Let's Make a Deal Deity Edition!

Chapter 10 addresses the idea of making offerings.  The concept of an offering to a deity is not a new concept.  I’ve seen Buddhists light incense ritually for a specific purpose.  I’ve seen Catholics light candles and pray for a specific person in need.  I’ve offered some of my cakes and ale after a ritual to the spirits.  I tend to think of all these practices under the same umbrella.  They are all ways to pay homage to metaphysical entities and attune with spiritual forces! That's right--all similar practices from different religions and philosophies.

                Unlike some misguided or misinformed concepts of offerings, Wiccans like me don’t make offerings of living beings.  That certainly does not fall under the notion of harm none.  I read an article over the holidays about a body being found in India and that the body was suspected to have been used in some sort of ancient blood sacrifice.  This kind of practice should never be done under the name of Wicca from what I can tell because I don’t think the Goddess would take very kindly to us killing something in Her name.  I even mutter or at the very least think, “thank you” when I harvest herbs and vegetables!  As for eating meat—I would love it if I could say thanks before the slaughter of an animal.  I wish I could say a blessing over the poor beastie who is on my grill, but I am not made for hunting.  At the very least I can say thanks and merry met after the fact.  I can also try to get meat from producers who use best practices like no hormone, grass fed, free range etc.  I don’t equate harming none with following a vegetarian diet because I have concluded that I am an omnivore who needs meat protein.  But I digress.

                Anyhoo-offering thanks helps maintain a thankfulness that I wish more people held sacred.  Whether you say thanks by lighting incense, putting a little food in a dish or just saying simple, “thanks” to people who do something kind I think it keeps our spirits high.  It gives us something to remember when we are feeling low.  It helps us recall all the positives in our life when we are feeling beaten and battered.  At work when I am feeling utterly hopeless or useless, it helps me to send positive notes.  Saying thank you and praising the people at work helps me remember how wonderful they are and how important my role is in their lives and vice versa.  I LOVE writing thank you notes.  I think this is fast becoming a lost practice.  I am finding more and more people who think a thank you note is unimportant or unnecessary as long as you say thanks next time you see the person.  Well, if you see the person regularly, maybe.  But if he or she lives states or even countries away, you can make their day by taking that time and it just might make you feel warm and fuzzy too.  Clearly there are a myriad of ways to be thankful and if you’re not into thanking a God, at least be thankful in your attitude.

By the way, I appreciate every one of my readers.  Thank you and BB.

You Can Save it, You Can Live On it, Or You Can Be Like It

I am taking chapters 8 and 9 together since they really do pair nicely like a crisp white wine goes with the snappiness of an apple.  Now I am thirsty...

These chapters start the next section of the book and involve applying Wicca to your every day life.  One of the first ways to do this is through prayer.  It’s funny, if you’re not a mainstream religious type people sometimes assume you don’t pray.  Rubbish!  I probably pray more now than I did all those years growing up.  Cunningham states that effective prayer is a “truly spiritual” way to “contact the divine.”  As a kid, I always pictured prayer like a phone line to God.  I think God was busy a lot.  Who wouldn’t be?  Creator of Heaven and Earth and now billions of people trying to reach you?  God needs call waiting and voicemail.

Anyway, prayer usually begins when we first have a need or something moves us.  Why else would we consider praying unless there was some impetus right?  Well in my upbringing, we often were told to kneel and pray at certain times of a service or before meals etc.  This is fine, but it sometimes felt like, “Hiya God.  Not sure what to say.  Shall I ramble while I watch this baby three pews up gnawing on the hymnal?”  It wasn’t very satisfying.  Now—was this because of me not being focused enough as a child to grasp the point?  Maybe.  There was one prayer growing up that I loved—prayer to my guardian angel.  It made me feel safer when I thought the monster under the bed was drooling over my toes which sometimes dangled over the side.

Angel of God, my Guardian dear, to whom His love commits me here, ever this day (or night) be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.
I still find that to be a beautiful prayer.  I have a lot of fond memories of my guardian angel prayer.  
I suppose that is part of why I find myself naturally praying spontaneously.  Now I am moved to it--not told to do it.  I suppose for kids you need to model and practice to help them get the point.  I also figure that the sense of calm repeating words like my Angel of God prayer brought me is why I find those little prayers like "Oh Goddess guide my words"  or "oh Goddess build within me calm and serenity for my day" etc come to my mind so easily.  I try to remember to say thanks before meals whether it is aloud or just a mental "Wow! I am fortunate to have this meal.  Thank you."    It's a fact that chanting slows the heart and calms the mind, so it stands to reason that prayer will bring about similar positive effects for a person.  It may just be mumbo jumbo to some people, but I think it builds within a person a sense of gratitude--a sense of humility.  Both of those I think are important and prayer is one thing that helps me remember to value what all I have.  
Of course, there is the old pray when you have need and all else has failed.  Ah the prayer of desperation!  Long may it reign!  However, if you're not praying all along, is that not rather rude?  There is no bargaining with the deities.  I know people try and all & we laugh about it in pop culture, but that seems to run counter to the whole purpose!  Of course, prayer in need is consoling as I have said.  However, having a prayerful attitude helps in daily living and therefore keeps you in tune with the Lord and Lady or other deity when you do have a deep need.  I don't think that the powers that be won't listen--please don't misunderstand, but I think the restorative and calming effects will be more profound if you practice praying more regularly.  I love that Cunningham refers to prayer as little acts of magic.  They are!  If more people would try to understand that then maybe Wicca wouldn't be so misunderstood.  Oddly enough it was a priest who rewrote the Our Father who helped see the true nature of prayer.  I love that prayer.  I should try to find a copy of it.  Essentially, he rewrote the prayer so that instead of being based on power and hierarchy, it based on God's love--and not a strictly masculine God either.  That man was one of the holiest men I have ever met and he opened my mind to so many possibilities.  I think it was his encouragement to learn and understand other religions that helped me see how they are so similar rather than different.
In chapter 9 Cunningham gives several examples of prayer for different purposes.  He also gives an outline to help you compose your own prayers. Always the teacher this guy.  I love the morning and evening prayers.  This morning for example I saw the full moonlight shining under the drapes in the living room so I pushed them aside to see the full brightness and wow!  It took my breath away.  Consequently, I was moved to a short prayer for the morning.  Here's my evening prayer for you:
Gracious Goddess within and among us,
Horned hunter of the Sun and within us, 
We thank you for this day,
And ask that you guide us through a peaceful night,
Blessed be.

Within you and among you--religion--you can take it with you!

Chapter 7, the last chapter in part 1 of Scott Cunningham's Living Wicca focuses on Wicca as part of the every day life.  I think that any person needs to have a set of morals--a code of ethics if you will--for how they want to live their life.  I believe that how I want to live my life is probably contrary to someone else's idea of how to live.  I accept that as long as their way of living is not going to in any way interfere with mine, we can coexist.
SC--I'm going to use that for the author so be warned--SC writes in the first line that "religion permeates all aspects of life" and that "mundane factors can weigh us down until we begin to question whether we ever spiritually felt a thing."  I have felt something.  I am moved by the mysteries.  I do find peace in meditation and an occasional prayer makes me feel better.  For some, this isn't the case.  For some, they do the same reflection or experience a similar comfort from their religion.  Great!  Celebrate that feeling.  Let it guide you to a life of peace and harmony and appreciation for all you have.  A spiritual center can be quite fulfilling.  The sticky part comes when someone attempts to force their spirituality on another in which case I must ask are they really acting in accordance with their spiritual center and core beliefs?  I fear that sometimes the answer would be no if they studied and reflected and applied what they know about respecting life. Any religion that touts killing another person because they believe differently is not holy in my opinion.  It is not showing respect for life.    I can't control what another person believes or practices in their own life until they bring that argument to me.  Live and let live!  However, if you bring your core values and try to use any method--force or law--to make me conform to what you say, I will object.  I will point out how what you are doing is not in accordance with respecting life.  I think that more often than not if two people with opposing views sat down and studied one another's point of view more commonalities would emerge than differences.  I've also been studying a lot on liberty lately so it's having a definite impact on my views of religion.  Wicca is my religion and I love that I have the freedom to express it as openly as I want to.  I love that my country supposedly believes in my right to practice it.  I am enjoying seeing how the principles of Wicca apply to my every day life.  However, I do not think that I should try to get my congress men or women to put forth a law that says the Wiccan Rede should be posted in public buildings because that is inappropriate.  I do not believe government should be used to further the agenda of any religion.  Again, religion and the practice thereof is deeply personal and no one's business but my own.
SC lists a few points on pages 46-47:  harm none, reincarnation, karma, magic, thought, and earth stewardship.  I figure if I let these ideas and how I practice them guide my interactions with others, then I am living in accordance with my religion and my respect for others.  Harm none--this  is the Wiccan big idea.  It teaches us to rise above negative emotions etc. to transform into something positive.  Harm none should absolutely permeate my life and I believe everyone's life.  Harm none is the most direct way to implement a respect for life and one another.  Is what I am doing going to cause harm?  I would love it if people who make laws stopped to consider how what they are doing is going to impact everyone before they sign or vote on a law.  The current personhood amendments, the defense of marriage amendments, the No Child Left Behind fiasco all do more harm than they do good when I consider them in light of harming none.
Reincarnation I haven't made up my mind about yet.  I like the idea of getting another shot if I totally screw up.  A do over is cool.  SC's point about suicide is well taken; however, harm none also should apply to that concept.  However, I tend to believe I should live my life as if this is my only one.  I feel compelled to live to the fullest and in the most authentic and good manner as  I can.  It's taken me a while to figure this part out.  I'm human afterall.  But I am trying.
Karma--I love this notion.  It is the golden rule--do onto others as you would have done onto you.  Besides, it feels good to do good things for others.  Showing kindness to someone else for the sake of doing good--not for any reward--is ideal.  I want others to respect me.  I want others to let me live as I want to live.  I want others to be happy.  Therefore, I need to act that way to others.  It's that concept of lead by example.  I am perfectly aware that I don't need a religion to teach this to me.  I know that I may not always get the best in return.  However, if I believe in harming none, then I should practice it.  If  I get back what I put out there in that regard, all the better.  The three-fold law really drives that idea home.  Essentially if you don't know, threefold law is another way of talking about karma.  It means that whatever you put into the world you get back triple the potency.
I don't know how to improve on SC's statement about magic:  Magic reminds us that we do, indeed, have control over our lives.  It does do that for sure.  I wish  more people understood that magic is really just an extension--an acting upon--prayer.
Thought--the idea of changing a negative outlook of "I lack this item so I am going to whine about it" into "I have such blessings in my life" is really rewarding.  I love it.  Sometimes others don't really like it when I suggest looking at their situation in another way.  Fine.  I look at it this way--my house is not the prettiest.  By society's standards there are all kinds of improvements I should do.  However, when I get dragged down by the lawn not being as green as my neighbor's or the porch not being centered, I think how luck I am that I have a house over my head.  I have this space that is mine.  I share this space with my husband and three cats.  It's our home and some people don't have that.  We are fortunate.  In time, we will make improvements as we see fit and not because we need to keep up with someone else's idea of beauty.
Earth stewardship--again, this goes back to harming none.  The more I've read though, you have to be very careful on this point.  Some organizations I think would be harming none, actually do.  Humans are such a passionate species that we forget sometimes.  We forget that our one little cause impacts so much more beyond our own little reality.  We must truly think about our actions and what we're doing and what is best for us and our world.  We can't live without it.  That's fairly straightforward as far as guiding principles are concerned.  How best can we live in accordance with the planet without harming ourselves or anything else?  Too often I think we we look at it through the greedy goggles.
If you can start to bring all of these ideas together and try to incorporate them into your life every day--let them be your conscience--then maybe we'll get it.
Whew.  Lotta stuff to consider with this chapter.  Applying the tenets is never easy.  One thing I love about Wicca--I really don't have any major arguments against these ideas.  I don't see how I could.  Solitary Wicca doesn't tell me I have to believe in everything.  I'm honestly not really sure about the whole reincarnation thing.  I think it's completely possible that this is all there is.  Therefore, I should harm none and love this life as much as possible.

If Nancy Drew and Thoreau Had a Baby What Would Happen?

Have you ever been startled by how wondrous the full moonlight is while walking or driving home from some mundane activity like grocery shopping?

Have you ever watched a thunderstorm with awe over the force of nature?

Have you been walking through the woods on a summer day and come across a grove of trees bathed in the light and felt your breath catch?

Ever watched an infant hold an object he or she hadn’t seen before and try to make sense of it?

Congratulations. You’ve experienced a Wiccan mystery.

Now, can you appreciate these wonders without subscribing to paganism?  Sure—what you call it is up to you.  For me, it is the most explicit expression of the Goddess and the God I know. 

I have read articles and books on the Wiccan mysteries and the only way I can define it for myself is to get out and live among it.  Allow it to surround me and live in me.  Be open to it when it presents itself.

Cunningham writes:

Don’t just watch these things, experience them.  Feel them.  Then you’ll have begun to draw the Wiccan mysteries closer to you.  You’ll have the rare opportunity to fleetingly draw back the veil we’ve thrown over our world and see the face of the Goddess.

How fantastic is that?  To simply observe and feel the love and peace move through you in that sliver of a moment?  To shrug off everything else and experience the infinite in a tear drop.  To find a stillness and allow yourself to be moved by the common.  To feel such utter hope and love that you cry for reasons you don't fully comprehend.  To be captured by the beauty and the calm of the ordinary. 

Mystery indeed.

This Religion Is Just Right or Goldilox Makes Up Her Mind

Think of this idea of initiation like baptism/confirmation or speaking vows during a wedding.  Essentially an initiation is dedicating yourself to Wicca.  In covens, it’s a big dang deal.  For solitary folks, initiation is a little more subdued maybe, but still a big dang deal.   Whichever way you cut it though, initiation makes it sound like some sort of gang rite of passage to me.  Dedication has a better connotation, but personal word choice aside, Cunningham does an excellent job outlining the purpose and procedure for the rite.  He also addresses points of criticism from other Wiccans who don’t agree with his point that a solitary can self-initiate. 

                Why do one at all you ask?—well because it is a public pronouncement that you are accepting this path and committing yourself to follow its tenets.  For a solitary, it can be a deeply personal act.  Part of why I like this path is because there is not a middle man.  No priest to absolve me, no minister to oversee my progress, no high priestess to bless me—it’s all on my shoulders and between me and whatever deity I choose to address myself to.  I love that aspect.  It is a far more intimate relationship this way.  That’s not to say I never feel the need to talk with other pagans.  Far from it!  However, I do feel that when it comes to ritual or initiation, it is a deeply personal act.  If I don’t feel the need to share it with anyone—why should I?  If I don’t feel it is necessary at all, why should I submit to it?  If the answer is because “that’s just the way it’s done,” tough!  Does an initiation ritual give you an anniversary date?  Sure.  Does it give you a new outlook on the path?  Yup.  Does it feel good to symbolically shed the old self and start anew?  Absolutely!  I like what Cunningham says about how an initiation is not necessarily something someone does to another person and that it can happen spontaneously within ritual too.

                I did a whole week’s worth of preparation years ago.  Another author I was reading, Fiona Horne, included a chapter in one of her books about 7 Days to a Magical New You or something like that.  So over holiday break from work I did the recommended activities and rituals.  It was cleansing and specific and rejuvenating to participate in a week long dedication.  I think I gained more during that self-reflection and repeated ritual performance than I would have from having a high whoever say something over my head while waving a wand or a sword.  That’s not to say everyone will respond that way, but rather just because it is different and solitary doesn’t make it wrong. 

                Cunningham’s advice to practice and gain experience in ritual work is beneficial.  I think this because the more adept you are at the mechanics ahead of time, the easier the actual dedication will be.  You will be freer to concentrate on your purpose than on whether or not you called the quarters in the right order.  I believe that practice makes perfect!  Experience also affords you to the chance to build your psychic ability to connect to the energies you are seeking.  For example—it takes a lot of practice to meditate effectively.  To calm your mind and get in the right place mentally so you can form that circle and visualize your objective or send energy out of yourself takes practice!  Lastly, spending the time to prepare also allows you to determine if you really feel “right” in the commitment.  This element was missing when I participated in a dedication ceremony at a Methodist church.  I loved the people I met at that church and I loved singing in the choir and I thought at that time Methodist was the best fit for me after realizing Catholicism wasn’t.  However, I didn’t really put enough thought into it.  I allowed myself to be pushed through the process again just like I had before.  Once I really began reflecting on what all Methodism had to offer, I realized that it wasn’t the right fit yet.

It's my name and I'm keeping it

There's a chapter on magical names.  A lot of Wiccans adopt a magical name.  Cunningham states that if you want to adhere as closely as possible to mainstream Wicca, then you should take one for a test drive.
Hmmm, I've considered it.  I even tried it.  I adopted a different confirmation name when I was 16.  My aunt adopted another name when she took holy orders.  It's not a policy with which I am unfamiliar and Catholics do it too which means other religions probably do as well.
However, when I was 16 I thought it was weird but I did it because that's what good Catholic girls do when being confirmed.  Consequently I took Francis for St. Francis of Assisi which was not a huge stretch because Francine is my middle name.  I took Francis because it was close to my name and because he's the guy who loves animals.  Did it change how I went through confirmation?  Not remotely.  In fact I got annoyed with it.  I got even more annoyed at some of confirmante who took ridiculous and antiquated names because of the humor factor.  I really didn't get the point.
When I got married same issue.  Why should I change my name because I'm getting married?  I really didn't see the point other than tradition.  Therefore why change it now?  Cunningham would say to be true to conventional Wicca--sorry!  I'm solitary so I already violated that notion.  He'd also say some feel that it makes them more powerful and connected to their magical selves.  I'm sure that's true.  So I gave it whirl.
It still struck as unnecessary and ridiculous.  There's something a little pretentious about adopting Morganne for example.  Really?  That's the name or variation thereof for a rather nasty mythical woman. Sorry, but no thanks.  There's also something rather in-the-basement-rolling-20-sided-dice-in-a-cape-eating-Fritos-slurping-soda-while-playing-D&D about it.  Again--this isn't a fantasy game, it's my spiritual path.  Not playtime.  But I tried it.  It didn't stick.  Shocker I know. I am who I am and if I can't connect to the energy of nature as I am--name and all--then what's the point?  

Day 3 Can I throw a sickie and still be Wickie?

Today's chapter is all about whether or not you are effective in ritual when you're under the weather.  The first time I read this book I thought, "Are you kidding me?  They need a chapter on that?  Gimme a break."  Of course, my mom rarely ever accepted that as an excuse not to go to church on Sundays, but I now know after a few years of practice that I've felt too sick to develop an energetic circle sometimes let alone put any oompff into a spell.  It makes sense right?  You have to prepare yourself physically, psychically and emotionally and it's exhausting sometimes especially if you have any kind of fatigue issues. 
I think Cunningham offers valuable common sense advice on this issue.  You have to know your body very well to do this kind of spiritual expression.  You can't spend what you don't have.  There are other ways to still express your pagan beliefs other than big ritual.  Healing prayer is sometimes quite grounding.  Meditating is very helpful for anxiousness and the brain that won't stop.  One lovely thing about this path is that it is highly individual and you guide it.  Do what you can and accept when you need healing too.
That connection to the spiritual boost in a solid circle is something I've been noticing lacking lately. When it's there, it is exhausting but it also makes me feel like I have a little say in the Universe.  That's envigorating.  Anyway,  I have been feeling physically well for quite a while...ok so I was before Christmas...been back on proper eating plan since Jan. 1 and feeling better...but I've been waning on the psychic link thing.  My dreams are kind of stunted right now, which bothers me.  I'm not remembering my dreams and that's not a good sign.  It's disupting my mojo!  Consequently I'm feeling off.  I recognize my body and mind are not balanced.  I'm working on it and I know that until I do, I shouldn't be throwing anything at the Universe because it's not focused.  I really don't want to put more muck out there.  I've done enough of that.  I found it quite liberating not to have guilt over missing ritual.  I always remember pagan events in some way.  It might not be full on circle action, but I'm still mindful of dates and moon phases etc.  The great thing about being solitary--I can give myself permission to celebrate in whatever fashion I want as long as I harm none.  Poof!  There's a big idea.