Ink Blot

So last Sunday, Jan 5. was week one of the kids program at the wonderful Nature Church. It ended up being more daycare-like, and that’s kinda what we expected. 4 boys, all age 4 and younger, including mine. We’ll see how this progresses. Watching the wee ones is good, it allows parents a good break. I have a few more folks I want to invite who have come before with their kids.

I had a wonderful help in T, the daughter of one of the memebers. She’s GREAT with kids. Having 2 grownups there was nice, so someone could run the older wee ones to the potty.

The goal was to make a banner, but we just ended up coloring and playing around.  New goal for next time starting and ending with a prayer/song. Getting some kind of routine would be nice, even if its in 30 second doses.  I also want to make a couple of posters/charts… calendar like. Maybe a moon phase thing and a wheel of the year dial? Oh, and the banner.

The other thing  I want to ask around for is what the older kids (teens) need. I have my helper, plus there was anthoer girl there who was about 15… They are certianly old enough for service , but would a youth group type thing be useful? I don’t know how recpetive highschools are to pagan kids around here, bu it might be useful to them.  So many ideas…

My goals as a parent:

To raise my kids as conscience, caring people.

To instill in them a sense of the universe and how it is greater than themselves.

To let them be free to make their own choices and their own mistakes.

There’s more here, there has to be. But that’s a start.

So… I had to go to the doctor today. Joy. (not). This was a new doctor for me, and as such, I had the requisite 9 million pages of medical history and insurance information to fill out. On the top of the medical history form, they asked my religion. Apparently I was feeling brave and so I put Pagan. Typically, I’ll say None, or Other.

The first thing this doctor said was upon walking in the exam room was: What’s Pagan?

Zuh??

So, I proceeded to trip over myself to explain Paganism to him. I think I assumed that he knew it wasn’t Satanism. Or Idolatry, or something made exclusively for Hollywood.  He didn’t know that - and then there was much back pedaling.

So, For Doctor Prin, since I am sure I forgot stuff:

Pratciners of Wicca are called Witches. Even the boys.

I am not Wiccan, I am Pagan.

Pagan is to Wicca what Christianity is to Catholicism

I belong to a church in York that is mostly Pagan.

Druids, Wiccans, Cerimonal Magicians and a whole lot of others typically fall into the Pagan umbrella.

I am not personally a big follower of a specific pantheon, but there are those who worship the Ancient Greek, Roman, Hindu, Egyptian pantheons, among others. Yes, seriously.

Yes, I do believe in God…and the Goddess (the look on his face was PRICELESS)

No we do not sacrifice babies…or anything else.

Yes, sometimes we wear costumes, but then, so do priests and the pope.

Wanna know more? Read anything by Scott Cunningham.  He’s a good white-lighter.

** Yeah, I know this is a week late.

I know almost NOTHING about Judaism. I know from my 10th grade religion teacher (taught by Mr. Heilskamp) that Yom Kippur translates roughly as ‘Day of Atonement’. No idea what that really means for followers of the religion.

So, today at Shakesville, one of their regualar posters put up something on Yom Kippur that really struck me.

Today is the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur. It is the most important and solemn day of the Jewish calendar: a time to amend behavior and seek forgiveness.

Every religion has just such a time; for example, Catholics and some other Christian denominations observe Lent and Muslims observe Ramadan, just to name a couple. But making amends is more than just a religious obligation; it is a reflection of something that is basically human, and taking one day, one month, or forty days is merely a symbolic of something we should be doing all the time.

…

You don’t have to be Jewish or Catholic or Quaker or Muslim or Hindi or Pastafarian to stop for a while, even if it’s only a moment, to realize that you and that which you believe in are not the center of the universe and that getting your way or winning the argument and hurting someone else in the process isn’t just something we shouldn’t do because God or the Flying Spaghetti Monster says so. We know through our human instinct that making amends for our flaws and hurts is the most human thing we do.

This feels like a gap in my own path that I have no similar sentiment. One of the very first things that turned me off of the Catholic Church was the idea of Penance. I’m ok with making things right by God, the proxy of the priest bothers me. I’m more ok (however painful it may be) about making things right with those you have hurt.

I’ve talked with my Deities and tried to find bridges that help me to walk better paths. Looking back on the past is always painful to me.  Maybe some method of atonement would help.

There aren’t many. After the Spoutwood Fairie Festival and FaerieCon, I’ve seen my share of fairy paraphernalia. The only real boy fairy art I have seen was found by Raven and is called Dusk by Shelia Wolk. There are always ambiguous baby fairies too, but that’s not the same. What if Bear or Bolt wants a fairy statue or poster or whatever?

How do you label yourself? What’s top on the list? Name. Stutter. Job title. Spiritual path.  Relationship status. Geography. Sexuality.  Dreams.

I still can’t (won’t) identify with my married name, perhaps since Q identifies with it SOOO very strongly. My first name is all mine, you can’t have it.

I speak with a stutter, which I am afraid of. Means I don’t speak when I should. I don’t speak when I want to. Blog don’t require speaking.

I tend to hold a lot of value in my own job title. I am a career girl, and I need to keep it that way. Not that I know what I want to be when I grow up. That would be too easy.

I am Pagan both because it is a consice word for what otherwise is very longwinded explaination, and also because the original meaning of the word is Not Christian. Which matters to me. Sorry, Q & J.

I am a mother of 2, which some days still surprises me. I love my kids more than words express. We’ll leave it at that.

I am an Oregonian. I can live elsewhere for the rest of my days, and I will always be an Oregonian. The rain water has seeped into my soul.

I am bisexual. Duh. And apparently, more butch that I thought.

I WILL own my own business someday. Making something useful.

I’ve been trying to determine the significance of Mabon / Equinox to me from a spiritual perspective. At the moment, the closest I can get is Thanksgiving, plus this sense of bittersweet celebration. It’s a harvest festival, so YAY, but it’s also about to get frakking cold. *Shiver*

I have a hard time relating to the archetypal Oak and Holly Kings, or the Lord and Lady and their revolutions:

The Holly King now has overtaken the Oak King.

The Lord’s power wanes, he will die by Samhain.

I don’t get why that maters.

I’ll take Persephone and Demeter and Hades, plus pomegranate juice is yummy.

I grew up with a meal mantra, not so much a blessing, that I can still repeat in my sleep. I don’t use that one anymore, and I’ve been feeling that I should be using SOMETHING with the kids. Not that I’m great at cooking to start with. Here are a bunch I found that are happily Pagan.

May We Appreciate and Remember – Buddist

Today may we appreciate this food and remember those who are hungry.
May we appreciate our family and friends and remember those who are alone.
May we appreciate our health and remember those who are sick.
May we appreciate the freedoms we have and remember those who suffer injustice and tyranny.
Peace on earth.

Divine Energy – Pagan

From forest and stream, from mountain and fields, from the fertile Earth’s nourishing yields, I now partake of the Divine Energy; may it lend me health, strength, and love.

Elemental – Wiccan

Blessed be the Earth for giving birth to this food
Blessed be the Sun for nourishing it
Blessed be the Wind for carrying its seed
Blessed be the Rain for quenching its thirst.

Blessed be the hands that helped to grow this food,
To bring it to our tables
To nourish our minds, bodies, and spirits.

Blessed be our friends, our families, and our loved ones.
Blessed Be.

Goddess – Wiccan

Goddess, bless this food you have given me
Let it be filled with your divine energy
So that I will be healthy
And live a long and happy life.
Goddess bless! Blessed be!

Cerridwen – Celtic

O Lady of the Harvest, bounteous Cerridwen,
For the meat and bread that sustain us,
And the wine that brings us joy,
We thank you and promise you,
That we will never use the strength derived from your gifts,
To willfully harm your creatures or violate your laws.

Mother Earth – Generic (vegan)

For the golden corn and the apple on the tree,
For the golden butter and the honey from the bees,
For the fruits and nuts and berries we gather on our way,
We praise the loving Mother Earth and thank Her everyday.

Lord and Lady – Wiccan

Lord and Lady, watch over us,
and bless us as we eat.
Bless this food, this bounty of earth,
we thank you, so mote it be.

A Prayer to the Earth – Pagan

Corn and grain, meat and milk,
upon my table before me.
Gifts of life, bringing sustenance and strength,
I am grateful for all I have.

The Hunt – Norse/Celtic

Hail! Hail! The hunt has ended,
and meat is on the table!
We honor the deer who feeds us tonight,
may his spirit live within us!

Invitation to the Gods – Pagan

I set a place at my table for the gods,
and ask them to join me here tonight.
My home is always open to you,
and my heart is open as well.

Offerings – Greco/Roman

In ancient Rome, it was common to leave a bit of your food on the altar for your household deities. If you would like to do this at your meal, you could use the following prayer:

This meal is the work of many hands,
and I offer you a share.
Holy ones, accept my gift,
and upon my hearth, leave your blessings.

Great Spirit – Pagan/Native American?

We thank you for the gift of this food.
We send blessings of peace, love, and release to all whose bodies energies brought us this nourishment. We honor you in our enjoyment and utilization of this meal.
May it bring us health and joy, reminding us of our interconnections with all that is.
As we receive, so do we give thanks for this gift.

With young children, it is best to keep prayers short, simple, and to the point as below.
Thank you, Great Spirit
Thank you, chicken and peas and milk (or other food items)
Thank you, Mother Earth
We love this food.

Buddhist Blessing for Food

Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space
combine to make this food.
Numberless beings gave their lives
and labors that we may eat.
May we be nourished
that we may nourish life.

Beltane is my second favorite holiday. After Halloween, of course. There is a great Fire that fuels the Earth. I mean this both literally (ahem, SUN!) and figuratively. The heat that had been building since Candlemas is the most within our reach, you can almost touch it with out being burned to smithereens. Leap the fire if you dare. 

So it’s a common scenario: someone is ill, or is hurt or is generally not their usual selves.  And they or someone close to them is asking for prayer and/or enegry and/or thoughts. My question is: Is there a difference? You send intent out into the universe. Is God™ or any other deity acting as a focal point? A magnifing lense? Is sending prayers/energy/thoughts to a deity any better or worse than sending prayer/enegry/thoughts to the person directly?

It’s a matter of skills. If God acts as a focal point, great! If you send directly to the person, great! It is indeed the thought itself that counts. It doesn’t particularly matter what we call it. You send prayers, I send enegry… the intent is the same. The semantics make us feel better, but at the core, it’s irrelevant.