Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful for...

1. Chocolate
2. A full moon playing in the clouds
3. Moments spent with loved ones
4. A good book
5. Tea

Musing Monday

Pagan imagery in Christian Churches

I was working through some information today that talked about the use of pagan imagery within Christian churches in the late Middles Ages through to the Reformation and beyond.  The information seemed to imply that they use of such symbolism was designed by the craftsman as a mean of undermining the forced worship of a god not their own.  There is certainly research to support the use of pagan symbols within churches at the time, but I have to say that I wonder at the depth of meaning often attributed to it.  I do not claim to have done research on this, although the idea is fascinating and I may take some research up, this is just me thinking things through.

To what extent was the use of pagan symbolism a defiant gesture or even a hidden way of continuing ones own practice under the guise of a new one?  Is it possible that the craftsmen involved were being less cunning and more practical?  Were they perhaps simply creating imagery that they knew, that had been passed down through generations?  What about common symbols?  For thousands of years certain items had been held sacred across many belief systems, why is it not possible that these symbols meant something to the Christian church goers without them having be 'purloined' from their pagan ancestors?  Yes, I know, pagan symbols, practices, etc were incorporated into Christian beliefs, I'm not disputing this, it is a highly effective means of integration and assimilation that has been used long before Christianity (look at the pre-Christian Roman Empire people).

A spell for clarity

A Simple Spell to Gain Clarity on an issue

Timing: Dark Moon

Equipment:
* A black candle - representative of the goddess of night Nyx
* A tool for divination of your choice

Steps:

1. Cleanse and consecrate you space.  If you like to cast a circle and call quarters etc for you spell work please do so now.

2. Ground and center and then lighting the candle speak the following:  "I call upon the goddess of the night, within whose mysterious darkness wisdom can be found.  I call upon the goddess of the night, and ask that you aide me in my search.  Guide me way within your shadowy depths.  Assist me to see that which would otherwise be hidden, and to seek clarity within the depths."

3. Take some time to solidify your connection with the goddess and then proceed to perform your desired action for diving clarification by using a divination tool or through meditation.

Signs

On Friday I was volunteering at the local Library's book sale and as usual I went to raid the New Age section before the masses were allowed in.  To my surprise, sitting on the shelf on its side on top of all the other books like it was somebody's afterthought to throw it up there was "Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth" by Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Kramer.  Naturally I quickly snagged it.  You see I almost purchased this book when I first explored working with Inanna but didn't.  Recently I'd done some work with Inanna's counterpart Ishtar and had a truly healing and awe inspiring experience, and then I kind of let it go, and for the past month or so I've been feeling disconnected and a little part of me has known I need to journey with Inanna/Ishtar some more but I keep putting it off.  So I'm taking the presence of this book as a sign that I need to reconnect with the goddess and continue to work with her in my life.

Musing Monday

Sometimes all we can do is tip-toe, and that is what I'm doing right now.  I started some shadow work with the coming of the darker season and I have to say that my subconscious is fighting me tooth and nail on it.  This is actually quite frustrating to me because I have been putting off this work for so long waiting for school to be done so I can devote myself to it and now that I actually have the time and it won't matter too much if I break down a little in the process I've become the queen of procrastination on the issue.  So I am trying not to beat myself up about it, I am trying to be patient with myself, and I know that I am making small steps, but I feel like I'm not doing enough.

Free Friday

Just something I've been pondering.

Is there something about neo-pagan paths that causes a higher frequency of disintegration of groups and splitting of paths?  Is it because we are encouraged to seek our own truths and to stand firm in our own beliefs that results in the high frequency of groups that eventually no longer exist?  In the last 5 years I've seen an amazing number of groups that I've either belonged to, or known people who belong to, fall apart unable to sustain a system that satisfied everyone.  Is this the curse of neo-paganism, that by being a path that doesn't dictate it inevitably sees all the fledglings fly the nest?  Is this necessarily a bad thing?  There are certainly experiences that one can only achieve through working with other people, yet I find that our path really does tend to lead to a more solitary undertaking.  For me personally my ideal would be to practice solitary and meet with a group just for a celebration of the Sabbats.  If we wanted to go down the road of claiming to draw  roots from ancient traditions (that's a whole other rant I'll do one day) then this really is a more accurate reflection of how acts would have been run.

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful for...

1. A warm quilt and a comfy bed
2. Sunshine
3. Hot cups of tea against cold hands
4. Crisp evening walks
5. Good music.