Pagan Corner

[luv1]

luv1 one made that cute image himself ~ LOL! where's that guy been ?

Linky dink please.

My studies have continued with energy work and using different hand mudras for my own health and well being. It is also part of our Gypsy fusion dance style which carries elements of India, Turkey, and Spain. I've always used my hands on other thing like plants, animals, children and adults; now its time to work on me.

I just got another call the other day from someone who wants some healing work done and I've never advertised. Just word of mouth from satisfied students is enough. They're students to me because I teach them how to take care of themselves more than being dependant on me or anybody else. If my students would just teach their friends then I wouldn't get these calls. Its a trip though to not charge money for healings and counsel yet gain so much in exchange from those that I come in contact with. Earth really can be a very cool place sometimes even though I get pissed off at its inhabitants on a daily basis.

Oh Hi there gypsywitch reading the post I take it you used the same AV I'm suing now if you like (as it does work well) you can have it The one I was using I had to change coz it was a little...freaky I have plenty (hell I can make another Infact I think I will) and since I made it on for you, you should use it you sexy pirate you

As for what I'm going to do this Shamhain, I think I'll spend it in examing the darkside of my soul. To face all the pain, suffering and hardship. You know the really depressive stuff and have a good cry In know it sounds not the best thing to do but life is light and dark I don't believe in letting fear stop me from facing life. I know it's sound very nastie but excepting the darkness in my life I value all the joy more coz no matter how bad it looks I know there's always light some where coz one must have the other. We celebrate the changing years. We know nothing ever stay's the same , it can't, all thing's MUST and WILL become something anew. Don't fear the darkness she isn't evil she will ecpect you for all you are not just the good. Am I manking any sense?

*I've changed the AV so you can use the pirate one GW Now I'll have to let my imagination go wild *

 

[gypsywitch]

Well I did color my hair red but not THAT red. That ribbon nippled pirate is stashed away in my private chamber somewhere. I'll pull 'er out when me mood is right.

Good to see you. Self portrait?

 

[Mackay]

pagans on lit

Wow thank you gyspy for showing me this link Nice to know im not alone cant belive i missed this the last time i was on lit but oh well hope every one is well

look forward to chatting with you

 

[gypsywitch]

Blessed Sunday everyone.

The garden is bountiful and a great provider. The pumpkins are beginning to turn. Today my daughter and I will take a nice bike ride on the flats under the trees. ahhh...

 

[Mackay]

it is

Blessed Sunday everyone.

The garden is bountiful and a great provider. The pumpkins are beginning to turn. Today my daughter and I will take a nice bike ride on the flats under the trees. ahhh...

Blessed sunday to you as well. It in a wonderful day to bask in the sunshine. I hope you and your daughter enjoyed the sunshine and the bike ride. My daughter and my self have spent the day playing with the dogs just enjoying life. Hope every one is well

Blessed be

 

[preacher.mk]

bump--

 

[Image]

So nice to wake up to a bump in the morning

~ A Counsel Oak Leaf Song ~

From under rock let water rise
From root and leaf to wind and skies,
Bring the brew of Earth and bone
Blood and beard, sap and stone
From soil to sky to sweet, rich rain,
Run under rock and rise again...

 

[preacher.mk]

Because I'd rather this thread not disintegrate into a Xtian bashing forum I debated whether or not to post this... But it does give one something to think about...

I believe Christianity, as it exists today, is a far cry from what Jesus intended...

Anyway, this is not intended to stir up anything but an open discussion. Take from it what you will...


No single one of these reasons prove the Witchiness of Jesus; but taken as a whole, they make for a compelling case.

1. Jesus criticized the hypocrisy and legalism of the religious status quo, and chose to embrace an alternative spiritual path. Matthew 23:1-36. In Jesus' day, the religious establishment included the Pharisees and Sadducees, dominant factions in first century Judaism. Jesus' alternative path followed the radical teachings of his mentor, John the Baptist. Nowadays, in Europe and the Americas the status quo is mainly Christianity; the path of the Goddess -- Wicca -- is one of the most compelling of available spiritual alternatives. Many people who embrace Wicca have the exact same criticisms of Christianity that Jesus is said to have had about the religious establishment in his day. Hypocrisy, legalism, blind obedience of the rules to the point of ignoring spiritual values like love, trust, and freedom -- these are the problems Jesus attacked in the official religion in his day, and that many Wiccans today see in the religious status quo of our time. Perhaps Jesus, were he here today, would join Wiccans in criticizing mainstream religion and trying to find an alternative way.

2. Jesus was a psychic healer. Luke 6:19; John 9:1-12. Luke comments that "all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them." And John recounts how Jesus made a magic healing paste by mixing his saliva with soil from our Mother, the Earth. For Jesus, healing was a central part of his spiritual identity. Witches, likewise, rely on herbal wisdom, natural foods, and psychic practices like reiki to bring healing and comfort to themselves and their loved ones. Sadly, the Christian religion rarely encourages its followers to take responsibility for their own healing, but rather colludes with a medical establishment that keeps people passive in regard to their own wellness. Jesus the healer has much more in common with Wiccan healers than with church-going "patients."

3. Jesus acknowledged the divinity within each person. John 10:34-36. All he was doing was quoting the Psalms, but Jesus emphasized it: "You are gods." Throughout the Bible, Jesus uses mystical language to illustrate the essential unity between humanity and divinity. How sad that the church founded in his name lost that sense of human divinity, and has instead stressed the "fallenness" and "separation" that keeps humanity alienated from the divine. Incidentally, this is an indirect affirmation of Goddess spirituality, as well -- for if we are gods, as Jesus quoting the scripture insists, then both men and women partake of the godly nature; implying therefore that God encompasses both the masculine and feminine dimension of life. So the "God" whom Jesus worships incorporates both the God and the Goddess as revered by Wiccans.

4. Jesus lived close to nature. Matthew 8:20; Mark 1:12-13; 3:13; Luke 4:42; John 18:1. Jesus took a vision quest in the wilderness; he loved to pray in the mountains, slept in gardens, and made a point of telling his followers that he had no house to live in. Frankly, it's hard to imagine him driving an SUV or worshiping in an air conditioned church. If Jesus were here today, I suspect he'd live in an ecologically sustainable intentional community, and he'd advocate a sacred duty to the Earth with the same zeal which which he advocated care for the poor and the downtrodden.

5. Jesus believed in magic. Matthew 7:7-11. Only he called it prayer. "How many of you, if your child asks for a fish, will give them a stone?" "If you ask for it in my name, it will be done." Church-goers often see magic as different from prayer, because prayer is timid and uncertain: "Not my will, but thine." By contrast, magic assumes that the Divine Spirit loves us and wants to bless us in accordance with our highest desires. When Jesus prayed, he prayed with confidence, not timidity. And he taught his followers to do the same. Nowadays, magic may have fancy window dressing (light this candle, recite this incantation, etc.) but it still comes down to the same thing: making a request for spiritual blessing. Jesus' vision of prayer is like Wicca's vision of magic: it's based on trust and love, unlike the prayer of church religion, which is based on fear, self-criticism and self-doubt.

6. Jesus could command the weather. Matthew 8:23-27. Witches have a long-standing reputation for being able to conjure up storms and otherwise control the weather. Jesus, like any accomplished weather-witch, possessed a similar set of skills. He did this both actively (like when he calmed the storm out in the Sea of Galilee) and indirectly (as he was dying, he caused darkness to reign in the middle of the day).

7. Jesus had a profound relationship with the elements. Matthew 14:22-26; Luke 3:16; Luke 8:22-25; John 9:6. Jesus could walk on water; he could command the wind; he baptized with fire, and he used the soil of the Earth to make healing pastes. His spirituality was primal and grounded in the power of the elements. Modern-day Christianity is abstract, sterile, and anti-septic -- it is a religion of books, words, and mental concepts. But Jesus, like most modern-day Wiccans, found vitality in the energies of the natural world.

8. Like a shaman, Jesus could channel spirits. Mark 9:2-8. One of the most profound stories in the Bible is that of the transfiguration, when Jesus conjured the spirits of Moses and Elijah. To his followers, this demonstrated Jesus' authority as a spiritual leader. Later on, Jesus tells his followers that they will do greater works than his (John 14:12); ironically, though, Christianity does not permit its followers to invoke or conjure spirits. But invocation of benevolent spirits has been a part of shamanic spirituality since the dawn of humankind, and modern-day Witches follow in this shamanistic tradition when they Draw Down the Moon and the Sun, calling the spirit of Goddess and God into their Circles.

9. Jesus was comfortable with sensuality and eroticism. Luke 7:36-50. One night, while dining at a respectable home, Jesus received a sensuous foot washing from a woman, who used oil and her hair to wipe the teacher's feet. The host and the other guests were scandalized, but Jesus saw it as a perfectly lovely expression of affection and hospitality. In fact, when comments were made to Jesus, he responded by saying basically, "What's your problem?" Alas, the religion that bears his name has evolved into an erotically-repressed spirituality, more like Jesus' uptight host than Jesus himself. Paganism and Wicca, meanwhile, are spiritual systems that celebrate sensuality, sexuality, and the basic goodness of pleasure. Jesus, who got criticized for being a pleasure lover himself (Matthew 11:19), would no doubt be at home in Wicca's celebration of the goodness of nature and the body.

10. In his own way, Jesus practiced the Wiccan Rede. Matthew 5:21-22; Matthew 22:33; John 8:32. The core ethical principle in Wicca is the Rede: "If you harm none, do what you will." There's two components to this teaching: non-harm, and freedom. It's a basic principle; you have spiritual freedom, but not to the point of harming your self or others. Compare this to several of Jesus' teachings. Matthew tells us that Jesus was so committed to the principle of non-harm that he regarded the intent to do violence as bad as violence itself. Meanwhile, John quotes Jesus as saying "Truth sets you free." But what is the truth that sets us free? The truth of love, trust, healing, and divine grace; in other words, the universal truths that can be found in any spiritual path. The opposite of harm is love. "Harm none" is another way of saying "Love your neighbor as yourself."

11. In his own way, Jesus advocated Perfect Love and Perfect Trust. Matthew 5:48; Luke 6:32-36; Luke 12:22-34. John quotes Jesus as saying "Do not let your hearts be troubled" and "love one another as I have loved you." Throughout the Gospels, Jesus says "Do not be afraid." He suggests his disciples "become like little children" -- in other words, be trusting and open-hearted. It's such a simple message, and today Wicca embodies the spirit of perfect love and trust; indeed, traditional covens require the phrase "Perfect Love and Perfect Trust" as a password to gain entry into circle. Christianity, meanwhile, preaches a message based on perfect anger and perfect fear: God is wrathful, and unless a person is fearfully obedient, he or she will be tortured for eternity. That's the opposite of what Jesus stood for. Love and trust leads to healing and liberation, whereas fear of judgment leads to depression and spiritual passivity.

12. His enemies accused Jesus of being under the influence of demons. John 8:48; John 10:20. It's an old tactic. When the people who have religious power want to dismiss their critics, they accuse the critics of being demonically possessed. That's what the Pharisees said about Jesus, and nowadays that's what the religious right says about Wicca. Jesus was someone who loved the average person on the street, but had little patience for religious bigotry and self-righteousness. No doubt Jesus would feel he has more in common with Wiccans than with the fundamentalists who attack them.

13. Jesus was killed, unfairly, for his "blasphemy." Mark 14:63-64. Thankfully, Wiccans nowadays don't get burned at the stake. But tens of thousands of people -- mostly women -- did get killed in Europe for the "crime" of Witchcraft. Even if these people weren't Witches, the fact remains: they were brutally murdered for religious reasons. Well -- so was Jesus. Modern day Wicca looks to the victims of the Witch burnings as heroes of the Goddess faith, just like Christians see in Jesus their own spiritual hero. Jesus, meanwhile, was the kind of man who would rather side against the killers and the executioners. Given the fact that, throughout history, far more Christians have killed Witches than vice versa, it's easy to see Jesus embracing the Goddess, working to heal her children, and calling those who bear his name to repent of their violence.

(This is an excerpt from a book "Embracing Jesus and The Goddess" by Carl McColman)

being a student of this for many years--reading many books on this subject and many like it--there is one thing that is
being forgotten(have not read the whole thread yet)

modern day religions(since the starting of churches)1200's thru today--the ideas of religion were conceived by men of the churches to control the people of the times--
you will and can find so many simulatories between wicca and modern day religion

 

[Epona's Chylde]

I'm thinking this might be an appropriate forum to ask this question....

Do any of you attend UU services or participate in their CUUPS organization?

I've had a hard time meeting fellow pagans in the area and I'm thinking about attending the local UU church and getting involved with their community, but I'd like to know what to expect first...

 

[Mackay]

pardon my ignorance

I'm thinking this might be an appropriate forum to ask this question....

Do any of you attend UU services or participate in their CUUPS organization?

I've had a hard time meeting fellow pagans in the area and I'm thinking about attending the local UU church and getting involved with their community, but I'd like to know what to expect first...

Have to ask what is UU or the CUUPS orginization?

 

[Image]

being a student of this for many years--reading many books on this subject and many like it--there is one thing that is
being forgotten(have not read the whole thread yet)

modern day religions(since the starting of churches)1200's thru today--the ideas of religion were conceived by men of the churches to control the people of the times--
you will and can find so many simulatories between wicca and modern day religion

Indeed, you are quite correct... Unfortunatley, heirarchy and hypocrisy is evident in many, many groups. The dogma that Wicce claims to be opposed to certainly exists... I've seen it all And Wicce is the most modern of the modern. Anyone who tries to say otherwise is uneducated in the religion...

While I still celebrate the wheel of the year in Wiccan ways (I was fortunate to find a group of solitaires), for the reasons you stated I haved shyed away from any actual involvement in a coven type situation...

 

[Image]

Have to ask what is UU or the CUUPS orginization?

UU stands for Universalist Unitarians... It is an association that recognizes and accepts that there are many paths that lead to God and that all are valid. They encourage opened dialogue between all faiths...


The Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS) is an organization dedicated to networking Pagan-identified Unitarian Universalists (UUs), educating people about Paganism, promoting interfaith dialogue, developing Pagan liturgies and theologies, and supporting Pagan-identified UU religious professionals.

Epona, if you have the opportunity to visit either I would... I have always heard very positive things about both. And you've nothing to lose only to gain

 

[Epona's Chylde]

UU stands for Universalist Unitarians... It is an association that recognizes and accepts that there are many paths that lead to God and that all are valid. They encourage opened dialogue between all faiths...


The Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS) is an organization dedicated to networking Pagan-identified Unitarian Universalists (UUs), educating people about Paganism, promoting interfaith dialogue, developing Pagan liturgies and theologies, and supporting Pagan-identified UU religious professionals.

Epona, if you have the opportunity to visit either I would... I have always heard very positive things about both. And you've nothing to lose only to gain

Thanks for the recommendation...I think I'm going to go to the UU service this sunday...My reasons are two-fold..one, I'm wanting some form of spiritual fellowship in my life, and secondly, I'm hoping it might give me an opportunity to make new friends and possibly find a boyfriend...Whenever I complain about being single, I always hear my christian friends talk about how they met guys at church...

 

[Mackay]

UU stands for Universalist Unitarians... It is an association that recognizes and accepts that there are many paths that lead to God and that all are valid. They encourage opened dialogue between all faiths...


The Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS) is an organization dedicated to networking Pagan-identified Unitarian Universalists (UUs), educating people about Paganism, promoting interfaith dialogue, developing Pagan liturgies and theologies, and supporting Pagan-identified UU religious professionals.

Epona, if you have the opportunity to visit either I would... I have always heard very positive things about both. And you've nothing to lose only to gain

Thank you the info. that might be something to look into I am so used to being solitary it might be nice to be around others with similar beliefs

 

[Epona's Chylde]

Thank you the info. that might be something to look into I am so used to being solitary it might be nice to be around others with similar beliefs

That's sort of what I've been going through...I've found myself feeling spiritually empty lately and I think its because I have no one to share my beliefs with...My last long term boyfriend was pagan and we broke up 6 months ago...I really miss having someone in my life that I can share my spirituality with on a daily basis.

Even if I could just make some friends, maybe I'd feel a little less alone in my religion...

 

[Mackay]

That's sort of what I've been going through...I've found myself feeling spiritually empty lately and I think its because I have no one to share my beliefs with...My last long term boyfriend was pagan and we broke up 6 months ago...I really miss having someone in my life that I can share my spirituality with on a daily basis.

Even if I could just make some friends, maybe I'd feel a little less alone in my religion...

I have a few friends who are pagan But i have never dated any one who was. It can get a little lonley bing solitary

 

[Epona's Chylde]

I have a few friends who are pagan But i have never dated any one who was. It can get a little lonley bing solitary

I've only had one pagan boyfriend...the relationship didn't work out but it was SO nice having someone to talk to about it...

Of course, we ended fighting about it too though, so I guess thats a double edged sword...

He had some very set ideas about certain things and in his own way could be as dogmatic as the worst xtian fundie...

 

[limodrivinslut]

Until Samhain this will be my log-in folks. PMs are back on. :0)

 

[BareFootPagan]

UU stands for Universalist Unitarians... It is an association that recognizes and accepts that there are many paths that lead to God and that all are valid. They encourage opened dialogue between all faiths...


The Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS) is an organization dedicated to networking Pagan-identified Unitarian Universalists (.

Epona, if you have the opportunity to visit either I would... I have always heard very positive things about both. And you've nothing to lose only to gain

I would also have to encourage you to give them a try, a UU chucrch not too far from me regularly hosts a number of Pagan events, as well as frequently incorporating Pagan elements into Sunday services.

And as regards My personal slant on worship habits, I have been to a goodly number of eventsand services at 3 different UU churches, always in Bare Feet, as it is an expression of my Gaia-centric Pagan experience. and I have never been challenged or asked to leave . I have met a number of wonderful folks and have found it ti be a nice bit of light in Darkest BibleVille

 

[fetishboy4fun]

Hey everyone

I just wanted say hi......cool thing that there is a Pagan place here

 

[AriaSilverfyre]

(edited because my ramble was incoherant):
This is a great thread. I'm glad it was started. Now, to read it all.

 

[limodrivinslut]

So who's on which Pagan path?

I'm not Wiccan myself.

Stregheria has been handed down through the matriarchs.

 

[Image]

I know I mentioned this before and I hope I don't sound like I'm confused or non-commital in any way...

Gypsy asks which Pagan path is one on... I was raised in a mostly secular family though they exposed me to many different religions. Catholic girls school, Baptist summer camp, celebrated Passover/Easter/Christmas/Hanakah, etc.

If you had asked me 25 years ago, I had only heard the term Witchcraft though saw it for a valid path. It appealed to me but didn't explain anything, didn't have answers to the questions I had... Just another faith to follow.

But around the same time I found a book called "The Kybalion", a study in Hermeticism. Now that had the "light bulb moment" answers that I was looking for!

Fast forward 10 years later and I found a group (study group) that was teaching Wicce. Calling themselves eclectic but mostly Gardnerian, I learned that tradition for many years...

So 15 years ago I would have said I was Wiccan. I celebrated with them, in theory and philosophy it was all good. Unfortunatley that term gets thrown around a lot these days. I have seen so much hypocrisy and undermining...

As I matured in my spirituality I realized that all I really need is to live in harmony with the Earth, the seasons, the elements, the creatures, the universe...

Living consciously for me is recognizing each season and life and loops and so-called opposites so I still celebrate in a Wiccan style, ritual, etc.

But I don't consider myself neccessarily Wiccan. There are so many "new" paths, and more being created every day, to accomodate human needs I can't keep up...

I have a reverence for the Earth so my G&G of usual choice is Gaia and Pan but that can change...

I believe in and practice magic but not ceremonial, more of the simple folk variety...

So in answer to the question again... I believe myself to be simply practicing a Pagan lifestyle, in spiritualty and awareness...

That means I am polytheistic, pantheistic and animistic in my approach to life without neccessarily following any certain dogma...

 

[Mackay]

Shamninism. Mostly celtic

 

[va_angel2u]

So who's on which Pagan path?

I'm not Wiccan myself.

Stregheria has been handed down through the matriarchs.

I'm sort of like Image with this. I was raised Southen Baptist and knew when I was around 12 that I didn't fit in with it. It was a good religion, but not for me. I had never heard of Wicca or Paganism, etc. When I went to college is where I found the name. Some friends intro'd me to it and was like, "this is me, what I have been believing and doing in my own way". Small town didn't give me much connection to groups, so was eccletic till about 3 yrs ago. I met a Priestess w/ a Celtic Traditional Grove and started taking classes through them. The lineage for that has the Celtic belief as well as some Eqyption and Strega, w/ our founding Priest also being a Fairy Seeker.