News and Updates
| Healing Magic & Altars Posted by Randall [permanent link] |
Healing is something I have always been interested in and have never been any good at. These days I just say a prayer to Brighid, but I'd like to expand my horizons, as it were. I've decided I want to make an altar specifically for doing healing magic.
Do you have a dedicated space for healing work, or do you do that work at an all-purpose altar?
What kind of supplies do you use regularly in healing work?
If you're doing long-term magic for a specific person/ailment, how do you maintain the work?
Do you do ever ask deities to bless your workings?
| Liturgy: What role does it play in your practices? Posted 2012-01-22 by Randall [permanent link] |
What role does liturgy play in your practices?
Do you write your own rituals? Use stuff from books and websites? A combination of both?
How important is it for you to have a written liturgy? Do you prefer to do rituals unscripted and off-the-cuff?
Do you like having standardized portions of liturgy? For example, do you always use the same invocations or method of setting up your sacred space?
I'll throw in my own thoughts and feelings a bit later in the thread. This topic has percolated out of me based on a discussion I had with other folks in my Tradition last week.
| Imbolc Posted 2012-01-21 by Randall [permanent link] |
Just wondering how people are planning to celebrate Imbolc......and looking for ideas to "borrow".
For the first time, my family is inviting a couple of friends to join us on the Saturday before Imbolc. We'll bake soda bread and short-bread cookies, make crosses and brats, and then have a nice dinner of poundies and omelettes. If anyone wants me to, I'll talk about the Irish traditions and their connections to Brighid.
Privately, I'll put my brats out and also observe the "holiday from turning" from sundown on January 31 to sundown on February 1 and try to do some reading and meditating.
What are you doing (if you celebrate Imbolc)?
| Quitting Meditation Advice, Please Posted 2012-01-21 by Randall [permanent link] |
For the life of me, I just can't get into a meditative state again!. I should clarify that by saying I have only reached a meditative state once in my life and it was the beginning of my UPG. That's it though!
Since then I have tried everything I can think of to get myself into a meditative state, but it's just not happening. So I have decided that I am going to have to just stop trying altogether. Instead of meditating, I will just sit quietly and enjoy some quiet time, without forcing the issue. It's all I can do, at this point, without getting entirely too frustrated!
The issue at hand, to a degree, is that part of the Vedic tradition is meditation on a daily basis. While I am not completely dedicating myself totally to the Vedic tradition, I would still like to follow many of its tenets. Meditation was one of them and now I feel as though I am a quitter, but if I can't do it, I can't do it. See what I mean?
My questions to you are:
Did you ever have a hard time meditating?
Did it take you a long time to get the swing of it?
What do you do to get into a meditative state?
Should I quit meditating altogether or keep trying?
If I should keep trying, what should I do?
| Let's Define Pantheism! Posted 2012-01-16 by Randall [permanent link] |
Okay, so, I recently wrote an article on the bardic tradition of satire and the modern Pagan use of "deep play" in ritual as spiritual responses to the lack of transcendent/supernatural authority in the theological worldview of pantheism, drawing parallels between the incompetent king and the absent creator/god-figure.
I thought it was a pretty intriguing idea, even though I'm not actually a pantheist myself but a somewhat soft animistic polytheist type. But in typical fashion, many of the comments I'm getting on the article are overlooking the actual topic of the piece and instead focusing on whether or not they agree with my use of the word "pantheism." (Which kind of makes me want to go ::headdesk:: and "THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS." and so forth.)
So I thought I'd turn to the ever-awesome TC for some feedback. How do you all define pantheism?
When I was earning my degree in comparative religious studies and doing field work interviewing people in various religious communities, I used the term "pantheism" in a pretty straight forward way: the belief that God/Spirit is identical to the Universe, that there is no supernatural deity or transcendent reality but that the physical world itself is sacred. Naturally, this theological perspective entailed certain other beliefs, like for instance that there is no afterlife in which a transcendent "self" survives the physical death of the body.
I'd never heard that this was a controversial definition, though obviously there are going to be nuances in belief among individuals. I was really surprised when someone accused me of making "blanket statements" when I used the word pantheism in this way. The same way I would have been surprised if someone made that accusation about me defining polytheism as "belief in many gods." I thought that's just what the word meant!
It seems from the comments I'm getting that people are either eliding polytheism and pantheism, and/or treating pantheism as just another synonym for "nature reverence." Is that how most of you use it? Does anyone else use the word "pantheism" in the way I defined it above? Is this actually a controversial subject, or just another example of Pagan-PC-labeling gone mad? (Can we Pagans please have a conversation about something other than labels someday-maybe-plzkthnx?)
| Learning a Celtic Language Posted 2012-01-16 by Randall [permanent link] |
Who here is learning or speak a Celtic language? Do you think as a Celtic Pagan you should at least learn to speak some of a Celtic Language. I am in the process of learning Welsh, I find the language very beautiful, but also challenging.
| Faith and Silence Posted 2012-01-16 by Randall [permanent link] |
I've been talking with people a lot lately about my practice and how I go about it. However, someone recently mentioned that they keep quiet about whom they serve for good reason: in effect, in knowing the entity that you serve, they are more likely to be able to work bad magic with the aid of said patron. This really has gotten me thinking a lot lately about silence and faith.
Do you think it is wise to keep your faith/practices quiet?
Do you think it is wise to keep the names of your patron(s) quiet?
Why or why not?
| Futhark and Ogham? Posted 2012-01-13 by Randall [permanent link] |
Does anyone know of any good resources out there that draw connections between the Oghams and Futhark Runes?
To be more specific, something that looks at meanings and significances of the individual runes and "fews" and sees how their meanings compare or correlate. Basically I am looking to see what associations can be made to add another layer to the understanding of either set of characters, or if not applicable to an entire set of characters, than to individuals within the set.
It would be nice if the resources would be quasi-reputable, but I am not expecting to find anything like "proof that they are fundamentally the same thing," or that oghams are a "cipher" for the runes. I have come across those ideas. They sound interesting, but unlikely based on what I have seen do far. Nothing I have found on the internet so far gives me anything at all helpful.
| Religious Practice: How to maintain? Posted 2012-01-09 by Randall [permanent link] |
I've been studying paganism for nearly a year now and actively "believing" (for lack of a better word) for nearly as long. My current living situation makes it difficult and impractical to practice in any significant way but for quite some time I made do with small, simple things to help maintain a feeling of connectivity and, again for lack of a better word, reality of my beliefs. However, lately I've found it becoming difficult to keep it a real part of my life. More and more often I go for several days without giving thought to my deities.
I realize this is a fairly nebulous topic, but I would like some advice on how to make my beliefs and deities more a part of my daily life and to make it more present in my mind considering the fact that I'm currently unable to practice in a traditional sense (altars, candles, etc.). Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
[url=http://www.ecauldron.com/forum/showthread.php?2333-How-to-maintain]How to maintain?[/url]
| Just how common is "being cursed"? Posted 2012-01-08 by Randall [permanent link] |
Almost every author from every magickal book I've picked up, from Scott Cunningham to Silver Ravenwolf, has mentioned something along the lines of "dark magick" being something you very rarely come across, but that it is possible and though highly frowned upon, quite dangerous. And of course, I'm sure we all know plenty of protective spells, talismans, teas, crystals, potions, prayers, etc etc etc to keep all curses and negativity at bay.
With that said, of course I acknowledge negativity in the Universe, which can manifest anywhere from one's own personal thoughts, the "evil-eye", and yes, even negative thoughts from others. (I believe the term is called "astral attack"?)
But as far as "dark magick" is concerned...is it something that I need to be heavily defensive upon and on the alert for, like some Vigilant Witch of Divine Order? Or is it just simply something that needs to be acknowledge and dealt with according if I somehow un-miraculously find myself as the target of a "curse"? And are witches that actively participate, study, and use black magick as common as perceived? Surely not...but do share your thoughts.
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