Pagan Thoughts

Unfortunately I’m still having a difficult time focusing during meditation. I’ve been trying listening to music the past couple of days, just cuz I know it’ll be easier for me to ease back into the rhythm this way. Today, I mainly listened to "Riders on the Storm" by The Doors. It’s almost 8am - I think the daylight coming in the window made my efforts a little more difficult. I really wanted to meditate earlier, but I didn’t really have time to before Nick came home, and then he spent most of his time online in the vicinity of my meditation spot. Perhaps ‘tomorrow’ I’ll take care of this earlier in the day (before he gets home), so that it’s guaranteed to be an uninterrupted part of my day. And my yoga too (which I haven’t practiced in a few days )

So, the only really prominent thing during this short session was…every time I cleared my mind of the thoughts & images that would pop up,  I think of it like brushing the snow off a car (one quick swipe)… And, every time I cleared my mind, the image of a Siberian Husky’s face would show up for a couple seconds. So, I figured this meant something, and decided to try & interact with the animal to see if it had any information to share with me. Nothing, really. I just kept seeing him rolling over for me to pet him. Which I did. I also gave it a hug & it licked my face, and told it we would talk more at another time…

Actually, now looking at pictures…I’m not sure if it’s a husky or a wolf. :/ We’ll just have to wait til next time he shows up, and we’ll see.

Wolf

Husky

Research Project

"Wiccans have much knowledge about goddesses and gods. As you have learnt in the lesson this is because they have a sophisticated view of deity that expresses the various forces to be found in existence.

This month we would like you to research a goddess and a god that takes your interest. You may wish to add to your knowledge of the deities outlined in the lesson, or you may want to explore deities entirely of your own choosing. Finding a goddess and a god that you can relate to will be important in your personal magical development for a variety of reasons. They will become a part of your daily life, not only as a source for inspiration but will also allow you to work with the forces that they represent through rites and rituals, as well as the practice of magic.

There are many ways of tackling this project and in your research make sure that you at least consider the following:

Origins in time and place

Lineage

What the deity symbolises

Powers and properties

Associated stories or myths"

Bride, also known as Brighid, Brigid, Brigit and Brid
Origins in time and place - Ireland; Wales
Lineage - Celtic
What the deity symbolises - fertility, inspiration & healing; perpetual, sacred flames; flocks, cattle, water, victory
Powers and properties - triple goddess; ruler of arts and crafts and especially the skills of poetry, smith craft and medicine; Music is also sacred to her and she was a patron of the Bards. She is often likened to the spirit of the grain and corn dollies are traditionally made to honour and represent her; divination
Associated stories or myths - home and hearth; daughter of the Dagda (the supreme god of Celtic mythology); Brighid’s snake emerges from the womb of the Earth Mother to test the weather, (the origin of Ground Hog Day); wife to Bres, an agricultural God; had a sacred temple at Kildare, where 19 priestesses tended a holy flame that was never extinguished. The flame represented Brigid, as the Goddess of fire and forge;The flame was put out in the 18th century by Bishops who became angry at the all-female convent, because they wouldn’t allow men within its walls. In 1993, the flame was relit by the Brigidine sisters of Ireland; In Cath Maige Tuireadh, Bríg (sic) invents keening while mourning for Ruadán (her son by Bres), slain while fighting for the Fomorians. She is credited in the same passage with inventing a whistle used for night travel; goddess of all things perceived to be of relatively high dimensions such as high-rising flames, highlands, hill-forts and upland areas; and of activities and states conceived as psychologically lofty and elevated, such as wisdom, excellence, perfection, high intelligence, poetic eloquence, craftsmanship (especially blacksmithing), healing ability, druidic knowledge and skill in warfare;

Lugh
Origins in time and place - Ireland
Lineage - a reflex of the pan-Celtic god Lugus, and his Welsh counterpart is Lleu Llaw Gyffes "Lugh Strong Hand"
What the deity symbolises - harvest god
Powers and properties - kingship, the Sun, trade, craftsmanship, tricksters, youthful exuberance and shining light; skill with a spear or sling
Associated stories or myths - great monarch & hero; His father and mother’s marriage was likely designed to ease tensions between his father’s tribe the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Formorians who were his mother’s people.  When he reached manhood Lugh travelled to Tara to join the court of King Nuada of the Tuatha Dé Danann. He was eventually given command over the Tuatha Dé, and set about waging a successful campaign against the oppressive Fomorians, finally freeing the Tuatha De Danann from tyranny; hero & high king

http://www.magickaschool.com/freeCourses/index.php?pageNum_rsCourseContent=2&totalRows_rsCourseContent=5&course=6&part=2
http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/celticpanth/p/brigid.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigid
http://www.paralumun.com/celticgoddess.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lugh

The Project

Over the next couple of weeks try to find out all you can about the role of the magician and wizard in different societies and different times around the globe. What do wizards or magicians do and seek to achieve? How do their societies view them? What do you think? Do you believe that magic works and, whatever your view, what do you base it on? There are no right or wrong answers and the course does not seek to push you into one way of thinking or another. We just ask that you research the topic and arrive at your own conclusions.

Some magicians you might like to find out about are Israel Regardie, William Butler Yeats, Chic and Sandra Tabatha Cicero, Aleister Crowley and Lon Milo Duquette. Famous fictional wizards to research are Merlin, Gandalf and Harry Potter.

What I could come up with…

In many of the articles I’ve read, a magician and a wizard are regarded as one in the same. Two articles explained otherwise: "In modern use, the distinguishing aspect for wizards from other magicians is that their abilities were based off of knowledge, rather than faith. This is not to say that wizards did not invoke religion, but it was usually done through secret techniques and rituals as opposed to only prayer"; "Depict magicians as identical to wizards except for being inferior in skill and training."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley#Science.2C_magick.2C_and_sexuality
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magician_%28paranormal%29

Think over the ideas presented in lesson 1. Write down briefly what you do and do not believe at this time about the tarot. Assign a percentage to your beliefs where:

• 0% = "I am totally skeptical about using the tarot for anything but fun."
• 100% = "I am absolutely convinced that the tarot can give me specific, personal guidance."

Well, I guess I’ll put it as a 45% - I believe in it much more because of my first oracle reading with my personal deck. I kind of believe this: if you can see the faces of the cards while they’re being shuffled, your unconscious mind keeps track of where those cards are, even if you flip the deck over and whatnot. So, when subconsciously being pulled to certain cards, your subconscious is, perhaps, coming through to tell you a message. However, you need to know basic information about the cards in order to have any idea wat the subconscious is trying to say — or, perhaps, the brain percives the images and interprets them in its own personal manner. Regardless, I think I’m going to stick with my personal deck at least until I learn more about the meanings behind Tarot cards.

Exercise 1.2 - Getting to Know a Card

• What story do I see in the picture?
• What emotions do I feel?
• How do the details in the picture reinforce those ideas?
• What is the overall mood?
• What do I think this card might mean?

When you are through, go to the information page for that card and read through the actions. Compare these to your impressions. Do not be concerned if your ideas do not match mine. Your intuition is working and already giving you some unique insights! You can repeat this exercise with as many cards as you like.

Since I don’t have a deck, I’ll go find an image of The Empress, since that’s what a "What Tarot Card Are You?" quiz said I am … Luxury. Regarded above all others. Fought for. Loved. Admired. Protective. Nature-loving. A calmness. "the creation of life and its sustenance through loving care and attention" "The Empress represents the fertile, life-giving Mother who reigns over the bounty of nature and the rhythms of the Earth. From her comes all the pleasures and joys of the senses and the abundance of new life in all its forms. The Empress encourages you to strengthen your connections with the natural world which is the ground of our being. Too often false sophistications and pleasures take us far from our roots. Let the Empress remind you to keep your feet firmly planted in the Earth."

Just what I needed - another blog I figured I’d make one for my pagan-ness, since there’s just some things that I’d rather people who semi-know me not comment on. And this blog is probably gonna end up as a Book of Shadows of sorts (which is why I chose this site instead of my regular Blogger.

Note to anyone who stumbles across this blog - I’m not very familiar with how this site works, and I’m just trying to have something extra around, ya know?! So, feel free to comment…but, I don’t know about things such as "refers" or w/e. Sorry, hehe

Anyways… where to begin?

Since being unemployed, I’ve been getting more and more back into paganism. It started with the few pagan groups I was in on MySpace. In one of the groups, CovenSpace was introduced. Since creating a profile on CovenSpace, I’ve not only come to spend the vast majority of my internet time on that site, but I’ve also begun re-learning quite a few things and questioning my views on things. For example, my agnostic view on the idea of a Supreme Being is somewhat fulfilled by the Wiccan idea of the male & female aspects of such a supreme being. Well, having to decide whether I’d want my god to be male or female, I’d choose female because of the ability to carry a child. However, there are (at least) 2 sides to the spectrum. And, rationally, I wouldn’t want to choose just the female.

Anyway… So, I’ve not only been getting re-interested in the philosophies, I’ve also been learning a bit about meditation, yoga, tarot, scrying, and craft projects.

I made a goal for myself on the New Moon to limit my online time… I stuck with it for one day because my boyfriend was spening most of his time online, and I like to spend time with him even if we’re in our own little worlds.

I’ve been very nervous about looking for a job; and I don’t really know what to do about it   It’s making me kind of depressed - I didn’t want to get out of bed today because my dreams were a little disturbing & depressing, leaving me a bit scared to face the world today.

I read something in a topic called "Morning/Evening Rituals" on CovenSpace today that kind of inspired me. But every time I try to make ritual out of anything besides making soup, smoking a cigarette, and either watching tv or going online as soon as I wake up is pretty difficult for me. I try to make habit of doing my yoga & meditation at least every other night; but sometimes I break the habit.

What I read was "WillowWolf"s morning ritual: "I use my coffee maker to make tea…I have tea throughout my whole morning. I usually do the whole ’sit and meditate with the first sip’ thing too. I open my blinds, say good morning to all the cats, then sit down on the floor for a few, and look outside, and appreciate the weather and the day, whatever it is."

That sounds like a much happier and healthier way to start the day than my usual, lol: have some tea (or juice), enjoy the first sip, say good mornin to the cats, and then look outside to appreciate the day & the weather, no matter how terrible it is outside, lol.

The next Full Moon is in a couple of days - I think I might focus on overcoming my previously mentioned anxieties…

So…I suppose I should be gettin’ to bed since it’s almost 7:30 in the morning. I might try gettin’ up a lil earlier again, to try and put myself back on a somewhat normal sleep schedule. So…perhaps I’ll actually stay up a little longer & read more of my alternate Tarot classes