tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288389374807674671.post4589267232764158892..comments2022-04-01T22:18:28.895+13:00Comments on Hagstone: 101, and Lengthy MetaphorsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288389374807674671.post-87576932893885423902012-04-17T00:15:50.123+12:002012-04-17T00:15:50.123+12:00See, these are answers I can get behind :) Thanks ...See, these are answers I can get behind :) Thanks for the heads up on Ygg... To be honest, I feel like I'm fighting the idea of a Norse Pantheon because it's kind of scary. They're real to me, not this... sort of... hmmm.... shade that has mysticism attached to it. And that's sort of an intimidating thing, here's this newbie and she wants our attention for a real relationship, something tangible... It really is... sort of scary, especially when I feel like a majority of Pagans think of the Pantheons as, well, "shades".Lynnhttp://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001981371394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288389374807674671.post-88378269181114076182012-04-16T15:51:02.655+12:002012-04-16T15:51:02.655+12:00Beautiful quote! I love it, thanks for sharing it ...Beautiful quote! I love it, thanks for sharing it :DSannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03887563528046709686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288389374807674671.post-88808204442428360782012-04-16T15:50:37.148+12:002012-04-16T15:50:37.148+12:00Great questions, thanks! :D
Just to answer a few ...Great questions, thanks! :D<br /><br />Just to answer a few here: purple was associated with emperors in Rome and as with a lot of Classical stuff it carried forward. "Imperial purple" and so on. So it wasn't really something I decided, it was something I picked up on a subconscious level from my culture. <br /><br />Choosing a pantheon is always a tricky thing to talk about. For me, the Norse gods were always first on the list for pantheons to study, so when I eventually got down to serious pantheon-related work, they snapped me up and there it was. It was easy for me, and made easy also because . But some deities aren't palaeo-Pagan related (like the Star Goddess of Feri, and so on) so finding your way can be much more difficult for some people. <br />Now you, personally, are drawn to the runes and to Yggdrasil, so I'd say your first port of call would be Ygg himself. <br /><br />Reality vs Feel-Good is an amazing subject. I might end up writing a big big post about that at some point, because it's important for us all. And there's not always a way to tell. We have UPG and we put it into the UPG file, and we bring it out every so often to compare it to what other people experience and to the lore and so on, but those are the only yardsticks we have, so it's a continual process of re-evaluation. Of understanding our gnosis and our impressions and part of that is also understanding ourselves. Anyway, that might be a big post one day, so thank you :D<br /><br />As for picking out your dinghy: if you haven't yet, pick up "Essential Asatru" by Diana Paxson to start with and "True Hearth" by James Allen Chisholm to carry on from there. If Heathenry doesn't turn out to be a fit for you, that's fine, but you've crossed one off the list and explored your interest in runes and Yggdrasil in the process :D<br /><br />Thanks for all your input!Sannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03887563528046709686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288389374807674671.post-82970637957024887222012-04-16T10:51:16.873+12:002012-04-16T10:51:16.873+12:00I enjoyed the blog and the replies. In my own life...I enjoyed the blog and the replies. In my own life, what I need and am ready for shows up. Sometimes mixed with stuff that I don't need or want, or find just off the wall. But my off the wall may resonate with someone else. <br />I second, third, and fourth the idea that we need to do our best to have the information available to those who want to learn. <br />A part of that involves learning discernment. To sift through the things available and trust our inner selves must be learned to truly make progress. <br />The internet is a wonderous tool and library. Color pictures of herbs, stones etc at our fingertips. <br />Best to all, Merry meet!Meg Phillipshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12877470484295133022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288389374807674671.post-508135545350683262012-04-16T08:05:43.242+12:002012-04-16T08:05:43.242+12:00I like you post and your metaphor. :)
We all start...I like you post and your metaphor. :)<br />We all start in the bay, we learn how to sail, learn how a boat works. Then it is up to the individual: follow the call of the sea, or stay where it is safe.<br /><br />Personally I love the quote from Mark Twain: <br />"Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."Tanahttp://witchydiary.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288389374807674671.post-28739393761778831402012-04-16T04:48:01.294+12:002012-04-16T04:48:01.294+12:00Ok: Quick background without bogging down your pag...Ok: Quick background without bogging down your page with my story... I finally gave up, that's how I felt about it, giving up, giving in... I had felt "called" to Runes and Yggdrasil my whole life. My deeply religious family had never instilled an ounce of spirituality in me. I longed for it, and craved it. No matter how much I tried (and I did, I TRIED to let my previous religion be what worked for me) what they told me to do never worked. <br />Enter last August, I was bogged down with anger from my past, with hatred of those who had done me wrong, in general I was a very angry person. And I couldn't take it anymore, I'd done everything they told me to do, whispered the right prayers like so many dead words falling on deaf ears, too many times to count. I never felt a thing. So, in desperation, I tried a cleansing ritual. You know, cast the circle, call the quarters, light the candle, burn the sage. Visualize the change you want in your life. It worked. It wasn't a one time cure-all, I've had to do a self cleansing a few times as I pick up the anger that has been my life's constant companion. The difference is that I can now let go of it when I feel it, I can put it right back down. Relief!!<br />I have read whatever I can find. I soak it up like so much water in the desert. Some of my reading has been actual books, some of it internet, some of it questions I directly ask people that seem to know what they're talking about. <br />You asked what newbies wanted to know... My biggest question is how to separate the feel good stuff from reality. I mean, sure, I want to feel good, who doesn't? But reality isn't about feeling good, it isn't about being happy all the time, and light and buoyant. Reality is about learning how to be ok, how to recover your happy when it seems as though life is out to get you. <br />I want to know how YOU decided that purple is the color of royalty in your practice, and I want to know how you knew that you were doing it right. When you write out a blessing, how do you determine that it is a blessing worth repeating, or a crappy piece of poetry? How did you choose your pantheon? Did you? If you didn't choose one, why not? Without asking too much in the way of hubris from you, I want to know your experiences, because they'll help me form my own. <br />I don't mind reading about what works for you (this being the first of your blogs I've read, I'll be catching up, for sure) because through your experiences, I can form my own. I don't mind how my learning comes, just that it does. You talk about floating around in the newbie harbor, how do you know you're even on a dinghy yet? I think I might still be picking out mine... I hope some of my inane rambling has helped, as I would greatly appreciate a well written 101 :)Lynnhttp://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001981371394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288389374807674671.post-85115253440009090602012-04-15T10:05:49.963+12:002012-04-15T10:05:49.963+12:00Ooooo, thank you for the recommendations!Ooooo, thank you for the recommendations!Myconidhttp://tumblr.myconid.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288389374807674671.post-29555775995983445642012-04-14T14:59:32.910+12:002012-04-14T14:59:32.910+12:00If you like gardening, Murphy-Hiscock does a book ...If you like gardening, Murphy-Hiscock does a book for the Green witch as well. I personally don't garden - but I may in the future, and I asked a friend about books she would recommend. She suggested <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bud-Blossom-Leaf-Gardeners-Handbook/dp/156718443X/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1316356573&sr=8-13" rel="nofollow">Bud, Blossom and Leaf</a> by Morrison, so that might be worth checking out. Morrison is a Wiccan, though, and so there may be a fair amount of ceremonial flavour in what she does. Have a browse through on the "look inside" feature and see what you think, anyway.<br /><br />I think the Bay is important. It's good to learn the basics of how to sail, navigate and so on before venturing into the open ocean. It's good to take your time until you feel ready :DSannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03887563528046709686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288389374807674671.post-38036856328310439612012-04-14T14:31:47.878+12:002012-04-14T14:31:47.878+12:00Excellent post! I've been struggling in the 10...Excellent post! I've been struggling in the 101 area for a little while, trying to break through with what I want to learn, which is witchcraft without the Wicca. I've read Buckland and Cunningham and per your recommendation, Murphy-Hiscock (The Way of the Hedge Witch, I'm enjoying it, thanks for the rec!) and I admit, the internet, and while they have been helpful, I need something else, which they don't really offer.<br /><br />So there I was, sitting back and wondering where to go. Spring came to us quite early here in the northern hemisphere, and as I was clearing out my garden and reveling in the smell of my lavender, rosemary, and catnip plants it dawned on me that even though ceremony doesn't call to me, gardening does. Now I'm just trying to save up for some tome of herbal safety and figure out a good witchcraft herbal-uses book I want to buy. Also, I want to look into what hedgewitch actually entails (and not what Murphy-Hiscock thinks it means), but for now, I'm content to watch those ships in the distance until I feel comfortable to sail out to meet them.<br /><br />And really that's all I can do for now, just wait for the day I can go to the bookstore for an hour or two to read and take notes without buying, meditate, and connect with what I already know. Thanks!Myconidhttp://myconid.tumblr.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288389374807674671.post-18519009231556684212012-04-14T05:27:37.756+12:002012-04-14T05:27:37.756+12:00This is true. The real task is making the good inf...This is true. The real task is making the good information more accessible and not just stuff on par which makes us cringe when we look at the 101 material. Somehow I imagine there are still a bunch of sites people are referencing which come complete with blood-dripping lines and too many sparkly gifs, with text as equally helpful.Solihttp://syncreticmystic.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288389374807674671.post-43594408468161110042012-04-14T04:49:11.931+12:002012-04-14T04:49:11.931+12:00True - but the internet can be as good a source as...True - but the internet can be as good a source as some of the more easy-to-find books. When you're young and have no money to spend on books, and the library doesn't have anything useful, I can see why many would lean primarily on the internet. Just gives us more reason to direct people to the good stuff, like Sacred Texts :D<br /><br />Thanks!Sannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03887563528046709686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288389374807674671.post-2496362315386640142012-04-14T01:42:38.574+12:002012-04-14T01:42:38.574+12:00I've heard anecdotes that "the newbies&qu...I've heard anecdotes that "the newbies" now don't even turn to books. They just use the internet for their material. I don't know if this is true, but sometimes it sure feels that way.<br /><br />What I'd love to see, as someone who's been amuck in all this woo and polytheism for two decades, is more options presented at the start. Especially for ritual.Solihttp://syncreticmystic.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com