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| Home > News Archive > Cauldron News Old: May 2005 | Search |
| Cauldron News Old: May 2005 |
| Empathy Amuck Posted Tuesday, May 31, 2005 by Randall |
I have to say that in some ways - in my life - empathy can be horrible. Ever since I was a young child, I have been aware of peoples "energy". My parents just explained it as I was an emotional child. But when I walked into a room, I picked up not so much on what people were thinking - but what they were feeling. And it wasn't all happy in my house. And at school. And on the bus. As I got older, I found myself seriously limiting myself as to the number of people I could handle being around. The more people, the harder for me to shield myself from their feelings. Especially around very emotional or angry people.
I formed my life around this. I have a very limited group of friends, in fact, I live with about the only people I am comfortable hanging out with, where I can let my shields down completely. But I have never gotten any good at "shielding" myself from other people's feelings or energy. I still have a very hard time dealing with all of the emotions from others assaulting me in public.
I don't want to be anti-social. I generally like being with people. However, I wish I could find a way to block out more of this so I could be more comfortable in public and in social situations. Is there anyone out here that can help me learn how to do this? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
| The Whore Goddess in Mythology Posted Tuesday, May 31, 2005 by Randall |
Most of my area is limited to the Greeks and my experience has been with one of the more non-sexual goddess (Hekate) and while I'm familiar with some of the mythologies that have a goddess seducing a human or another god, I'm pretty well limited to the Greeks.
What does your pantheon have in the way of a more sexually minded goddess? How comfortable (or uncomfortable) are you relating to them? Is the sexual side a well developed area that the deity is responsible for?
| Review: The Complete Book of Incense, Oils, and Brews Posted Monday, May 30, 2005 by Randall |
The Complete Book of Incense, Oils, and Brews is an extremely practical and useful book if one is interested in creating incense, bath salts, soaps, or other useful herbal items. Most especially those of us who walk some sort of ritual-based spiritual path. Scott Cunningham was a very talented individual and I will always be grateful for his generosity in leaving us so many excellent written works on magical topics. This book is broken into three parts and covers quite a lot of territory... so let's get started!
| Seichi Has an Article on WitchVox Posted Sunday, May 29, 2005 by Randall |
One of our regular members, Seichi, has an article on WitchVox this week: "Action Versus Motivation: Something Seems To Have Been Lost In Transit." Go read her article and then discuss it with the author in our message board.
| Faith or Life? Posted Friday, May 27, 2005 by Randall |
Does your life fit your faith, or do you fit your faith around your life? More specifically, would you/will you/did you choose a 'lifestyle' that accommodates your beliefs, or would you/will/did you you accommodate your beliefs to your 'lifestyle'?
I know a lot will say it is irrelevant, as 'faith' is portable and ones' job/So/fluffy whatever, is not. However, for many, natural areas and materials in abundance are a necessity. So, what say you?
| Divine Punishment? Posted Friday, May 27, 2005 by Randall |
Do you believe that the Gods punish us when we do wrong? If so, how is that punishment carried out? Is there a minimum level of badness one must reach before one gets punished? Have you ever personally felt like you were being punished by the Gods for something you did? (Not asking for details on that last one, unless you just want to give them; I recognize that the details might be a bit personal.)
| Keeping Loved Ones Safe? Posted Wednesday, May 25, 2005 by Randall |
My brother is in the Army and he is (unfortunately :@ ) going to go to Iraq (which I am extremely unhappy about but thats another story!) How does everyone here protect your loved ones? Do you keep a candle burning for them, or ask your Patron to keep them safe, or (in my case) a specific God/Goddess to do so? Is it a combination of the above? Or do you have some other ritual that you do?
I don't have a specific patron yet, but I was thinking of an offering to Athena as she is one I am most familiar with. But I don't want to do this without more info first.
So any suggestions would be very helpful. Or if there is someone who might be better to ask, let me know.
| Divisive 'Neo-Pagan' Concepts Posted Wednesday, May 25, 2005 by Randall |
I wanted to address something I see come up on pagan forums A LOT. I used the term 'neo-pagan' in the title deliberately. Perhaps because of the plethora of 'witch in a box' and 'the great big book of Pagan everything' types of literature out there, an homogenization of various paths has become a 'writ in stone' doctrine, IMO. This is a relatively recent phenomenon. Before all the publishers discovered 'bun-bucks', a person could garner their information from a diverse body of literature and hence get different perspectives. Now, it is made to appear as if there are definitive constructs that go with each path that must not vary : a shaman is a shaman is a shaman who follows the same ideas everywhere on earth and don't contradict me with facts! Witches wear black and do magic all the time (the Inquisition would be spoiled for choice if it were still about!). Oh, and witches are Wiccans, or is it, Wiccans are witches? And everyone is Celtic. Except the Northern Trads., who all wear fur, embrace their inner broadsword and drink mead at all hours. And we know everything about Druids, inspite of the fact that the only things we actually know come from Roman and Christianized Welsh writings. Etc.
What got me thinking about his was the thread on MMC ideas. For obvious reasons, these almost inevitably veer off into politcal fem. fests : 'MMC Hammer Time'. And yet, what is it? It's not a 'fact' - the moon has variations of cycles depending on your perspective -3, 4, 27 and one half in a month. It's not an 'actual' thing, it's a symbolic 'shorthand'. But one would think from reading various sources, that to disagree is to diss a goddess herself, or that the idea's of 'Maiden, Mother, Crone have some resonant reality that applies to all women and that 'pagan' women in particular must follow this. Many people have in fact, turned a descriptive phrase, sometimes with some religious history attached to it, into another 'neo-pagan TRUTH!'.
Well, it's not. It rates up there with the man or woman in the moon, IMO. A lovely description ,an idealized pictorial of a natural object. And yet it has become divisive.
As also has been pointed out, there is the 'neo-pagan' 'wheel of the year' 'ideal'. This one is VERY divisive. The idea of the 'wheel of the year' stems mostly from the U.K. The U.K. has a relative rarity: a Maritime Temperate climate which lends itself to four seasons. This usally occurs on the Western side of continents in the Temperate zone. Most of the Northern Hemisphere has a 'Continental' climate, which gives areas cold winters, hot summers with two quite short intervals between. And it can be easily followed that the further south you go, the more changes there will be until you hit the tropics. And yet people will wail and feel left out because they cannot celebrate all the festivals in the so-called 'Wheel of the Year' in the 'prescribed manner' because of inclement (or Southern Hemisphere or Tropical etc.) weather.
Why do we take our 'pattern' from the U.K. ? It would make more sense to buy (which I do) 'The Old Farmers Almanac' for North America (if that's where you are) to assess ones' 'seasons' and celebrate accordingly. No joke, the Farmers Almanac is one of the longest running periodocals of North American folk lore and agricultural beliefs, yet many would rather have frequenly mythologicaly and historically inaccurate British Belief system 'markers'.
Well, glossy book covers have it over paper covers, I guess.
Thing is, the 'Wheel of the year' celebrations are also loaded down with symbolism that has become inexorably intertwined with the 'homogenized' pagan path. One can hardly be giving thanks for the recent harvest if the harvest is long over and your standing in 3 feet of snow. You can, but brrrrrrr. And one is showing disrespect for the earth or deities or whatever if one doesn't. Or so the books would have one feel. And let's face it, the majority of people are urban. But what 'the books' won't encourage you to do is bake a pumpkin pie (with tinned pumpkin if you bloody well want!) in your warm city apartment and blow dancing around the bon-fire (which city permits are required for anyway). Or whatever way , at whatever time, you feel moved to throw a pagan paaarrrtayy!
So people feel like 'failed pagans'. BAH!
There are many other examples, but I don't want to tread on too many toes. After all, I AM a 'pagan heretic' and unsentimental to boot.
I keep hoping we have grown past these things. Have we?
| Do Gods Change? Posted Tuesday, May 24, 2005 by Randall |
I was out yesterday, and noticed a church billboard saying something about how man changes, but God doesn't. And so I was wondering -- do you think the gods change? Why or why not?
(Btw, by change I don't mean cycle, an MMC Goddess that just circles around but doesn't change from one cycle of Maiden to the next to the next isn't what I mean. That's a static cycle).
| Sex, Magick, and Religion? Posted Tuesday, May 24, 2005 by Randall |
Sex. Western culture, primarily, represses it. We're taught it's dirty, intensely private, secret, nasty, and a variety of interesting adjectives for it. We are taught throughout our childhood and young-adulthood that we have roles in sex, that there is a way sex happens, and that there is good sex and that there is bad sex. Not everyone gets the same lesson, a lot of people 'rebel' from these teachings, and a lot were never taught it. But it's still there in our society.
One of the very interesting concepts that I have yet to see really discussed in a good book is the link between BDSM (Bondage, Dominance, Sadism, Masochism) and magic or initiation. The concept that both sex and religion can be, from one perspective, about control. Occasionally you'll see someone suggest using sexual fluids or meunstral fluids in a spell - but it's nearly always followed or preceded with a 'I know you might find this gross'.
Why are we so afraid of this concept of exchange of power in our magical or religious paths? How do you use or consider sex in your path? What about sex that is considered, by some, to be less traditional? Do you feel there is a correlation between our inability to honestly talk about different kinds of sex and different kinds of spirituality? Do you think that the embarrassment some face over the concept of a fairly straightforward sexual rite such as Wicca's 'Great Rite' means that it is more difficult for us to discuss rites that may be considered off the beaten path?
In short - what do you think about Sex?
| Message Board Back Up Posted Monday, May 23, 2005 by Randall |
After being down for about 12 hours, our message board is back up. We apologize for the problem.
| Proactive With Your Faith? Posted Sunday, May 22, 2005 by Randall |
Are you proactive with your faith? I guess what I am asking is if you go out of your way to explain your faith to others IRL or online?
Do you encourage people you consider like-minded to explore your path with the hope that you'll get them to join?
I know most Pagans take a dim view of proselytizing, but do you think that is a GOOD thing? Why not try to bring others onto your path? Is the philosophy "If they are meant to, they will find it" or "Everyone must find their own path"?
The more mainstream religions got their numbers by conversion and then having their adherents raise their children in the faith. Why would it be wrong or strange for Pagan religions to do the same?
| Informed Consent? Posted Sunday, May 22, 2005 by Randall |
In our Dedication ritual, we have the (fairly standard line) of "The Goddess changes everything she touches, and everything she touches changes. Are you ready for those changes?" Other groups and traditions have similar things. Initiation rituals in many Wiccan or Wiccan-influenced paths include deliberate triggers for change, often with at least some specifics that weren't necessarily explicitly laid out as a choice in advance. Other paths do similar things.
Recently, one of our Dedicants, whose had lots of changes even before she actually started classes, was goodnaturedly griping at me that I hadn't quite made that clear enough in Seeker classes.
What I'd said was along the lines of "We're not just saying that stuff will change. Sometimes that change is unpredictable. We've had people make career changes, come out of the closet about sexuality, make significant changes to relationships or plans, or whatever else. Sometimes the changes are less obvious in physical/real world ways, but are significant shifts in how you think or function.
Before you ask to be considered as a Dedicant, we really encourage you to think about that, and what it might mean to you. People do often find that the changes are really great once they get to the other side, but it can be rocky getting there." (Similar stuff is also said in the interview everyone does, and then finally in ritual in a shorter form)
When I've talked to people about this (how do we give better warning labels), a friend pointed out that in some ways, the warning labels are their own mystery: people have to be open to hearing them before they make much impact. However, if they make certain sets of choices (such as Dedicating, and saying in ritual space that yes, they want to pursue this particular path), that can trigger change whether they've really thought about it or not.
How do we decide if someone's ready for that? How should people decide if another adult is ready for that? Should there be further warnings? How do you do those without revealing detailed specifics of other people's lives? How long is 'long enough for someone to seriously consider a commitment'? How do we decide someone is giving (reasonably) informed consent? If you were a Seeker in such a group, what would you want to see? How would you want to be treated?
| One Hundred Years From Now Posted Wednesday, May 18, 2005 by Randall |
In the year 2105 where do you think your religion will be? How do you think it will have changed?
| Spousal Participation? Posted Wednesday, May 18, 2005 by Randall |
For those of you who are married or partnered, do you practice your religion with your spouse? If you're of different religions, how involved are you in one another's practices and ceremonies? If you're of the same religion, do you practice together or not? Why (or why not)?
| Covens, Fellowships, Churches? Posted Tuesday, May 17, 2005 by Randall |
I was reading a couple of interesting articles in Pan Gia magazine that kind of hit a sensitive spot for me. One was on being part of or joining a pagan community or not. The other was groups growing into covens, fellowships, or churches.
Once again I had to ask myself why aren't there many Pagan churches out there? The article states that as always getting a group of pagans together is like herding cats (I thought the comment serious yet funny). It's true though, pagans seem to only get along only if there individuality is not threatened or heard.
I come from a family of pagans growing up, and found it tough to relate to other kids when it came to spiritual matters. I ended up becoming "born again" for 13 years for lack of having a spiritual community (yes speaking in tongues, spiritual warfare all the good stuff that comes with it). One thing I do miss is the fellowship. A group of people coming together and helping each other, doing things together, helping the community in one way or another. And there where many differences in the church as far as beliefs as well (that could be a whole other thread). Members came and went the churches ebbed and flowed; I even helped out with other churches functions as well.
So why can't pagans get it together for more that a month or two? One of the articles said that most of the local pagan community web sites were not updated and or did not respond to the author's emails.
This has always been a passion of mine for many years now and yet no one has the answers, except to give an opinion on how bad other pagan groups are doing. We as pagans are growing too fast in numbers to remain totally solitary (mind you, I am practicing solitary), and covens that remain small will not cut it.
Give me your thoughts on this, read that article if you can get your hands on it, I would like to discuss them more with you guys.
| What Are The Limits To Magic? Posted Sunday, May 15, 2005 by Randall |
We've all seen in the media or read in books about amazing spells that could take out entire towns, summons forces the likes no mortal has ever seen, or a magician with near deity powers. They make for awesome reading but obviously that's fiction at it's finest.
But it has made me wonder what are the limits to magical power, spells, and curses?
At one point, if you had told a human that he could talk to someone half the world over from the convenience of his living room, he might have laughed. Or said that travel outside of this world was possible and might one day be commonplace you might have find yourself committed and under treatment.
So like physical technology, could magic one day aspire to fantasies of J.K. Rowling and other such fantasy writers? Or is magic something else entirely?
I've heard it described as force of will. So does that imply that magic is limited only by the will of the wielder or the physical limitation of the wielder. So theoretically, the skies can be the limits and one day we could become thunderbolt tossing, meteor summoning demigods if we have the strength of will to do it?
| Don't Tread On Me (But I'll Step All Over You) Posted Friday, May 13, 2005 by Randall |
What is it about people that they must scream and yell when people (or so they claim) attempt to define their religion (even if these 'people' aren't.) What is it about peopel that demands that they constantly say things like "Wicca is whatever you feel it to be" and deny that there could be definitions/requirements/basics for these religions?
What then causes these people to think it's OK to turn around and attempt to define everyone else's religion (with a grossly incorrect definition might I add)?
I'm reading Starhawk's "Dreaming the Darkness" and while it is a very interesting book there are parts where I just want to throw it. "Don't chain me down with definitions" she all but screams. "Wicca is what I feel it is, it is fluid and has no laws" she shouts. And THEN she freaking turns around and not 10 pages or so later proudly states that all pagans are actually believing in and worshipping the same gods. "Oh all the gods are as one, One part of a whole, not seperate, ad nausceum."
Christ on a pogo stick. It's the same elsewhere. Someone actually tried to tell me that Christianity is not one religion but rather is more fragmented then Paganism, and then they try to turn around and claim that Paganism is a cohesive religion that shares base tenents and is all one big happy religion(!)
What is with the desparity between the two? Why do you think that pagans are so afraid of others defining them but so ready to define others?
| Evil vs. Human Nature Posted Friday, May 13, 2005 by Randall |
A certain post got me thinking about "evil" and all that it entails. Murder is evil. Promiscuity (in many mainstream cultures) is evil, and character is now based on our society's dependance on political correctness and saving face above integrity and candid wisdom. In our goal to reach a utopia that defies human nature (and years of evolution) we not only set these guidelines, but we also set loopholes to avoid seeming "hypocritical" in what is deemed "evil" or "just".
Murder is wrong, but murder to stop terrorists is justifiable. Promiscuity is wrong, but sex sells and Desperate Housewives has top rankings among liberal and conservative women alike. Since the rules "bend", could one say that evil does not truly exist? That it is merely the urges of man in our most animilistic and primitve form? The desire to claim land, to conquer, to engage in copious intercourse, and to maim are found in nature as well, so are we are trying to supress these instincts? And could religion be the prime vessel utilized to achieve this goal?
| Familiars? Posted Wednesday, May 11, 2005 by Randall |
I am trying to collect information regarding creating a "familiar", or animal bonds in general. This is, currently, for research purposes as opposed to practical. Folklore and mythological sources are welcome as well. Thank you, in advance, to anyone with the time to help out. I appreciate it.
| Make Your Own Religion? Posted Wednesday, May 11, 2005 by Randall |
Is there anyone out there who completely 'made up' their god/desses or religion system? That is, instead of using one of the ancient pantheons or religions, made up there own? After all, religions were all new at one point. I think its belief in a deity/religous path that makes it work, not age. If so, did you just think it up, or did you get a vision, or what?
| Celtic Symbols Posted Wednesday, May 11, 2005 by Randall |
Christians have the Cross, Asatruars have the Hammer, what do Celtic Pagans use as a symbol to others to show their faith? I'm not talking Druid or Wiccan, I'm talking Celtic Recon/Shamanism more then anything else. I noticed a triple knot that many pictures show and other Celtic Knots but what about religious symbols? I'd like to make one to wear to show my Celtic pride.
| Effectiveness of Cleansing Rituals? Posted Saturday, May 07, 2005 by Randall |
I'm reading a book (the Magick Toolbox) which is an interesting bit of fluff (thought it has some wonderful points in places). At one point, fairly early in the book, it just sort of made me pause.
Now this is a question/sentiment I've seen in other books - but this is the first time I've seen it written so clearly.
Essentially it says - "If you have any concerns over inheriting any negative energies along with the good you can perform a cleansing before you use the tool." The implied comment in that statement (which is even further implied and nearly explicitly said in the surrounding paragraphs) is that if you do a cleaning on that tool then the bad energies will go away and the good energies will remain.
Is that how you think it works? Or how does your path feel about selective cleansing? What do you think cleansing rituals/spells/whatever do?
| Differences Between Friends? Posted Friday, May 06, 2005 by Randall |
How do you handle differences in magical approaches when it comes to friends?
For example, I have a solitary friend who uses spells as her first line of attack to any problem, and who regards deities as tools.
To me, magic is the last line of attack when all mundane approaches have failed. I try to nurture my relationship with deities, regarding them as autonomous. The coven I belong to follows similar lines.
It's starting to generate some awkwardness and friction with my solitary friend, though. I don't want to do spells for everything and she won't gracefully take no for an answer and won't drop the subject.
She always has a spell ready for any situation. She thought I should hex someone a couple weeks ago and I've been refusing ever since. The situation was so minor from my perspective it would've been like squashing a mosquito with a nuke.
I don't know how to explain why I don't want to do these spells without sounding as if I've climbed up onto a soapbox.
It's also becoming uncomfortable to even talk about spirituality. When I mention one of "my" deities , if she sees anything at all useful about the deity, all of a sudden it's got a small corner of her apartment and is given a laundry list of problems she wants it to solve.
I get the feeling she's waiting to be invited to attend a coven meeting, and I know it wouldn't be a good fit. How to explain this tactfully?
| Make a Path Fit? Posted Friday, May 06, 2005 by Randall |
Have you ever encountered a path or way that you really wanted to include in your spiritual practices, but for whatever reason the chosen path refuses to fit with you?
Let me explain.... I had tried a protection spell in the past, but because I was full of doubt for my ability to make it work, it backfired on me big time. Using magic has its appeal for me, but because of that mishap, I decided to hang up my 'wand' before I screwed anything else up.
When I first found myself on a pagan path, I really, Really wanted to go the Celtic route...being part Irish I just felt it was the right way to go. Read some books, got a huge copy of Celtic gods and goddesses to pour through and see who jumped out at me, and nothing. Zero. Nada. Couldn't even get the door to open a crack much less get my foot in there.
Guess what I'm asking is, if you tried to include something that just fizzled out on you, did you keep at it, making it work for you no matter how long it took, or did you decide that it was the cosmos' way of telling you to move along, there's nothing to see here?
| Favorite Proverbs Posted Wednesday, May 04, 2005 by Randall |
What kind of proverbs do you all know of? I know a few good ones:
The past will often attack the present with the pain of your memories.
The greatest illusion is that mankind has limitations. - Robert Monroe
No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings. -William Blake, Proverbs of Hell
Please share your favorite proverbs and/or the best ones you've heard.
| Religious Path-Mates with Bad Ideas Posted Wednesday, May 04, 2005 by Randall |
What is your reaction when someone of your faith/path/religion/coven/whatever has personal beliefs and/or prejudices that you do not agree with...vehemently...
I am Asatru and there are quite a few skinheads and neo-nazi types that claim Asatru as their path, but I do not share their beliefs in that particular idea. I try to avoid such people. I know people that have left covens that they were quite dedicated to when the high priestess decided to go down a branch of the path that did not set well with them (for instance, performing sex magic rituals and insisting all participate).
What do you do when someone that may share the same path as you do starts spouting off about beliefs that you cannot tolerate?
| Doubts? Posted Monday, May 02, 2005 by Randall |
There's currently a discussion thread going on about faith, so I thought we might have a look at doubt again as well. We probably all have times when we doubt what we believe. What do you do at those times? Do you fight the doubt, do you accept it as a part of life? Is doubt harmful to faith, or is it useful? Why?
| Wicca and Buffy Posted Monday, May 02, 2005 by Randall |
I'm taking a class this semester called "Religion and Popular Culture." For my term paper, I'm doing a comparison of Wicca as portrayed on the TV series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," versus "real-life" Wicca. Half of my paper involves watching Buffy and observing directly how Wicca is depicted on the show--pretty simple, since all I have to do is watch and take notes.
The other half of my paper, however, involves finding out how real-life Wiccans feel about the portrayal of Wicca, and/or Wiccan witchcraft, on the show. As I don't know any Wiccans personally, I'm turning to the Internet. So I'd like to ask the Wiccans on this board (specifically those who watched the show): how do you feel about the portrayal of Wicca on Buffy, in terms of the religion and/or the practice of magic? How does the treatment of Wicca on this show compare, in your mind, to other popular-culture portrayals of Wicca (in terms of positivity/negativity and accuracy)?
I'd also like to know if and how the introduction of the word "Wicca" to the show changed your perception of the show; if anyone stopped watching Buffy due to the Wicca sub-story, if anyone started watching because they heard there were Wiccans on the show, etc. Also, is there anyone here who can credit Buffy as the reason they decided to start learning about Wicca?
Lastly, have you ever used Buffy to teach or explain to young people any aspects of Wicca or witchcraft?
I'd appreciate any opinions/thoughts you have on the subject. I won't quote anyone in my paper without first asking permission, so please, feel free to just chat and discuss. I should also note that I am a former Wiccan, so I don't need any info on Wicca itself -- just opinions of Wicca as portrayed on Buffy.