Each breath is the wind of potential. This potential is born, however, from death. In each moment decisions are made that decide the manifestation of the 'I' as it relates to our life. Instantly the individual is born unto the momentary realization of all from the previous; each instant is the birth of the last. The freedom of the Witch dictates that it is our ability to shape ourselves in each moment, with it though some things must be culled.
In life much is accumulated about oneself; many things. Some are useful tools but not all. There is much that is sickly, dying, and will only burden during the harsh times in which come, and as the Wheel turns Winter and Night shall arrive in due course. These aspects that have been allowed room in our lives against our own well-being need to laid out and purposefully taken to slaughter. The precision of the butcher is not about hacking away but skillfully transforming these sacrifices into a harvest that will sustain us during the perils of the death-inward journey. This is the Craft of the Witch. The Witch seeks that place of inward illumination, but to arrive there to receive the harvest our own herd of 'I' must be culled of the sickly, dying, and wolves in sheep's clothing.
Deciding which parts get to live on into the birth of the new and which are placed into the tomb in order for this transformation to occur is not an easy task. The Witch in the journey must be willing to be the alchemist that methodically separates and distills the substance of being to see what essence it is made from. Many choose not to look at what quality of substance their life is made from. The choice to descend on such a journey is determined by those that do embark to be worth more than any offers to the contrary that arise when the decision must be made.
The work of the Witch is largely about sacrifice. The specific sacrifice in which I am referring is two-fold, note however that that are many sacrifices not listed. It is the sacrifice that is made in order to make time for the work and it the sacrifice of all those parts of life in which the work will require be made in order to pass through unto the next trial. In short, the Witch chooses to place themselves upon the altar of truth as a sacrifice to themselves.
When all that remains is the core spark of divinity then no more illusions exist. It sounds like a linear path, but as I mentioned in yesterday's blog, it is not. Be that person now, not in some distant future. Choose to be the outward and conscious reflection of that inner divinity, and be so in the here and the now, and cull any part not in peace therewith. To do so, the individual must make the journey to that altar and be prepared to do the work to craft themselves, and be prepared to die many times in the process.
Boidh Se!
-SM
"Lost in a thicker bare-foot upon a thorned path."
Exploring and sharing the crossroads of life in the context of Contemporary Pagan Witchcraft...
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
The Nature of Faith
Walking down the spiritual path is not a linear process, though the general conception is that it is. This, I feel, is a roll over from the dominant religions in the West. Truly they have had a great influence on Western thought, and therefore Contemporary Paganism as well. In Christianity, the individual is born, lives life, dies, and goes either to heaven or hell* for an immeasurable existence therefrom. Well, to be frank this is not how Witches interact with life and death. The basic tenet of reincarnation, regardless of the interpretation of the nature of such, is the idea of a continuous cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Which is one of the foundational mysteries within the greater Western Mystery Tradition. As a reflection of this, our path is cyclic; a circle.
The path of the Witch is simultaneously the circumference of the circle and the singular axis in the middle. On the surface this makes no sense. How can it be both at once? First off, people are not so simple in form so as not to be able to exist metaphorically in more than one place. After all, we do it all the time. Just look at me now, I am all over the place. If truth be told, all places. But I digress. The individual is the circle itself. Time is perceived in a linear fashion, usually anyway, and so Talking Self has no problem saying what happened before what and draw conclusions as to what might happen next. Talking Self is but part of the picture though. The past has been fated the instance it stops being the now of all in which our Self is currently focused. Likewise, any potential future has yet to be spun until it is being experienced. There is only the now, the singular moment that is the entirety of the circle. The center and the circumference reflect one another.
The pitfall that exists when people think of their path as linear is that far too often some nonexistent perceived potential goal becomes the focus. Sometimes the opposite is true, whereby what has been fated is the sole focus. If this is you: Stop it! Instead, I argue that the journey is the focus, and by journey I mean specifically the Now as is being experienced slash shaped by our actions slash inaction. Doing this puts a lot of trust into place and dare I say it-faith.
When I use the word faith though, I do not use it to mean some blind trust subscribed to the path, the Gods, or any religion slash institution. Nope, none of that. Our faith is informed by experience. As such, maybe faith isn't the best word, but it is what I am going with. The object in which Witches place their faith into is their own hearts.
One of the first processes of Contemporary Pagan Witchcraft is to learn the heart of the Self. If the heart is the guide, no step, none, can be placed out of place. Simply because each step is intrinsically informed by the spirit of the heart. So it is all about faith, faith in our own ability to know that we can seek and live in accordance with our own heart. It is not about trust in the path, nor trust in the goal. The path may be the map of the spiritual but the heart is the compass.
Place a crown of spiritual authority upon the heart and let it illuminate the path.
Boidh Se!
-SM
"Lost in a thicket bare-foot upon a thorned path."
*At least this is the generally accepted idea of post this-life that abounds within Christian theology as I understand it.
The path of the Witch is simultaneously the circumference of the circle and the singular axis in the middle. On the surface this makes no sense. How can it be both at once? First off, people are not so simple in form so as not to be able to exist metaphorically in more than one place. After all, we do it all the time. Just look at me now, I am all over the place. If truth be told, all places. But I digress. The individual is the circle itself. Time is perceived in a linear fashion, usually anyway, and so Talking Self has no problem saying what happened before what and draw conclusions as to what might happen next. Talking Self is but part of the picture though. The past has been fated the instance it stops being the now of all in which our Self is currently focused. Likewise, any potential future has yet to be spun until it is being experienced. There is only the now, the singular moment that is the entirety of the circle. The center and the circumference reflect one another.
The pitfall that exists when people think of their path as linear is that far too often some nonexistent perceived potential goal becomes the focus. Sometimes the opposite is true, whereby what has been fated is the sole focus. If this is you: Stop it! Instead, I argue that the journey is the focus, and by journey I mean specifically the Now as is being experienced slash shaped by our actions slash inaction. Doing this puts a lot of trust into place and dare I say it-faith.
When I use the word faith though, I do not use it to mean some blind trust subscribed to the path, the Gods, or any religion slash institution. Nope, none of that. Our faith is informed by experience. As such, maybe faith isn't the best word, but it is what I am going with. The object in which Witches place their faith into is their own hearts.
One of the first processes of Contemporary Pagan Witchcraft is to learn the heart of the Self. If the heart is the guide, no step, none, can be placed out of place. Simply because each step is intrinsically informed by the spirit of the heart. So it is all about faith, faith in our own ability to know that we can seek and live in accordance with our own heart. It is not about trust in the path, nor trust in the goal. The path may be the map of the spiritual but the heart is the compass.
Place a crown of spiritual authority upon the heart and let it illuminate the path.
Boidh Se!
-SM
"Lost in a thicket bare-foot upon a thorned path."
*At least this is the generally accepted idea of post this-life that abounds within Christian theology as I understand it.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Be the Source: Not the Illusion
It is easy to wrap ideas about oneself and life around the perspective of existence. It is much more difficult to recognize that there is an illusion in place but not know exactly what it is. There is a part of us that lurks within that spins forth these illusions aided by ego or whatever aspect it can to cast a veil between the Self and the believed to be known in regards to such.
There are practices though that are designed to allow truth, and by truth I mean the truth that transcends the individual, to pass through this filter of warped self-perception. This is much easier said than done. One such practice is meditation. Meditation that is practiced with a singular focus of the mind quiets out everything except that focal point. Silence reigns and the curtain in front of the projector falls, until the focus shifts in attempt to look at what is there. In an instance the illusion is back in place, it is not something that can be looked at directly. Instead the Self falls into the realm of the unseen and its presence, the feeling, the subconscious/Younger Self part of our pathway informs. This is especially difficult in a society that trains and engrains the opposite. In meditation, when the point of singularity shifts, return it and the Self will shine its light forth even if it can only be felt and not looked directly upon. Meditation is but one practice amongst many that is used by Traditional Craft to sit the I and the Self next to one another slowly dissolving the constructed division. In the moment to be rooted at the crossroads.
In all of the various practices there is a trapping of trying to gaze directly at the brilliance; which is only the natural inclination, to look at the source of the radiance. The trick is to tromp in another direction and allow us to realize that which lurks within is the same that was attempted to be viewed.
Boidh Se!
-SM
"Lost in a thicker bare-foot upon a thorned path."
There are practices though that are designed to allow truth, and by truth I mean the truth that transcends the individual, to pass through this filter of warped self-perception. This is much easier said than done. One such practice is meditation. Meditation that is practiced with a singular focus of the mind quiets out everything except that focal point. Silence reigns and the curtain in front of the projector falls, until the focus shifts in attempt to look at what is there. In an instance the illusion is back in place, it is not something that can be looked at directly. Instead the Self falls into the realm of the unseen and its presence, the feeling, the subconscious/Younger Self part of our pathway informs. This is especially difficult in a society that trains and engrains the opposite. In meditation, when the point of singularity shifts, return it and the Self will shine its light forth even if it can only be felt and not looked directly upon. Meditation is but one practice amongst many that is used by Traditional Craft to sit the I and the Self next to one another slowly dissolving the constructed division. In the moment to be rooted at the crossroads.
In all of the various practices there is a trapping of trying to gaze directly at the brilliance; which is only the natural inclination, to look at the source of the radiance. The trick is to tromp in another direction and allow us to realize that which lurks within is the same that was attempted to be viewed.
Boidh Se!
-SM
"Lost in a thicker bare-foot upon a thorned path."
Monday, February 25, 2013
Hidden Moon: Snow Moon: Willow moon: Full Moon
Every now and then, when the full moon comes around as it does, I like to lay out the various lore and influences upon the particular period and then figure out what is a good fit work wise in regards to Esbat. Whereas I am not going to reveal any plans I have for Esbat, silence is the word, I will lay out some of the lore surrounding this full moon.
Following the B-L-F calendar, as I do, tonight’s full moon begins the month of Saille which is associated with the willow tree. This month is about the psychic, the mind, dreams, visions, intuition, the moon, twilight, and water.
In other lore, this moon is named the Snow or Hunger Moon due to it being the time towards the end of winter when the food stores are getting low and the crops aren’t producing yet. Additionally, this is the time of year when the changing weather patterns bring lots of snow, or so they say. Think of this moon as the time just before the dawn, the sun is coming up but it has not broken the horizon just yet.
Currently the astrological sign is Virgo. It is an earth sign, which usually means that they like comfort, order, and routine. Specifically Virgos, are all about details. Feel free to google the tar out of Virgo. I will point out that Virgo is ruled by mercury, which is important at the moment.
Mercury and its influence on Virgo is particularly important at the moment because mercury is in retrograde. This basically means that anything that mercury has dealings with, communication, are going to be all wonky; i.e. a whole lot of miscommunication for a while.
This full moon also happens to fall on a Monday, which is the day of the week under the influence of the moon. This moon will be extra moon like. The moon is associated with the mind, the underworld, water, psychic stuff, mystery, the hidden, secrets, and dreams.
Anyone else noticing a clear pattern?
Let’s see if we can’t combine all of this into one long thought. This moon is heavy in the moon quality arena (falls on a Monday and within Saille). It is in Virgo and is about the details of earth qualities but will not be so good in areas of communication, so we should stick to more esoteric mystery type stuff… which just happens to be what the moon is all about. This moon, via its Snow Moon associations, is related to the lore attributed to just before dawn. This is the time dealing with pending birth, incubation, but also deep inner reflection and soul searching. Tonight would be a good time to delve inward and take a hard look at that part of use that keeps our own metaphorical winter at bay.
There ya’ have it; a full moon full of moon influence.
Boidh Se!
-SM
“Lost in a thicket bare-foot upon a thorned path.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Crafting the Sacred out of the Mundane
One of my earliest Craft lessons was that there is no difference between the spiritual and the mundane. Any division therein is a boundary that we place upon existence by our own subjective criteria. For many the division is a useful tool for identifying specific practices which will create the measure by which an individual’s “progress” is measured. This is especially true in regards to someone learning the path. After all, unless someone knows what to do and how to do it, it is quite difficult to practice said art. It, however, can encourage continued pluralistic thinking beyond the stage of initial usefulness. The eventual trick is to have the same spiritual mindset regardless of whether one is getting ready to ritual or pay the bills—to see the sacred in all things, in every moment; to make all of our acts an act of the craft, of devotion, and to do all of this with a focus upon the now.
Everything is sacred (and simultaneously not*). The experiential nature of the Craft will reveal this in due time. It will become a given truth as experience informs us. Additionally though, I have found it useful to randomly pick objects I encounter regularly and to mentally dissect the associated properties corresponding to it to see where it fits in my sacred schema.
Let’s look at a couple of examples; related examples. A pen is a wand of communication that can create, manage, and condemn all in a stroke or two. It can do so both logically and creatively. ~~~ A phone… an old school only-for-talking-on phone, it too is a tool of communication. It is a conduit of speech and air via very earthly metals. It is communication that reaches beyond the normal boundaries of our limits of speech. ~~~ Both of these are about communication but in very different ways. The potential and the symbol of are slightly different.
This intellectual picking apart speaks directly to Talking Self, the analytical and logical part of us. Now to look and see and feel the pen not just with words and discourse of logic but as a symbol of such. How does the pen appear to Younger Self? Pick it up. What does the thought of the pen invoke? Now run with those feelings and how they relate to the before mentioned idea of the pen. This thing, it is holy and we share many of these qualities, they are simply manifested in different manners. The pen is unique, special, and yet the same with shared essences with the rest of all.
As I have mentioned the craft is an art or science whereby the individual shapes the core of their being. To use an alchemical metaphor, they turn their inner lead into gold. This craft is not only applicable as a spiritual path. The rest of our actions, outside of any Trad praxis, are also tools unto us for which we may shape our life. Do not think for a second that cooking dinner, taking the trash out, driving the car, eating too much and passing out in front of the tv, etc, don’t have effect upon the weight/worth/quality of our inner essence. For they do. It is all about the how. Is cooking dinner a sacred experience for us? How about taking the trash out? If they are, then these become spiritual practices for crafting our Self.
There are two ways in which I personally merge the spiritual with mundane acts and vice versa. These of course are not the only ones. What I do is either make the act itself one of devotion or I immerse myself into the moment.
Cooking dinner can easily be either of these. In the preparation of the evening meal it can become an act of devotion by recognizing that this act is one that nurtures and sustains life. Also in cooking for another it becomes an offering unto their inner divine, much like saying the prayer "Namaste**" but via a plate of food. This is but one example. How can you make the other actions mentioned into one of devotion?
I try to immerse my focus of each moment into the reality of that moment. Each moment becomes a meditation whereby the sacred is able to shine through in its manifestation. The action and now become the gateway for the sacred. When on a run, think about running. When sweeping the floor, think about sweeping the floor. When sipping wine, think about sipping wine. This practice is called mindfulness. The trick is to ask yourself: What am I doing? Then when the answer is arrived at, try and experience that and the sacred within it.
I am deleting a sentence I didn’t like, and explaining that it didn’t feel right. This thought is a bridge to others and for a moment was the axis around which my own thoughts and reality revolved, it was the axis mundi. I do so as an act of devotion, for that is what the blog has transformed itself into.
Go and transform your own mundane into the sacred and allow it sit at the center of your day.
Boidh Se!
-SM
“Lost in a thicket bare-foot upon a thorned path.”
*Nothing is also sacred, but that is for another day.
**That which is sacred in me recongizes that which is sacred within thou.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Creating Our Center Three-Fold
As I have mentioned many times in the past, the heart is a vessel. It is a vessel in which we fill with what we desire to manifest itself into our lives. This center is the point from which we create our world around us and we do so in the image of what exists at this point. In essence this is what the three-fold law is all about.
I know, I know… but the common interpretation of the law of return is that everything we send out comes back three times as grandiose/horrid. Well… that is not the way I was taught it and it is not how I interact with the principal. The Three-fold Law is about physics of energy and our interaction with existence. It is not about ethics or a system of rewards and retribution. Simply put; (1) an individual acts, (2) those actions have effects upon existence, (3) existence in turn affects the individual in some part based upon those effects. At this point the ‘3’ part of the Three-fold should be a bit more clear; now to the ‘fold’ or multiplier portion. Any of those actions that an individual does takes place on one (or more) of three levels of beings, as well as the effects and affects therefrom; (1) mental/emotional, (2) physical, and (3) spiritual. The Three-fold is a statement that explains that as individuals our interactions with existence happens in roughly three phases and that each phase can take place on three levels, which is nine or three-fold.
The acts in which an individual partakes are based upon what lay at their center of being or heart. As individuals it is our own doing for what is place into that center. Think of the mind as the projector of our interpretation of existence, the heart in this would be the film/filter through which the light of the projector must pass. In this vessel are all hopes, dreams, values, and experiences; this is the filter through which life is seen.
The center is also the bridge between the profane and the sacred, it is the axis. This vessel is the potential that manifests based upon what is placed in it—what is given space to reside at the core of our being. The heart is the crossroads, it is the union, and it is the point of all.
The praxis makes room in our daily external lives via action and doing; it also determines that which will become the lens through which existence is known. By consciously engaging in the practices we are consciously taking actions so that our spiritual, mental/emotional, and physical acts both places our own divinity at the center and sends that same Will through action outwardly eventually reverberating in kind. In short, the Witch makes room both in their heart and their lives for that which they hold in worth, and they equally hold no quarter for that in which they desire no manifestation.
As the stewards and wardens of our own center it is vitally important to be discriminate of what is placed therein. For example, this is why I avoid drama. I don’t play and disengage. Quite frankly as far as I am concerned there is no room in my life for it and so I do not make a space in my heart vessel for it. The same would also apply to ethics. There is a direct relationship between one’s ethics and their actions. By acting in accordance with one’s own sense of ethics, those values are place in the house of the soul. I encourage all to consider consciously what is filling their center and life around them and then take steps to shape it; it is what Witches do.
Boidh Se!
-SM
“Lost in a thicket bare-foot upon a thorned path.”
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Witch Math II
I was reading a blog post by Polyphanes*, and via some conversation we were having in the comments, I had a fit of Witch Math... as happens. I thought I would share it here. Enjoy!
To the Witch Math...
Let's see, some numbers and random meanings that ran through my head (albeit not the only ones):
1=All
2=Polarity
3=Illumination
7=Center of the Sphere
8=Spokes of the wheel that reach from the circle center to circumference
9=Center of the circle
10=Physical and 01 (10 backwards...uhm, 1)
Filtered through the lens of the Witch (the lens being the maddening all interlinking thought process that magic brings on):
1=9=10 :
3=8 :
2=7 :
1~2~3=9~8~7
Or
All is the center of our existence as reflected from the dim of the mind and manifested into the physical : The chalice of understanding is the illumination of the form of the manifest :
The relationship between I and Other opens awareness through the experiential as the force of what-is : I am that and the knowledge thereof as reflected through the gateway of the mind into form from what I can know via the vehicle of the flesh and earthly presence.
I hope all that made sense.
Boidh Se!
-SM
"Lost in a thicket bare-foot upon a thorned path."
*http://digitalambler.wordpress.com
To the Witch Math...
Let's see, some numbers and random meanings that ran through my head (albeit not the only ones):
1=All
2=Polarity
3=Illumination
7=Center of the Sphere
8=Spokes of the wheel that reach from the circle center to circumference
9=Center of the circle
10=Physical and 01 (10 backwards...uhm, 1)
Filtered through the lens of the Witch (the lens being the maddening all interlinking thought process that magic brings on):
1=9=10 :
3=8 :
2=7 :
1~2~3=9~8~7
Or
All is the center of our existence as reflected from the dim of the mind and manifested into the physical : The chalice of understanding is the illumination of the form of the manifest :
The relationship between I and Other opens awareness through the experiential as the force of what-is : I am that and the knowledge thereof as reflected through the gateway of the mind into form from what I can know via the vehicle of the flesh and earthly presence.
I hope all that made sense.
Boidh Se!
-SM
"Lost in a thicket bare-foot upon a thorned path."
*http://digitalambler.wordpress.com
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Profane Sacredness: Sacred Profaneness
As our paradigm is one largely composed of orthopraxy there are at any given moment a vast array of theories relating to spirituality. This should be no surprise. Humanity is composed of the many, the legion, the multiple, and not the only. Sometimes these ideas are in conflict with one another and other times not. What I find important to my own ability to making critical decisions on the subject is to first be familiar with the variety of ideas and then to go out and allow experience of such to provide additional weight therein.
This morning I was thinking about the relationship between the sacred and the profane. From what I can tell there are two major points of view in this regards within Contemporary Paganism. On one hand there is the argument that everything is sacred, and on the other the argument that the sacred cannot exist without the profane. Let's scratch the top just a bit further and see what gold lay underneath.
In the latter dialogue there is the assertion that for there to be something sacred there must in turn be something against which to judge it as so. In short, there is the sacred and the not sacred. This 'other' is typically called the profane in religious circles. The logic can clearly be seen through a very quick comparison. Let us say the sacred is the color yellow. Why yellow? Cause the notepad on my desk is yellow and it was the first color, because of said notepad, that came to the fore of my mind. So... sacred equals yellow. If everything were in fact sacred, meaning yellow is the only color to exist, how would we be able to determine anything was in fact sacred (yellow)? There ya' go. There is the logic. If there is only one color than there is nothing to qualify it against.
The other ideology is slightly different. All is sacred... and all is profane. Both are true. It may seem like a logical impossibility that something can both be sacred and profane as the same time. What in fact makes either of these true at any given moment is the interaction of the Self with any such 'something' against anything else as a qualifier. For instance, my television is a very mundane thing that usually takes up a lot of space and sucks up time. In ordinary interaction it is profane. However; it is a marvelous symbol of communication and would directly relate into my cosmological worldview as associated with the eastern direction. It would take very little effort on my part for it to become an item of sacredness. Too farfetched? How about a knife? I use them every day to chop up vegetables and what not for dinner... and I use one every day to cut time and space in a ritual capacity. I even know that in some Craft circles the two are purposely interchanged. In this ideology the practice in part determines what is or is not sacred.
Oh look a third that is kind of them both but not. Why? Cause. The sacred no longer equals yellow but instead equals the abstraction and the manifestation of that abstraction of what is color. So anything that is a color is sacred on the archetypal level and anything that exists and has a color (or more) is a manifestation of that sacred and is sacred in of itself as a result, but as archetypes have no physicality besides the manifested item they must too be profane. Queue the endless circle of sacred and profane.
So all that seems like a whole lot of logical word play in which the argument can go on forever, right? Well, yes. That is the point. Kinda. What the Witch does is learn the manner of interaction with existence through their practice and then takes all these various different theological arguments and tries to make an informed decision for themselves based therefrom. If you ask me; they each hold truth.
All is sacred and nothing is sacred. The practice of the Craft tells us that both can and are true, simultaneously.
Thoughts?
Boidh Se!
-SM
"Lost in a thicket bare-foot upon a thorned path."
This morning I was thinking about the relationship between the sacred and the profane. From what I can tell there are two major points of view in this regards within Contemporary Paganism. On one hand there is the argument that everything is sacred, and on the other the argument that the sacred cannot exist without the profane. Let's scratch the top just a bit further and see what gold lay underneath.
In the latter dialogue there is the assertion that for there to be something sacred there must in turn be something against which to judge it as so. In short, there is the sacred and the not sacred. This 'other' is typically called the profane in religious circles. The logic can clearly be seen through a very quick comparison. Let us say the sacred is the color yellow. Why yellow? Cause the notepad on my desk is yellow and it was the first color, because of said notepad, that came to the fore of my mind. So... sacred equals yellow. If everything were in fact sacred, meaning yellow is the only color to exist, how would we be able to determine anything was in fact sacred (yellow)? There ya' go. There is the logic. If there is only one color than there is nothing to qualify it against.
The other ideology is slightly different. All is sacred... and all is profane. Both are true. It may seem like a logical impossibility that something can both be sacred and profane as the same time. What in fact makes either of these true at any given moment is the interaction of the Self with any such 'something' against anything else as a qualifier. For instance, my television is a very mundane thing that usually takes up a lot of space and sucks up time. In ordinary interaction it is profane. However; it is a marvelous symbol of communication and would directly relate into my cosmological worldview as associated with the eastern direction. It would take very little effort on my part for it to become an item of sacredness. Too farfetched? How about a knife? I use them every day to chop up vegetables and what not for dinner... and I use one every day to cut time and space in a ritual capacity. I even know that in some Craft circles the two are purposely interchanged. In this ideology the practice in part determines what is or is not sacred.
Oh look a third that is kind of them both but not. Why? Cause. The sacred no longer equals yellow but instead equals the abstraction and the manifestation of that abstraction of what is color. So anything that is a color is sacred on the archetypal level and anything that exists and has a color (or more) is a manifestation of that sacred and is sacred in of itself as a result, but as archetypes have no physicality besides the manifested item they must too be profane. Queue the endless circle of sacred and profane.
So all that seems like a whole lot of logical word play in which the argument can go on forever, right? Well, yes. That is the point. Kinda. What the Witch does is learn the manner of interaction with existence through their practice and then takes all these various different theological arguments and tries to make an informed decision for themselves based therefrom. If you ask me; they each hold truth.
All is sacred and nothing is sacred. The practice of the Craft tells us that both can and are true, simultaneously.
Thoughts?
Boidh Se!
-SM
"Lost in a thicket bare-foot upon a thorned path."
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Silence: The Traditional Response
I have made it no secret in the writing of this blog that I am a Traditionalist. It is something that has been on my mind lately. In the past decade the Traditional community has undergone a major shift. Once in the earlier days of the emergence of Contemporary Paganism, our doors were flooded with students and Seekers eager to know about the Craft. Then the rhetoric in the greater community changed and our ways began to be scrutinized and have judgment passed on them. Everyone seemed to join in the fun; everyone that is except for the Traditionalists.
Critical arguments against Traditional Craft have become by and large a major part of the popular rhetoric in the greater Contemporary Pagan community. These arguments continue to persist for several reasons. My mind has mulled all this over; all the reasons, all the jabs at us, and our response. Better yet I should say our lack of response. This I feel is a key point. Ever notice that the Traditional community just let's all the talk go on?
Now there may be a few individuals that fought and argued in back alley internet forums. Yahoo groups were really bad for this for a while. However; as a whole the Trad community just shut the door. The unified response has been simply not to respond. For many of the issues that come to light even now and sweep across the community in a flash are without an outward seen reaction.
The reason is simple, very very simple. It is not about secrets, it is not about being elitists, nor fundamentalists, nor unwilling to change, nor by trying to live in the past... none of that. Simply put, it is against our ways. Yep, I said it. It is against the tenets of our religion. At the core of our religion is the notion of the individual's path being their sole responsibility. We do not engage because it is not our place to tell someone about their path. Think Traditional Craft is crap? Have a million and one reasons why? Okay. We are fine with that. It is our path and we ask no one else to walk it. For that matter, we are happy you find worth in your path-truly we are.
I am going to add one thing. The Traditional community has had sixty years, give or take, to figure out our stance and how we work. In that time we have both stayed the same and have grown into something completely different. The past fifteen or so years have been especially transformative. The same catalysts in scholarship, Contemporary Pagan trends in thought, and issues have been placed on our plate that caused such change around us. I believe that the Traditional Craft community is stronger having been through such. Instead of reinventing the Craft we took the one we had and reinvented ourselves. After all, that is what one does with an arte. Just remember, there are reasons for silence.
I am a Traditionalist. This is my Craft; a Craft that begins and ends here. I keep and hold close, witnessing, creating, singing in silence the song of all existences.
Boidh Se!
-SM
"Lost in a thicket bare-foot upon a thorned path."
Critical arguments against Traditional Craft have become by and large a major part of the popular rhetoric in the greater Contemporary Pagan community. These arguments continue to persist for several reasons. My mind has mulled all this over; all the reasons, all the jabs at us, and our response. Better yet I should say our lack of response. This I feel is a key point. Ever notice that the Traditional community just let's all the talk go on?
Now there may be a few individuals that fought and argued in back alley internet forums. Yahoo groups were really bad for this for a while. However; as a whole the Trad community just shut the door. The unified response has been simply not to respond. For many of the issues that come to light even now and sweep across the community in a flash are without an outward seen reaction.
The reason is simple, very very simple. It is not about secrets, it is not about being elitists, nor fundamentalists, nor unwilling to change, nor by trying to live in the past... none of that. Simply put, it is against our ways. Yep, I said it. It is against the tenets of our religion. At the core of our religion is the notion of the individual's path being their sole responsibility. We do not engage because it is not our place to tell someone about their path. Think Traditional Craft is crap? Have a million and one reasons why? Okay. We are fine with that. It is our path and we ask no one else to walk it. For that matter, we are happy you find worth in your path-truly we are.
I am going to add one thing. The Traditional community has had sixty years, give or take, to figure out our stance and how we work. In that time we have both stayed the same and have grown into something completely different. The past fifteen or so years have been especially transformative. The same catalysts in scholarship, Contemporary Pagan trends in thought, and issues have been placed on our plate that caused such change around us. I believe that the Traditional Craft community is stronger having been through such. Instead of reinventing the Craft we took the one we had and reinvented ourselves. After all, that is what one does with an arte. Just remember, there are reasons for silence.
I am a Traditionalist. This is my Craft; a Craft that begins and ends here. I keep and hold close, witnessing, creating, singing in silence the song of all existences.
Boidh Se!
-SM
"Lost in a thicket bare-foot upon a thorned path."
Monday, February 11, 2013
Of the Pope and Pegs
This morning I heard that the Catholic Pope was planning to resign. For someone that is not in the least bit concerned with Catholic/Christiandom, I sure have occupied a lot of my thought this morning to his stepping down. I have to ask myself questions. Why do I care? What about this is bothering me? Why does it offend me?
I think my issue with it all comes down to magick. His resigning as Pope doesn't make sense magickally. Let me first off say that I reject Catholicism as a faith for me. It just isn't something on the menu. My hunger is satisfied at the table of our Lady and our Lord, and a small host of other Gods and Goddesses, their God isn't even in the building.
Let there be no argument that a whole lot of magick goes on in Catholicism. System upon system of magick that has existed for a very long time; and at the top of that magickal hierarchy is the Pope. Additionally, no Pope has ever resigned. It is a station for life. So essentially there is a complex Magickal Order with a long precedence which makes it part of their practice to have one individual always at the center of the egregore and that once put there, the Order has no manner of un-immersing the person. They cannot undo the magickal initiation that has taken place.
It all boils down to the simple fact that the Pope cannot be unmade, and I think that their egregore will only become further wonky by try to have two centers via raising yet another Pope. Yes, I am ignoring all the arguments made that there are already more than one Pope. I'll think about all that later.
So why do I care if the Catholic Church damages their Order and egregore by going against their own teachings? I don't. That which offends me has nothing to do with them at all, but for some strange reason the Pope resigning is the catalyst that bubbled my issue to the surface of the me-cauldron I have been stewing over here. Quite frankly it bothers me because I am insistently thinking about it.
Insistent thinking? What's that? So almost everyone has heard the old "trying to fit a square peg in a round hole" proverb. It is kinda like that, only accompanied by the refusal to allow the square peg be square and instead insist that it is and should be round. There is a part of me, and in all of us for that matter, that is insisting that the status quo (square peg) not only goes in the round hole but in fact fits. Why the Pope would be the catalyst that would have me have to reset my thinking is weird but I'll accept it?
It is something I have been working on recently. I insistently think a lot-A LOT. Recognizing it is step one. The fact that I have done so this morning in regards to the Pope is a minor example, exceedingly minor. Catching it though is a step forward. I have been catching it a lot more; the little things at first but more so as I have been practicing, the big things have started jumping out. Seeing these makes it easier to step back and actually see the square peg for what it is.
Remember when I said my center issue is magick? Well, learning to see things for what they are is a part of magick.
Boidh Se!
-Spanish Moss
"Lost in a thicket bare-foot upon a thorned path."
I think my issue with it all comes down to magick. His resigning as Pope doesn't make sense magickally. Let me first off say that I reject Catholicism as a faith for me. It just isn't something on the menu. My hunger is satisfied at the table of our Lady and our Lord, and a small host of other Gods and Goddesses, their God isn't even in the building.
Let there be no argument that a whole lot of magick goes on in Catholicism. System upon system of magick that has existed for a very long time; and at the top of that magickal hierarchy is the Pope. Additionally, no Pope has ever resigned. It is a station for life. So essentially there is a complex Magickal Order with a long precedence which makes it part of their practice to have one individual always at the center of the egregore and that once put there, the Order has no manner of un-immersing the person. They cannot undo the magickal initiation that has taken place.
It all boils down to the simple fact that the Pope cannot be unmade, and I think that their egregore will only become further wonky by try to have two centers via raising yet another Pope. Yes, I am ignoring all the arguments made that there are already more than one Pope. I'll think about all that later.
So why do I care if the Catholic Church damages their Order and egregore by going against their own teachings? I don't. That which offends me has nothing to do with them at all, but for some strange reason the Pope resigning is the catalyst that bubbled my issue to the surface of the me-cauldron I have been stewing over here. Quite frankly it bothers me because I am insistently thinking about it.
Insistent thinking? What's that? So almost everyone has heard the old "trying to fit a square peg in a round hole" proverb. It is kinda like that, only accompanied by the refusal to allow the square peg be square and instead insist that it is and should be round. There is a part of me, and in all of us for that matter, that is insisting that the status quo (square peg) not only goes in the round hole but in fact fits. Why the Pope would be the catalyst that would have me have to reset my thinking is weird but I'll accept it?
It is something I have been working on recently. I insistently think a lot-A LOT. Recognizing it is step one. The fact that I have done so this morning in regards to the Pope is a minor example, exceedingly minor. Catching it though is a step forward. I have been catching it a lot more; the little things at first but more so as I have been practicing, the big things have started jumping out. Seeing these makes it easier to step back and actually see the square peg for what it is.
Remember when I said my center issue is magick? Well, learning to see things for what they are is a part of magick.
Boidh Se!
-Spanish Moss
"Lost in a thicket bare-foot upon a thorned path."
Friday, February 1, 2013
Imbolg: Awaken the World Around You
Nuzzle safely into the bosom of existence with the confidence that reality is the way it is intended, everything functions as it should, nothing is beyond the natural. Life is hard at times, in many cases at a level that is almost irreconcilable with our own self-designated sensibilities of how we think things need to be. Let go. Take comfort and know all is within the parameters of correct. This does not mean that the urge and effort to make life better for all should be cast away. The lesson is to allow the reality of our existence to nurture us and not fight it.
At the center of all of existence and our own being is the spark of the spiritual that was born forth in the dark of night at the pinnacle of winter’s storm. Only by nurturing and tending this aspect of ourselves has it grown and will continue to grow. The aspect of our own divinity that has birthed and cared for this part of ourselves will as it grows fierce and brilliant shine unto the outward, the care taken here will begin to awaken the world in which we live as the nurturing mother’s milk continues to feed our every hunger. That which exists at our center thus fed is taken on in the earthly realms. So She returns from the Isle of the Underworld rejuvenated by the spark She holds close, nurturing the future Crowned King as She calls the sap in the outward world to rise, awaken the plants from their sleep, and blossom with the waters of life She provides and the heat and passion of His fire that breaks the hold of winter’s cold and icy grip.
Now in this moment, we nurture our hidden center and through discriminate care decide what the sum of our existence will be. We are the Babe, we are the Mother, we are the catalyst that awakens the greenwood, and we are the Sun without which existence would be a cold and icy realm devoid of growth.
Merry Imbolg! May you awaken the world around you with the brillance which has been nurtured through the dark night.
Boidh Se!
-Spanish Moss
“Lost in a thicket bare-foot upon a thorned path.”
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