shimmer

Posted by Jean at 8:09 PM | Permalink | Comments

13 Reasons Why Pagans Should Vote by Full Circle EventsPagan Voting Project


"Decisions are made by those who show up"--
Aaron Sorkin

1. Because Voting is Very Pagan! Many of us come from proud traditions that used a Council and other forms of the voting process to make decisions. Native Americans, Vikings, the Greeks, and other Pagan cultures valued this right highly, and fought to keep it. Voting is an ancient Pagan tradition. Apathy, on the other hand, is a modern invention--it suits those in power very well indeed, but it disempowers you

2. Because Pagans Know Our History: It’s easy to say, "Never again the burning times," but actions speak louder than words. Let them know we mean it. Vote!

3. Because The Opposition Votes…A Lot: Our government was designed for citizen participation. If you don't vote, other people are going to make the decisions for you. There are people out there who hate us, and who want to take away our rights and freedoms. They are organized, they are active, and they vote. What about you?

4. Because Pagans Honor Our Ancestors: They fought long and hard for the freedoms we have today. Let us respect this heritage and use the rights they won for us all.

5. Because Pagans Have Strong Opinions: If you are eligible to vote, but choose not to, no one should ever have to listen to you whine about the laws and policies of this country. Don’t vote? Don’t Complain!

6. Because Lighting a Candle Isn’t Enough: The last Presidential Election proved that every vote matters.

7. Because "The Supremes" Matter: The next President will appoint the next (2-3) members of the U.S Supreme Court. They dictate what freedoms stay and what freedoms are eliminated by their interpretation of the Constitution. These people have a direct (and final!) say in issues that affect us all.

8. Because "Everything She Touches, Changes": Most politicians think that Pagans are a bunch of apathetic wing nuts who never vote. Why then, should they listen to us? But they watch "voting trends" the way a hawk watches a rabbit. Groups who are known to vote on certain issues (like the so-called "Soccer Moms") have political power which they can use to promote positive change for other like-minded citizens. That said, Pagans do not all have to vote the same way or even vote as a group. What matters is that they know we're out there and that we vote.

9. Because the Personal is Political: Elected Officials make decisions on things that matter to us personally like the environment, jobs, reproductive freedom, education, and health care. Voting is your chance to tell them what you want.

10. Because "As Above, So Below" is Also True in Politics: The Federal & State government decides who gets to benefit from the tax dollars we all pay. Politicians control these purse strings, and they hand down money from above for things like collage loans, animal shelters, libraries, breast cancer research, and more. Make sure that the causes and services you care about get funded. Vote!

11. Because Voting = The Power To Make Social Change: Don’t believe us? Take a look at women's lives before they had the power of the vote, and see how different things are now. Then look at the struggle for civil rights (including the right to vote) by people of color. No one handed their rights to these folks--they had to demand them. And many were beaten, jailed, and killed in the process. Today, people in other countries are literally dying for the chance to vote because they know how important it is. Social change is only possible when we stand up to be counted. So stand up!

12. Because We Want “No Taxation Without (Equal) Representation”: In Congress only 13 percent of the members are people of color, and only 14 percent are women. Want to change that ratio? Vote!

13. Because That Sound You Hear is a Culture Clash: Right now, there are two major political parties in the U.S. These parties see the world in very different ways and each will make different decisions. Their choices will directly affect your future. Meanwhile, minority opinions still struggle to be heard.


While the Pagan Voting Project is non-partisan, I'm not. If you intend to vote for the Warmonger-in-Chief, G.W. Bush, please... do the rest of us a favor and stay home!

Posted by Jean at 4:13 PM | Permalink | Comments

Random Questions

Witches Weekly for the week of August 21, 2004

Have you ever been confronted with a decision you had to make that conflicted with your spiritual beliefs? If so, what, and how did you deal with it?

Well, I can't seem to think of one offhand... one of my things has always been to be honest about who I am, by which I mean I don't lie or duck questions about my religion or my sexuality. I may not share openly with everyone, but if asked a direct question, I answer truthfully. This has sometimes been difficult or uncomfortable, and has freaked some people out, although almost never the people that I think will be freaked out by it.

What was your most spiritual moment?

Each one is fresh and new; how can I compare them? Still, I would have to recall certain moments as particularly moving. Watching a skyclad priestess (was she in aspect? I can't recall) speaking the Charge of the Goddess at a Witchcamp. Reading my poetry to the Goddess out loud during an invocation at camp, while maybe a dozen others read theirs out loud at the same time. My first Feri ritual. My first Reclaiming ritual. The first time I aspected. Calling in the Peacock God. And all the moments where I have broken down, weeping in front of my altar, full of joy, full of pain, full of love, full of the gods and my Self.

Has there ever been a moment where you doubted the path you were on? If so, how did you deal with it?

Quite recently, I became filled with doubts, not about my path per se, but about whether I wanted to be on it. If I see the truth about myself, if I become fierce and powerful and shimmering, do I really want the consequences of that? There are easier paths to follow, even within Witchcraft, than the ones I have chosen. How did I deal with these doubts? I remembered how much I wanted this path, how it's the one that really seems to fit who I am. I remembered how long I have been called to this, how I've longed for the opportunities I've been given over the last three or four years. Do I really want to throw away what I've been offered? Hell no!

Posted by Jean at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments

Tomorrow, Wednesday, August 25th, is a Day of Action in solidarity with the people of Darfur, Sudan.

The Washington Post online has a very good FAQ on the situation in Darfur.

From the Washington Post FAQ:

An increasingly dire situation in Darfur in western Sudan has devolved into the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, according to international observers. Human Rights Watch reports that more than 1 million people have been displaced from their homes and are living in disease-ridden camps. Another 110,000 have fled to neighboring Chad. Hundreds of thousands of people are threatened by starvation, and as many as 30,000 people have already died in Darfur in the past 16 months.

Aid workers warn that the U.N. World Food Program will only be able to reach 800,000 displaced people. If the situation persists, the U.S. Agency for International Development estimates that at least 350,000 people will die of disease and malnutrition by the end of the year.

Tensions between Arabs and Africans competing for scarce natural resources in Darfur first surfaced during the 1970s. In February 2003, rebel groups of African Muslims, fed up with chronic inequalities between Africans and the ruling Arab elite (who are also Muslim), struck out against the Khartoum government. The government responded by arming local militias to crack down on mainly three ethnic groups -- the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa.

The government-backed groups, known as "Janjaweed," terrorize Africans, destroying villages, killing and maiming men, ransacking food supplies and blocking international assistance. The Washington Post's Emily Wax reports that the Janjaweed also carry out systematic campaigns of rape against African women in an attempt to humiliate the women and their families and weaken tribal ethnic lines. Human rights groups say the government, by funding the Janjaweed militants, is carrying out an ethnic cleansing campaign.

A U.N. report accuses local government leaders of instituting a policy of "forced starvation" that simultaneously has government officials denying problems with food distribution while militias prevent food delivery. Aid workers and journalists have been kept from visiting some affected areas since government-backed militias have blocked access to 31 of the approximately 130 camps in Darfur.

For the August 25th Day of Action, Faithful America is hosting a webcast from a refugee camp on the Sudan border with Chad, at 9 a.m. (EDT). They are also asking people to commit to a day of fasting in solidarity with these people. I will fast and pray tomorrow for the people of Darfur. May they be happy. May they be healthy. May they be blessed. May their suffering be relieved.

Further links on Darfur:


• Darfur Genocide


• Save Darfur


• Amnesty International: Sudan


• The Carter Center: Sudan

Posted by Jean at 8:44 AM | Permalink | Comments

de·vo·tion
n.

1. Ardent, often selfless affection and dedication, as to a person or principle. See Synonyms at love.
2. Religious ardor or zeal; piety.
3. 1. An act of religious observance or prayer, especially when private. Often used in the plural.
   2. devotions Prayers or religious texts: a book of devotions.
4. The act of devoting or the state of being devoted.

What does it mean--as a Witch--to be devoted?

I recently went through an extended training, culminating with a dedication ritual. In this ritual, I promised Malik Taus my devotion. Since this ritual, I have found it somewhat... easier? more compelling? to sit each day, to offer earth (flowers), air (incense), fire, and fresh water to Him, to pray openly, admitting that I don't really know how to pray, admitting that I don't really know what to do, admitting that I really need help. I need the gods' help as I seek to know myself. I need the gods' help as I try to be honest with myself, as I try to see the truth about myself and the world around me. Part of me wants to be mercilessly truthful with myself, and part of me wants to run and hide from the pain of these truths. I pray for Him to reveal Himself to me, and also to reveal mySelf to me.

One of the ways I've gotten to know gods in the past has been through research. I am challenged then, by worshipping Malik Taus, the Peacock Angel and lord of the world. There is comparatively little information available about Him, and I am left to rely on my wits, my intuitions, my dreams.

Posted by Jean at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments

Sound
Witches Weekly for the week of August 14, 2004

Do you enjoy having any type of music or sound during a ritual? If so, what?

Drumming is by far my favorite. If alone, I usually do ritual in silence, except for my own voice. I sometimes like bellydance music during ritual, if I am dancing.

Do you have a favorite chant?

I love so many chants, but confess that the "bee dance" song is probably my favorite:

My mind is buzzing like a bee around the blue lotus feet of my Divine Mother, my Divine Mother!

What sound tends to move you spiritually the most?

The sound of the ocean has always been meaningful to me.

Posted by Jean at 4:13 PM | Permalink | Comments

S. died Saturday morning. I was not there, but went to the house as soon as I heard. His forehead was still warm when I kissed him. It was the first time I have ever seen an uninhabited (ie, dead) body, much less that of someone I knew.

I prayed for his spirit, that he may be received and comforted in the Otherworld. I wish I had known him better during his life, and we will all miss him deeply.

In love, may he rest and be healed. In love, may he return again.

Posted by Jean at 2:21 PM | Permalink | Comments

Happy Friday the 13th!

I love Friday the 13th. Part of it is my general rebellious streak. HA! I'm a Witch, and I love to turn things on their heads.

One site notes:

Some historians trace the Christian distrust of Fridays to the church's overall opposition to pagan religions. Friday is named after Frigg, the Norse goddess of love and sex. This strong female figure, these historians claim, posed a threat to male-dominated Christianity. To fight her influence, the Christian church characterized her as a witch, vilifying the day named after her. This characterization may also have played a part in the fear of the number 13. It was said that Frigg would often join a coven of witches, normally a group of 12, bringing the total to 13. A similar Christian tradition holds that 13 is unholy because it signifies the gathering of 12 witches and the devil.

13 is also the number of moons in a year, which is where I think the old saw about covens being 13 members comes from. Friday, no doubt because of the association with Freya, is considered a traditional day for working witchcraft. If Friday the 13th is unlucky because of witches, and I am a witch, it must be lucky for me! Yes, I also feel that way about black cats. I don't walk under ladders, but maybe I will start.

May blessings fall upon you this day.

Posted by Jean at 9:03 AM | Permalink | Comments

My friend is dying.

Really, I suppose, he's more my partner's friend than mine. More really, he is part of the extended "chosen" family of my husband, so I suppose he is really sort of an in-law of mine. We are close in a familial way... it isn't that S. and I have so many shared secrets or that we have done so many things together. It's more that I have known him as family for several years... that he has been to my wedding and noticed my children and laughed at me knitting. My partner always tells me how much S. likes me, and S. always tells me how happy he is to see me, how beautiful I look (even when I look like the ninth level of Hell), how happy he is that J. and I found each other. I love him, and it is a quiet and comfortable love, a deep affection.

My friend is dying.

In the hospital the other day, I knitted and he told me stories about how he and my husband first became friends, about the 1930s and '40s style drag he did when he was young and beautiful, about his lover who died, about all of our mutual friends and family. He told us that way back when, people would knit intricate jewelry from the hair of their deceased, called mourning jewelry. He complained about the bugs on the ceiling that the morphine makes him see. He asked what we would do without him. It isn't fair, he said. It isn't fair. He said maybe he could beat this thing after all.

My friend is dying.

There is no chance of S. beating this. Cancer has eaten him up inside. He has three weeks or less to live. Now he's moved out of the hospital and into the home of friends in our neighborhood. They've known each other for 15 or 20 years. This couple will hospice him. S. is on a morphine drip constantly. He can press a button for more morphine every five minutes. The morphine has to be with him all the time, so it comes in a little canvas pouch, sort of like a camera bag or a square fanny pack. He complained about how hideous the morphine case is. He'd like to have it in a evening bag, I think. He asked a friend (and now, a caretaker) if he could use her Versace bag, but she said no way! Maybe we'll go to the Coach store and get a decent bag for it, he said. I used to have a lovely Coach bag, he remembered. They can't expect a queen like me to carry this ugly thing! he moaned.

For more than 20 years, he's fought off the AIDS he was diagnosed with in the early '80s. Now, an non-AIDS-related cancer will take him. He's right: that isn't fair.

He says he doesn't know what he thinks about God. He hasn't had time to decide, he says. What do I say to him? I know She waits for him, the Dark Mother, as she waits for us all, to receive each one back into our source. He tells me I'm the only religious person he knows. I have no experience with this. I've never seen or sat with the dying. I've never ministered this passage. But now I feel called upon to do so. What can I offer? I sit with him and hold his hand and bless him and pray, pray, pray for him to know peace, for him to be filled with love, for Quan Yin to soothe his brow with Her gentle touch, for Her to pour Her waters of mercy over him and relieve his pain and suffering. But whatever I can do cannot be enough.

I pray that his passing may be gentle and that the Goddess receives him sweetly. In love may he return again. So mote it be.

Posted by Jean at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments

What is Sacred to You?
Witches Weekly for the week of August 07, 2004

What is one item that is sacred to you? (Can be anything, tool, amulet, object, etc)

The response I keep coming back to on this is: my body.

Here's a song I learned at Witchcamp:

My body is a living temple of love,
My body is a living temple of love.
My body is the body of the Goddess,
My body is the body of the Goddess.
Oh, oh, oh, I am what I am,
Oh, oh, oh, I am what I am.

Our bodies are our sacred manifestations, the tools through which we gain experience and learning. Our bodies have much information for us, if we will only listen. As I pursue my initiation, I've learned about things my body needs, and some of the information is holds for me. Blessed be our sacred bodies. Evohe!

What holidays or time of year do you consider most sacred to you personally?
For me, this is very clearly Beltaine and Samhain. Samhain was always my favorite holiday, even as a child. And I was born near Beltane, so that's very special to me as well. Also, sex is very important to me and always has been. Even when I was very young, I thought one of the most peculiar things about most religion (Christian religions were all I was aware of at that time) I was was the vilification of sex. I could never understand how sex between loving adults was immoral or offensive to God. This alone drove me away from most religions I explored in my youth. At any rate, my point is that I have a special love for Beltane because of its celebration of sexuality. (Hmm, there's that body thing again, too.)

Describe your sacred space (can be anywhere, indoors, outdoors, etc):
I suppose anywhere can be sacred space, but I'll take this question at face value. Off of my bedroom is another spare bedroom, where my partner and I keep our clothing. Along with our dressers, I have an altar and two shrines.

I have a shrine to Quan Yin, the Chinese bodhisattva, goddess of compassion and mercy. I offer her fresh water and incense.

I also have an Earth altar/shrine, where I honor the Earth, do Earth magic (like money-drawing), and honor Hecate. I offer fresh water daily and light candles here, as well as make offerings to Hecate.

My main altar is to the Blue God and Malik Taus (who are and are not the same being). Here, I make daily offerings of incense, flowers, and fresh water. I light candles and pray every day (well, ideally) at this altar. I make other offerings as I am called to.

I have art on the walls of this room that remind me of the sacred: a pen and ink drawing of Isis, a painting of a blue moon over rolling hills, a sketch of Marilyn Monroe (to remind me of sacred beauty and sex. Poor Marilyn only wanted to be loved; perhaps she is a martyr of Aphrodite?)

Posted by Jean at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments

This is the book I'm reading at the moment. It comes at a perfect time, because I just found out late last week that a friend is dying. I want to bless him each time I see him.

It became clear to me many years ago that humans are capable of blessing. We don't have to just wish the gods' blessings onto someone (as in "God bless you!), although I certainly do that as well. But we can also bestow our own blessings.

I haven't reached anything earth-shatteringly new in this book yet, but it is beautifully written. There are some exercises later in the book which I may bring to my coven at some point. If any are really good, I may post one here as a kind of sample.

One of the really lovely things I've gotten from this book is that the author (David Spangler) discusses what he calls the "empersonal" spirit, that is, the spirit that resides within the individual, and the "transpersonal" spirit, the spirit that is beyond the individual. He writes:

The empersonal spirit is the presence of wholeness within ourselves, and we may have to go beyond our surface images of who we are in order to find it.... The transpersonal spirit is the presence of wholeness we experience in relationship with the world beyond ourselves, whether the physical world of nature or the non-physical world of spirit.... [T]hese two spirits of wholeness and power are mirrors of each other, complements of each other, twins.

Ah, twins. Divine twins. The Divine Twins. Within and without, these are the Divine Twins we ourselves embody. I love how the mysteries of Feri reveal themselves everywhere.

Posted by Jean at 8:55 AM | Permalink | Comments

For Lammas I harvested green beans and garlic. A lot of the garlic was kind of scrawny, and the green beans were tough and stringy from staying on the plant too long.

Posted by Jean at 10:40 PM | Permalink | Comments