A short one, this entry. This is sort of a tricky one. I mean, what is there to say? There are gods who are male and those who are female, and those who are theoretically straight and those who aren't so much, and male gods who don't mind doing "feminine" things and those who won't ever if they can avoid it. You have Athena for the Greeks who's essentially given a male role regarding particular elements of whatever, and a female one in others... Loki turns into a mare. Oðinn practises Seiðr. Thor dresses up as a bride. I mean really. What is there to say?
I mean aren't these concepts essentially established by culture? Even the Lord and Lady of my Hedgecraft are simply Themselves... She is as fierce as He is, His hand is as soothing as Hers.
I think gender roles are culturally or socially driven and inspired, and will differ in that sense from pantheon to pantheon, culture to culture.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
An article for your perusal
As I haven't posted in a little while, I thought I'd spread the word on an article someone linked me to on the NaNoWriMo forums.
Abortion Is Not Murder.
It's a rather good discussion on pre-birth development, personhood, moral actions and the bible. I recommend giving it a read. On the down side, the author assumes all Christians are pro-life and aggressively so, which is untrue. I'd venture to say most Christians don't behave as poorly as he implies. It's a great shame because of the quality of the rest of the article; I can only imagine its tone is such because of the over-arching theme of the website.
It's timely, because of a rather disturbing law that has recently passed the House in America. It's not going to pass the Senate and President Obama may well veto it if he has to, but it's a disturbing bill: it means a hospital or healthcare plan that receives government funding for other services can deny a pregnant woman an abortion that would save her life. It's being referred to as the "Let Women Die" bill.
I'm just asking, here - why do Republicans seem to hate women? Why are they so brutally anti-life when it comes to the life of a woman, but pro-life for her foetus or embryo? The unborn get so much protection from Republicans in government you'd think they were a Wall St corporation.
This can't possibly be a conscience issue for these healthcare providers; surely the life of a woman is important and must be preserved. And a senator says this will stop people going into OB/GYN - well, good. If you're not willing to do the job, if you're not willing to perform abortions, then you shouldn't go into OB/GYN.
And all this bullshit when there are actual problems the House should be concentrating on solving. Where are the jobs? Where is the discussion on debt, taxes? Why, for the love of god, are they not focusing more on providing contraceptives? Why this bullshit?
If you don't like abortion, don't have one. The option of abortion is a moral issue, a moral requirement, and it reflects on how women are valued in a society.
Abortion Is Not Murder.
It's a rather good discussion on pre-birth development, personhood, moral actions and the bible. I recommend giving it a read. On the down side, the author assumes all Christians are pro-life and aggressively so, which is untrue. I'd venture to say most Christians don't behave as poorly as he implies. It's a great shame because of the quality of the rest of the article; I can only imagine its tone is such because of the over-arching theme of the website.
It's timely, because of a rather disturbing law that has recently passed the House in America. It's not going to pass the Senate and President Obama may well veto it if he has to, but it's a disturbing bill: it means a hospital or healthcare plan that receives government funding for other services can deny a pregnant woman an abortion that would save her life. It's being referred to as the "Let Women Die" bill.
I'm just asking, here - why do Republicans seem to hate women? Why are they so brutally anti-life when it comes to the life of a woman, but pro-life for her foetus or embryo? The unborn get so much protection from Republicans in government you'd think they were a Wall St corporation.
This can't possibly be a conscience issue for these healthcare providers; surely the life of a woman is important and must be preserved. And a senator says this will stop people going into OB/GYN - well, good. If you're not willing to do the job, if you're not willing to perform abortions, then you shouldn't go into OB/GYN.
And all this bullshit when there are actual problems the House should be concentrating on solving. Where are the jobs? Where is the discussion on debt, taxes? Why, for the love of god, are they not focusing more on providing contraceptives? Why this bullshit?
If you don't like abortion, don't have one. The option of abortion is a moral issue, a moral requirement, and it reflects on how women are valued in a society.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Small things in the Heathen experience
There are two things about every blót that I love.
They are small things. But, being small, they have become a part of the entire experience of being a Heathen for me.
The first thing happens before the ritual itself. Sometimes quite a while before. And, to be honest, it is not a part of every blót. But it is a part of many. This thing is the uncorking of the mead.
It's a ridiculously small thing in its way, because it is not some sort of ceremony for me. I pull out the cork, and that is it. But if you've ever uncorked a bottle of mead, you'll know what I mean. The cork comes out with a thock and the smell wafts out of the bottle. I inhale a lungful of it, and it is a sacred moment, because this smell is the smell of ritual. It is a sacred smell. With that scent I know a rite is at hand, and in a sense it begins in that moment. Subconsciously I prepare for ritual. A sense of the holy comes over me. I suppose it is to be expected; the olfactory sense does have that tendency to induce a certain feeling in one. The body and soul become settled, prayerful, and full of a pleasant anticipation.
The second thing happens at the beginning of every ritual, nearly without fail - although once or twice I have come close to forgetting it. This is the Hammer Rite.
For me it is a very simple thing. I place my hand on my Hammer - one day I should photograph it for you, readers - and ask Thor to bless the rite. Usually I rhyme it; "Mjolnir's might" tends to get a mention, as does the word "night" and the aforementioned "rite". It's an easy rhyme, and it amuses me. And Thor, great and wonderful as he is, does bless the rite. And you can feel it. I feel it like a Hammer-blow; the sensation is as of a hammer striking the earth. There is a sense of finality to it, in a way. It is exceedingly pleasant, and warm, echoing the feelings one experiences in a Thorrablót. One feels protected. It is a great and mighty thing to be blessed by Thor, and I count it among my favourite things not just in my religious practice but in life.
This was meant to be a short entry. Just a few lines. Ah well.
They are small things. But, being small, they have become a part of the entire experience of being a Heathen for me.
The first thing happens before the ritual itself. Sometimes quite a while before. And, to be honest, it is not a part of every blót. But it is a part of many. This thing is the uncorking of the mead.
It's a ridiculously small thing in its way, because it is not some sort of ceremony for me. I pull out the cork, and that is it. But if you've ever uncorked a bottle of mead, you'll know what I mean. The cork comes out with a thock and the smell wafts out of the bottle. I inhale a lungful of it, and it is a sacred moment, because this smell is the smell of ritual. It is a sacred smell. With that scent I know a rite is at hand, and in a sense it begins in that moment. Subconsciously I prepare for ritual. A sense of the holy comes over me. I suppose it is to be expected; the olfactory sense does have that tendency to induce a certain feeling in one. The body and soul become settled, prayerful, and full of a pleasant anticipation.
The second thing happens at the beginning of every ritual, nearly without fail - although once or twice I have come close to forgetting it. This is the Hammer Rite.
For me it is a very simple thing. I place my hand on my Hammer - one day I should photograph it for you, readers - and ask Thor to bless the rite. Usually I rhyme it; "Mjolnir's might" tends to get a mention, as does the word "night" and the aforementioned "rite". It's an easy rhyme, and it amuses me. And Thor, great and wonderful as he is, does bless the rite. And you can feel it. I feel it like a Hammer-blow; the sensation is as of a hammer striking the earth. There is a sense of finality to it, in a way. It is exceedingly pleasant, and warm, echoing the feelings one experiences in a Thorrablót. One feels protected. It is a great and mighty thing to be blessed by Thor, and I count it among my favourite things not just in my religious practice but in life.
This was meant to be a short entry. Just a few lines. Ah well.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
I am a Witch.
I am a witch.
I don't believe in the "threefold law".
(I think it's a ritual contrivance of Gardner's and meaningless out of context.)
I don't follow the "rede".
I don't use magic circles. Or "compasses".
I don't call upon gods to help me in my spells.
(Unless I consider it directly related to a deity. It's happened once.)
I don't spell "magic" with a "k".
(Unless I'm discussing Thelema.)
I don't believe in Karma.
(Not even the actual Dharmic sort.)
I do use blood in my spells, if I think the spell calls for it.
If a spell or magical act calls for blood, I bleed; I don't use menstrual blood.
(Unless menstrual blood would be the most appropriate kind.)
I think curses are more ethical than binding spells.
And I'll curse if I need to.
I don't do spells much.
(There's usually an easier way to get what you want.)
I'd rather take herbs in pill form than tea form.
(Easier that way.)
I don't go running naked in the woods.
(Sounds nice, but there are thorns and spiders and so on.)
I am not a vegetarian; I enjoy eating meat.
I don't want children.
I think it's fine to use drugs in your witchcraft. That's your business.
(The most I use is alcohol, but I'd be open to flying ointment.)
I don't think witchcraft is inherently theistic, or religious.
I don't use an athame, a wand, a pentacle or any tools of that nature.
I am a religious witch, but the gods I worship may not be the same as those you worship.
I don't worship a Triple Goddess.
And I do not think all gods are the same.
I don't respect and love all creatures of the earth.
(I hate cockroaches. Don't try to pretend you like them.)
I don't assume your witchcraft is anything like mine.
Kindly extend me the same courtesy.
I don't believe in the "threefold law".
(I think it's a ritual contrivance of Gardner's and meaningless out of context.)
I don't follow the "rede".
I don't use magic circles. Or "compasses".
I don't call upon gods to help me in my spells.
(Unless I consider it directly related to a deity. It's happened once.)
I don't spell "magic" with a "k".
(Unless I'm discussing Thelema.)
I don't believe in Karma.
(Not even the actual Dharmic sort.)
I do use blood in my spells, if I think the spell calls for it.
If a spell or magical act calls for blood, I bleed; I don't use menstrual blood.
(Unless menstrual blood would be the most appropriate kind.)
I think curses are more ethical than binding spells.
And I'll curse if I need to.
I don't do spells much.
(There's usually an easier way to get what you want.)
I'd rather take herbs in pill form than tea form.
(Easier that way.)
I don't go running naked in the woods.
(Sounds nice, but there are thorns and spiders and so on.)
I am not a vegetarian; I enjoy eating meat.
I don't want children.
I think it's fine to use drugs in your witchcraft. That's your business.
(The most I use is alcohol, but I'd be open to flying ointment.)
I don't think witchcraft is inherently theistic, or religious.
I don't use an athame, a wand, a pentacle or any tools of that nature.
I am a religious witch, but the gods I worship may not be the same as those you worship.
I don't worship a Triple Goddess.
And I do not think all gods are the same.
I don't respect and love all creatures of the earth.
(I hate cockroaches. Don't try to pretend you like them.)
I don't assume your witchcraft is anything like mine.
Kindly extend me the same courtesy.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Day Eight: Holidays
Time for another "30 Days of Paganism" entry!
I celebrate the eight general spokes of the generic "Wheel of the Year". And I celebrate them all twice. That makes sixteen major celebrations, with another handful on top of that specific to Heathenry.
Most Heathens don't celebrate that many, I don't think, but I love holidays and I love the sort of sense of community, almost, from celebrating with my gods. On top of that, my Heathen holidays tend to be more human-oriented than my Hedgewitch ones, which are more world-around-me- and celestial-oriented. My Heathen holidays are celebrated either on traditional dates or are dependant on the weather, while my Hedgewitch holidays are wholly astronomical. I do occasionally refer to my Craft-related holidays as "sabbats", though I never meet anyone (living), and though they may have little to do with what other Pagan witches are celebrating.
So, starting with Yule, which is the major holiday in Heathenry. I start of with Mother Night on the night before Yule proper, which is usually the 20th of June. Yuletide stretches for 12 days, though I don't always hold blots on all, or most, of those days. Still, it's a time for battening down hatches. Oðinn is honoured primarily, but because the holiday is so long you can honour whomever you please.
I for my Hedgecraft, I celebrate the Solstice on the proper day, and if possible at the proper hour and minute. I refer to it as the Winter Solstice or Midwinter. I honour my Lord primarily but my Lady plays a role here too, one I am discovering further each year.
Next is a Heathen holiday, Thorrablot. One honours Thor for keeping us safe and whole in the cold part of the year. This is a favourite holiday of mine, a favourite I think of many Heathens, because it leaves you feeling particularly warm and safe. This sort of renews the bonds between you and Thor. It's wonderful.
Next comes Charming of the Plough/Idis-thing. I don't own a plough, so don't actually charm it. I also don't live near any farms, and it's not cold enough here for the ground to freeze. So, I focus my celebration primarily on Freyr and Freyja, and the Disir, and on spring itself. I tend to celebrate when I first smell spring in the air, which may be a little before or a little after the astronomical date.
I celebrate Candlemas as the beginning of spring proper, as close to the astronomical date as possible but I may delay it slightly if spring hasn't come yet. I use the Catholic name as I'm not comfortable with the word "Imbolc" just generally. I don't know how to properly pronounce it and it doesn't mean anything to me. Though this year I started referring to it as "Spring-tide" as well. This is a gentle sort of time, and it is cold though the flowers are beginning to arrive on blossom trees and with daffodils.
Next is the Vernal Equinox. Some years I'll hold a Hellenic ritual for Persephone too, as I'm fond of her and this is a time I strongly associate with her. The Equinox proper I celebrate at the proper time. Equinoxes are a time of balance for me and so I try to get it at the exact minute if possible. There is a switch-over from dark-time to light-time and I'm trying to represent that more properly in my rituals in recent years. My Lord and Lady don't have separate times of the year dedicated to Them, like spring/autumn or winter/summer, but there are particular holidays that stress one of Them more than the Other. This isn't really one of them.
Ostara is at this time of year although I don't tend to use that name. I associate the deity Bede mentioned with Iðunna as it makes sense to me. This is a youthful time, and Iðunna's apples give youth to the gods. I find parallels between Iðunna's primary myth - of being stolen and returned - and the wheel of the year (things growing old, then youth returning). So I honour her on this holiday. But I must admit I'm not particularly close to Iðunna. I may begin honouring other deities or ancestors as well, perhaps Handmaidens of Frigg.
Next comes the beginning of summer. I hold Walpurgisnacht on the night before May Day. It's a time to focus on death and those who have passed away, which seems odd at this time of year, but honouring and respecting death the night before means one can focus fully on life and joy the next day. I like that. I honour Hel, and sometimes Frigg and Freyja as well.
May Day of course is not in May for me, but I haven't found a name I like better yet. Summernights, maybe, as an opposite to Winternights. It is a time of wild abandon. One honours Freyr and Freyja. What's odd is that I'm not even particularly close to these two gods (though our relationship is growing), but they tend to get top billing in a lot of holidays. It's weird. At any rate it's a time of strawberries.
The astronomical date tends to fall a few days later. I refer to it as Beltaine, which perhaps I shouldn't as it has nothing much to do with the Irish holiday as far as I know. I have trouble letting go of the name, though. Hopefully a new one will occur to me as the holiday approaches. More love, more sex, and a welcoming in of summer. Early summer is a fantastic time: it's not yet hot, but pleasantly warm. Blue skies are a novelty, things are green, rich and bright and everything is simply joyful at the arrival of the coming growing season. It's one of my favourite holidays for this reason.
Next up is Midsummer. I use this word for my Heathen holiday as well - "Litha" is apparently an option but I don't like that name. It's a strange holiday for me as far as whom I honour goes. Others like to honour Baldur, which I feel I shouldn't really do as it's my fulltrui's fault he's where he is. I honour Sunna in part, though she seems so far away. When things are a bit open, I tend to go for someone who kind of fits, and whom I don't get to honour much. So Tyr, on this date, because I respect and like him a great deal and because apparently Things were held on this date.
Summer Solstice I try to hold at the proper time. Summer is a very lazy time, for me, for the world around me and for my country in particular as everyone gets about four weeks off at this time of year, and those who take their holidays at other times get four days of stat holidays. The entire country acts like they're stoned and laxxed out for at least two weeks. Everyone walks around half-dressed and barefoot in the sun. It's fab. Food is plentiful, it's too warm to want to do anything but not yet the horrible heat of late summer, there's still enough moisture everywhere and everything just sort of lies there. Animals, birds, plants. Because the sun is at its apex I honour the Lord primarily on this day, though my Lady gets Her due. It's also the time when days stop getting longer and start getting shorter, which is something I focus on.
Next holiday is Lammas. Loaf-mass, that is. I always feel the desire to bake bread, though I don't bake as a rule and wouldn't know how to make bread in particular. So I pop some of those dinner rolls in the oven that come half-baked from the supermarket and need about five minutes to finish baking. So they smell fantastic and are warm and good.
I celebrate my Heathen holiday as Freyfaxi. It tends to be earlier than Lammas proper. As a date that's traditionally connected to the harvest I honour Freyr (plus it has his name in it), but also Thor and Sif. Thor's lightning keeps the soil fertile and Sif is connected to the harvest with the myth about her hair being cut and replaced. (By Loki. Looking at it, we may have him to thank for seasons at all! ha.) As a date when I get a chance to connect with Sif, whom I quite like, I enjoy this holiday.
Lammas proper brings my Hedgecraft closer to the hearth, as a Craft holiday that I connect with home as well as with the world around me and celestial bodies. The baking, and so on. It's also a time when it's getting very hot. After the growing season, everything is tired and parched and ready for the autumn. I celebrate the arrival of autumn and the passing of summer, which at this point I am totally over.
Next up, Autumnal Equinox. This actually tends to come first on my calendar, before the Heathen holiday. I love autumn particularly. The same equinox deals apply as to spring, and I swap my gold altar candle for my black one. Nights are now longer than days, with all that implies.
Winter-finding is particularly connected to the weather. While some holidays depend on the smell of the coming season in the air, Winter-finding falls on the first cold day after the Equinox. I honour Oðinn, as a god of winter and of wisdom, and of the coming cold weather.
Then there's Lokablot, which is rare in the Heathen world and falls on April 1st. It's one of those precious rare holidays that's on the same date in the Southern as it is in the Northern hemisphere, and appears to be the Official Unofficial date for honouring Loki. Lokeans the world over have decided this apparently independent of one another. I drink to Loki on this date, usually shots of something like Cointreau. In its own way it's like a "new year" for me, a touchstone, and I value it highly.
Winternights comes next. The traditional date would be about May 1st but if I don't smell winter in the air or it doesn't feel right I'll delay it. I think it's one of the rarer Heathen holidays, as far as number of people holding it goes, but I like it as another opportunity to honour Hel and the ancestors.
Samhain is one of those holidays I had great trouble bringing myself to rename. I have a couple of ideas that I implemented this year: Old Year's Night and Nox Umbrarum (night of shadows). It's the date I bound myself to my path, whatever it might be, so it's an anniversary for myself in that sense. It's also one of my favourite sabbat of mine and a day I honour death and the dead. This year I stretched it out to two days, in order to honour the dead in their own right on the first day and the Gods on the second.
And then comes Yule again.....
I celebrate the eight general spokes of the generic "Wheel of the Year". And I celebrate them all twice. That makes sixteen major celebrations, with another handful on top of that specific to Heathenry.
Most Heathens don't celebrate that many, I don't think, but I love holidays and I love the sort of sense of community, almost, from celebrating with my gods. On top of that, my Heathen holidays tend to be more human-oriented than my Hedgewitch ones, which are more world-around-me- and celestial-oriented. My Heathen holidays are celebrated either on traditional dates or are dependant on the weather, while my Hedgewitch holidays are wholly astronomical. I do occasionally refer to my Craft-related holidays as "sabbats", though I never meet anyone (living), and though they may have little to do with what other Pagan witches are celebrating.
So, starting with Yule, which is the major holiday in Heathenry. I start of with Mother Night on the night before Yule proper, which is usually the 20th of June. Yuletide stretches for 12 days, though I don't always hold blots on all, or most, of those days. Still, it's a time for battening down hatches. Oðinn is honoured primarily, but because the holiday is so long you can honour whomever you please.
I for my Hedgecraft, I celebrate the Solstice on the proper day, and if possible at the proper hour and minute. I refer to it as the Winter Solstice or Midwinter. I honour my Lord primarily but my Lady plays a role here too, one I am discovering further each year.
Next is a Heathen holiday, Thorrablot. One honours Thor for keeping us safe and whole in the cold part of the year. This is a favourite holiday of mine, a favourite I think of many Heathens, because it leaves you feeling particularly warm and safe. This sort of renews the bonds between you and Thor. It's wonderful.
Next comes Charming of the Plough/Idis-thing. I don't own a plough, so don't actually charm it. I also don't live near any farms, and it's not cold enough here for the ground to freeze. So, I focus my celebration primarily on Freyr and Freyja, and the Disir, and on spring itself. I tend to celebrate when I first smell spring in the air, which may be a little before or a little after the astronomical date.
I celebrate Candlemas as the beginning of spring proper, as close to the astronomical date as possible but I may delay it slightly if spring hasn't come yet. I use the Catholic name as I'm not comfortable with the word "Imbolc" just generally. I don't know how to properly pronounce it and it doesn't mean anything to me. Though this year I started referring to it as "Spring-tide" as well. This is a gentle sort of time, and it is cold though the flowers are beginning to arrive on blossom trees and with daffodils.
Next is the Vernal Equinox. Some years I'll hold a Hellenic ritual for Persephone too, as I'm fond of her and this is a time I strongly associate with her. The Equinox proper I celebrate at the proper time. Equinoxes are a time of balance for me and so I try to get it at the exact minute if possible. There is a switch-over from dark-time to light-time and I'm trying to represent that more properly in my rituals in recent years. My Lord and Lady don't have separate times of the year dedicated to Them, like spring/autumn or winter/summer, but there are particular holidays that stress one of Them more than the Other. This isn't really one of them.
Ostara is at this time of year although I don't tend to use that name. I associate the deity Bede mentioned with Iðunna as it makes sense to me. This is a youthful time, and Iðunna's apples give youth to the gods. I find parallels between Iðunna's primary myth - of being stolen and returned - and the wheel of the year (things growing old, then youth returning). So I honour her on this holiday. But I must admit I'm not particularly close to Iðunna. I may begin honouring other deities or ancestors as well, perhaps Handmaidens of Frigg.
Next comes the beginning of summer. I hold Walpurgisnacht on the night before May Day. It's a time to focus on death and those who have passed away, which seems odd at this time of year, but honouring and respecting death the night before means one can focus fully on life and joy the next day. I like that. I honour Hel, and sometimes Frigg and Freyja as well.
May Day of course is not in May for me, but I haven't found a name I like better yet. Summernights, maybe, as an opposite to Winternights. It is a time of wild abandon. One honours Freyr and Freyja. What's odd is that I'm not even particularly close to these two gods (though our relationship is growing), but they tend to get top billing in a lot of holidays. It's weird. At any rate it's a time of strawberries.
The astronomical date tends to fall a few days later. I refer to it as Beltaine, which perhaps I shouldn't as it has nothing much to do with the Irish holiday as far as I know. I have trouble letting go of the name, though. Hopefully a new one will occur to me as the holiday approaches. More love, more sex, and a welcoming in of summer. Early summer is a fantastic time: it's not yet hot, but pleasantly warm. Blue skies are a novelty, things are green, rich and bright and everything is simply joyful at the arrival of the coming growing season. It's one of my favourite holidays for this reason.
Next up is Midsummer. I use this word for my Heathen holiday as well - "Litha" is apparently an option but I don't like that name. It's a strange holiday for me as far as whom I honour goes. Others like to honour Baldur, which I feel I shouldn't really do as it's my fulltrui's fault he's where he is. I honour Sunna in part, though she seems so far away. When things are a bit open, I tend to go for someone who kind of fits, and whom I don't get to honour much. So Tyr, on this date, because I respect and like him a great deal and because apparently Things were held on this date.
Summer Solstice I try to hold at the proper time. Summer is a very lazy time, for me, for the world around me and for my country in particular as everyone gets about four weeks off at this time of year, and those who take their holidays at other times get four days of stat holidays. The entire country acts like they're stoned and laxxed out for at least two weeks. Everyone walks around half-dressed and barefoot in the sun. It's fab. Food is plentiful, it's too warm to want to do anything but not yet the horrible heat of late summer, there's still enough moisture everywhere and everything just sort of lies there. Animals, birds, plants. Because the sun is at its apex I honour the Lord primarily on this day, though my Lady gets Her due. It's also the time when days stop getting longer and start getting shorter, which is something I focus on.
Next holiday is Lammas. Loaf-mass, that is. I always feel the desire to bake bread, though I don't bake as a rule and wouldn't know how to make bread in particular. So I pop some of those dinner rolls in the oven that come half-baked from the supermarket and need about five minutes to finish baking. So they smell fantastic and are warm and good.
I celebrate my Heathen holiday as Freyfaxi. It tends to be earlier than Lammas proper. As a date that's traditionally connected to the harvest I honour Freyr (plus it has his name in it), but also Thor and Sif. Thor's lightning keeps the soil fertile and Sif is connected to the harvest with the myth about her hair being cut and replaced. (By Loki. Looking at it, we may have him to thank for seasons at all! ha.) As a date when I get a chance to connect with Sif, whom I quite like, I enjoy this holiday.
Lammas proper brings my Hedgecraft closer to the hearth, as a Craft holiday that I connect with home as well as with the world around me and celestial bodies. The baking, and so on. It's also a time when it's getting very hot. After the growing season, everything is tired and parched and ready for the autumn. I celebrate the arrival of autumn and the passing of summer, which at this point I am totally over.
Next up, Autumnal Equinox. This actually tends to come first on my calendar, before the Heathen holiday. I love autumn particularly. The same equinox deals apply as to spring, and I swap my gold altar candle for my black one. Nights are now longer than days, with all that implies.
Winter-finding is particularly connected to the weather. While some holidays depend on the smell of the coming season in the air, Winter-finding falls on the first cold day after the Equinox. I honour Oðinn, as a god of winter and of wisdom, and of the coming cold weather.
Then there's Lokablot, which is rare in the Heathen world and falls on April 1st. It's one of those precious rare holidays that's on the same date in the Southern as it is in the Northern hemisphere, and appears to be the Official Unofficial date for honouring Loki. Lokeans the world over have decided this apparently independent of one another. I drink to Loki on this date, usually shots of something like Cointreau. In its own way it's like a "new year" for me, a touchstone, and I value it highly.
Winternights comes next. The traditional date would be about May 1st but if I don't smell winter in the air or it doesn't feel right I'll delay it. I think it's one of the rarer Heathen holidays, as far as number of people holding it goes, but I like it as another opportunity to honour Hel and the ancestors.
Samhain is one of those holidays I had great trouble bringing myself to rename. I have a couple of ideas that I implemented this year: Old Year's Night and Nox Umbrarum (night of shadows). It's the date I bound myself to my path, whatever it might be, so it's an anniversary for myself in that sense. It's also one of my favourite sabbat of mine and a day I honour death and the dead. This year I stretched it out to two days, in order to honour the dead in their own right on the first day and the Gods on the second.
And then comes Yule again.....
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Defining the Witch
A friend and I are what I would term "traditional witches". That is, we draw our practices and spiritual beliefs from folklore and pre-Gardner witchcraft. (I distinguish this from, say, Cochrane's craft, which is not what one would term "pre-Gardner", and like Wicca has much in the way of Ceremonial influences.)
We find that in books on the occult and modern witchcraft, what we do is often ignored. Witchcraft becomes narrowed down to Wicca-flavoured variations, without acknowledgement of more traditional forms of witchcraft. This is partly because there are few of us, partly because what we do isn't very specific. There can be massive variations from witch to witch, and in particular between a traditional witch and a Wicca-flavoured witch. We don't fall within a particular definition, nor is witchcraft inherently religious, nor is it a form of Paganism. We're not trying to criticise these paths, just the narrowing of "witch" in this way, and the lack of variation in many books on the subject. A book on witchcraft is likely to be about a particular form thereof - which is good, but still leaves a gap when it comes to discussing witchcraft in a more general sense.
What we would like is a book about witchcraft as a whole. Not one that uses "witchcraft" to refer to just one path, or even just one religion. Not one, either, that over-generalises across all paths and lumps them into one, to suggest that all witches are Pagans or even theists. We'd like to see a book that discusses many different forms of witchcraft in a proper way.
We aren't sure this book exists. So, we're keen to write one. This will take time, and it will take a great deal of research also. If nothing else, "witchcraft" is an incredibly difficult thing to define. What distinguishes witchcraft from other forms of magical practice, like Ceremonialism? What counts, and what is distinct? Is it proper to call, say, Hoodoo witchcraft? Is one a witch by virtue of practising witchcraft, or is there some moment when you become a witch, or truly realise what it means to be one?
As a part of this, we are very interested in what the witchcraft community at large has to say. If you have answers to these questions, either specifically or more or less covered in a blog post or forum post you've written previously, please let us know by posting or putting a link to it in the comments, or by sending me an email.
How do you personally define "witchcraft"?
What beliefs do you think all witches share?
What practices do you think all witches share?
How does one know when or if one is a witch? Does practising witchcraft make one a witch automatically, or is it something you become?
What was the first time you really felt like a witch?
What specific practices, in their own right, do you consider to be witchcraft?
What topics or issues do you wish were covered in more books on witchcraft? If you were designing your perfect book on witchcraft, what would you want to see included?
We find that in books on the occult and modern witchcraft, what we do is often ignored. Witchcraft becomes narrowed down to Wicca-flavoured variations, without acknowledgement of more traditional forms of witchcraft. This is partly because there are few of us, partly because what we do isn't very specific. There can be massive variations from witch to witch, and in particular between a traditional witch and a Wicca-flavoured witch. We don't fall within a particular definition, nor is witchcraft inherently religious, nor is it a form of Paganism. We're not trying to criticise these paths, just the narrowing of "witch" in this way, and the lack of variation in many books on the subject. A book on witchcraft is likely to be about a particular form thereof - which is good, but still leaves a gap when it comes to discussing witchcraft in a more general sense.
What we would like is a book about witchcraft as a whole. Not one that uses "witchcraft" to refer to just one path, or even just one religion. Not one, either, that over-generalises across all paths and lumps them into one, to suggest that all witches are Pagans or even theists. We'd like to see a book that discusses many different forms of witchcraft in a proper way.
We aren't sure this book exists. So, we're keen to write one. This will take time, and it will take a great deal of research also. If nothing else, "witchcraft" is an incredibly difficult thing to define. What distinguishes witchcraft from other forms of magical practice, like Ceremonialism? What counts, and what is distinct? Is it proper to call, say, Hoodoo witchcraft? Is one a witch by virtue of practising witchcraft, or is there some moment when you become a witch, or truly realise what it means to be one?
As a part of this, we are very interested in what the witchcraft community at large has to say. If you have answers to these questions, either specifically or more or less covered in a blog post or forum post you've written previously, please let us know by posting or putting a link to it in the comments, or by sending me an email.
How do you personally define "witchcraft"?
What beliefs do you think all witches share?
What practices do you think all witches share?
How does one know when or if one is a witch? Does practising witchcraft make one a witch automatically, or is it something you become?
What was the first time you really felt like a witch?
What specific practices, in their own right, do you consider to be witchcraft?
What topics or issues do you wish were covered in more books on witchcraft? If you were designing your perfect book on witchcraft, what would you want to see included?
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
A Milestone
So, at some point last month the blog ticked over to 1000 pageviews. And I didn't really notice at the time, so I didn't say anything.
But I'm looking at it now, at just over 1100, and feeling pretty pleased about that. I'd like to thank everyone for reading, thank you all for linking me on your sites or on tumblr, on reddit, on stumbleupon. Thank you also for your comments and feedback. It means a lot to hear from you, and to know that you're enjoying what I'm writing.
Thanks everyone <3
But I'm looking at it now, at just over 1100, and feeling pretty pleased about that. I'd like to thank everyone for reading, thank you all for linking me on your sites or on tumblr, on reddit, on stumbleupon. Thank you also for your comments and feedback. It means a lot to hear from you, and to know that you're enjoying what I'm writing.
Thanks everyone <3
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