with a large garden to grow our own food - not that I am massively green-fingered) or would I regret not taking this opportunity to get a very good education for the dc in a place that is good for them in terms of their future prospects? And do I have a rose-tinted view of what living somewhere very isolated is like? Would moving to a town be better for the dc? Work-wise I am web-based so can be anywhere and in the wilds I may draw more people for workshops, but in towns would have more regular clients, possibly. But not our local town, I don't think.

Yes, the church definitely teaches that Mary is less than the Trinity, although in some places (notably Latin America) she really is revered as divine in all but name. And of course the same thing happened with goddesses and saints such as Brigid being reshaped into Saint Brigid of Kildaire. What I remember in particular when I was in my twenties was a knowledge that there is a Divine Feminine and looking for her in church and not finding her. Because, as you say, Mary had been relegated.

But then I see Jesus the man as different from Jesus who can be experienced today. I don't think Jesus who lived 2000 years ago was divine and nor did he believe himself to be. But I do believe in a divine energy if you like, that can be experienced as Jesus Christ in the now. So it stands to reason that Mary can be thought of and experienced in the same way.

Thanks for all your help.

spiritmum, i'm sure you have thought of this but re your dilemma, have you thought of a specific wild place? If so can you check out the schools/education there? And access to other facilities your dc might use? If not can you think about what you would like re education and find some where that fits that? Also can you grow as much of your food as possible where you are now, really go for it and so see if that aspect of your dream is one you want to make a reality?

I completely understand what you mean about seeking the divine feminin in the church. I felt much the same and so found my self naturaly drawn the wonder of the lunar cycle and so on to nature worship more generally.

Does anyone among us honor the lunar cycle?

I'm also interested in how you were drawn to a pagan (ish) path...if anyone cares to share with me.

SM There are different things to consider.

Create a vision board/dream board of your ideal situation, considering everything you would like ie what sort of wild, do you want to be within hailing distance of services like hospitals, schools? etc etc

then look at different areas of the country to see if they would meet your needs and desires.

With regard to the option of staying put do a Strength, Weakness, Opportunity,Threat analysis(old style manager here!)
Consider things along a timeline too in that with children your needs change as they grow older.

Throughout the process keep your spiritual side open to how you are feeling; listen to your inner responses to the options. Meditate, go for walks or garden with the intention of considering an issue as you do so to. I find if I am doing something else my mind/inner voice seems to come up with good ideas.

I'll have a walk and think about my path to Paganism, good book title

spiritmum agree with others on this - I'm always imagining myself lying in a bed somewhere in my final days thinking back on the decisions I made, it really helps put things in a different perspective. I'm also big on instinct - I often think if you trust your heart rather than your head things work out for the best (even if it doesn't seem practical at the time!)

I'm a real mixture if ideologies - I read a lot of Wiccan texts when I was a teenage goth but a lot of it made good sense to me and still does, I also feel inspired by Titania Hardie books on a day-to day basis.

We live in rural France (not far from Carnac ) - although I was born & grew up in West Yorks, and my sil is in Essex, so a few links with a few of you - so the season here is a little later coming than it is further north, but it's my favourite season. Misty mornings, conkers, and gorgeous sunny afternoons. Love it! I'm just going out to plant some spring bulbs with DS2 to celebrate everything waking up again in the spring...

Jenpet, that's so true. I've made some choices that probably seemed indefensible at the time and that caused me and others lots of heartache. Yet I know I woulsd not be the person I am, indeed might not even be around now if I hadn't followed my heart.

Hi EVeryone!

Hope you are all well.

It is miserable and cold and wet here,but Im reveling in it!

I'm on the computer so have finally had chance to look at some of the links, hurrah!!

Penny that necklace is absolutly beautifull!! I think I may ask dh for one for a present some time!

earhtymama, I love the Chalice well place, and the spring equinox event looks lovely. I don't know of anything quite like that up here...hmm, maybe one thing that I have heard of but for imbolc

Also the starhwk stuff looks really interesting, I have added the boook to my wish list and have bookmarked her site, I love the idea of dirt worship, the strap line is like a check list of my interests!!!

Anyway, typically I think DS has woken up...dh has him but sounds like he wants a bf...

Better dash

just heard on the radio that druidry is to be recognised as a faith.