Halloween Plans?

In the Middle Ages it was believed that witches communed with the devil on Halloween night, which was then known as the witches’ Black Sabbath, and that they did all sorts of heinous things on this night. It was believed that witches celebrated this sabbat by sacrificing and eating children, dining on bread made from human feces and urine, kissing the asses of cats, and fornicating with the devil and his consorts. They rode their broomsticks to secret locations where they held Black Masses during which they summoned the devil, entered into blood pacts with him, and ultimately sold their souls to him. They also plotted ways to destroy all the god-fearing Christians in their villages. In other words, this was one busy night for witches. History shows us that these misguided beliefs were drummed up by the early Christian church in an attempt to squelch any pagan rituals still being carried out, though obviously with none of the above activities as any part of them. But by the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, these beliefs were so widespread and ingrained in the people, it was only natural and certainly no surprise that witch hunts were carried out to the degree they were.

Personally, I much prefer eating chocolate to eating children or feces, but I wouldn't mind the occasional, and most likely highly exhilarating, ride on a broomstick.

Lammas Lore

Lammas is definitely not my favorite sabbat, due mostly to the fact that it's usually scorchingly hot here which leaves one with little energy to devote to a celebration. But that doesn't mean I won't be baking loaves of wheat and multi-grain breads in honor of the day (despite the torture of turning on my oven on a really hot day), though I probably won't be doing much else. That said, like any of the sabbats, if you look deep enough you'll always find some truly odd bits of lore that are much darker than our modern observances, and that makes any festival day more interesting.

We may celebrate Lammas with the baking of grain bread or the making of corn dollies but the ancients celebrated it much differently. Thinking of marrying someone but not sure you're ready to commit your life to them? Tradition holds that you may begin a "trial marriage" on Lammas that lasts but a year and a day, ending on the following Lammas, at which point you must then decide whether to stay in the marriage permanently or kick your temporary partner to the curb.

Sacrifices have always been a part of the observation of this sabbat, not only to thank the Goddess and the God for abundances past, but also to ensure that the coming harvest will be a success and thus enable ourselves and our loved ones to survive the winter. At one time it would have been the king, god incarnate to his people, who was sacrificed, but with a substitute used in place of the actual king. In the year 1100, however, King William II after having publicly declared his disdain for Christianity and declaring himself a pagan, was killed in a suspicious hunting accident on August 1. Historians believe that his was a sacrifice in disguise for the benefit of the Christian church.

And then, of course, there's the Catherine Wheel. After the day's festivities were over, a large wagon wheel would have been taken to the top of the nearest hill, covered with tar, set ablaze and ceremoniously rolled down the hill into the village. This was symbolic of the sun or the Sun God himself in decline as autumn approaches.

I plan on keeping my husband well past next week and without any sacrifices or flaming wheels, my Lammas will undoubtedly be pretty boring. I do look forward to some lovely loaves of homemade bread though. Whatever you choose to do for the sabbat, rejoice in the passing of one season and welcome the coming of the next.

Photo of wheat courtesy of k.barker on flickr.

Eclectic Spirituality

I've been giving some thought to the idea of eclectic spirituality and the fact that I have been for decades picking and choosing from the world's various belief systems that which I personally identify with and that feed my soul. In doing so I have tailor-made a spirituality that suits me to a tee, yet is constantly shifting a tiny bit in this or that direction as who I am changes through the years. I'm a pagan, a witch, and a woman who spent a full decade of her life studying Buddhism and who incorporates many of the Buddha's teachings into her present philosophy. I am a follower of ayurveda and a practitioner of yoga. As a direct descendant of a full-blooded Native American woman, I engage in many tribal rituals and honor Mother Earth every single day. And while it's well in the back of my mind these days, I also still carry with me the biblical theories pummeled into my brain during confirmation classes, growing up as a little girl in the stuffy and unpleasantly straight-laced Lutheran Church. I believe in the God and the Goddess, I believe in Mother Earth and the four elements. I honor and live by the years, the seasons, the days, the hours. I honor the moon. I believe in magick and intuition and divination. I am a very spiritual person, which (in my opinion, at any rate) is a very different thing from a religious person. A religious person I am not and never have been.

And the funny thing is, I would have thought that this movement towards the eclectic really began in the 60s when so many people were searching for something deeper, something more mystical than everyday life (and quite a bit of drugs) provided. I'm not so naive to think that there was no dabbling into other faiths and beliefs prior to that period, but it feels like that decade is when spiritual momentum shifted into high gear. The term "new age" (which I hate, by the way) was coined in the 80s to describe that decade's movement into the eclectic and many scholars still treat the 80s as though that period was the first real movement towards something broader than a single-based faith. Unfortunately though, that tag brings with it a whole lot of mental images best left back in the 80s, never to be seen or heard from again. And even today, the term "new age" is used rather derisively by most people, both in and out of the mainstream.

But surprisingly, following an eclectic path spiritually dates back to ancient Greece. The word eclectic comes from the Greek word eklektikos which means "selective, or the act of picking out." One of the first to ever take from the world's existing religions and philosophies and blend them into a truly personal spirituality was Ammonius Saccas, a philosopher who left no writings of his own but was referred to by many other Greek philosophers in theirs, namely Plotinus and Porphyry. Ultimately, Saccas wanted to fuse all religions together into one that honored the Divine Being who made everything possible, as all faiths ultimately originate from this same source, and by returning to it one could end a lot of hatred. His studies gave rise to the term "eclectic" and although his beliefs were accepted by many, ultimately he was driven out of his homeland and silenced by the early Christians.

And despite a couple of millennia passing, life doesn't change all that much does it? And regardless of what others think of me, or my belief system, I'm going to continue on the path laid before me. It feels right in my heart and soul and ultimately, that's the only thing that truly matters. It's taken a lifetime of searching for me to feel as peaceful as I feel today and that's a beautiful thing. Happiness and sorrow are both fleeting, but being able to find peace in who you are and what you adhere to is the perfect foundation on which to build everything else. Go where your heart leads you and fear nothing.

A Pentagram Rant

I have a real problem with the pentagram being given such a bad rap by so many people, especially when the beliefs they hold (and spread) about this symbol are misguided, wrong and frequently detrimental.

I enjoy watching a paranormal TV show that shall remain nameless, and while I find most of the show to be interesting and thought-provoking, I find that several of the cast members who are devout Christians of a specific faith regularly reference the pentagram as a symbol of devil worship, demon possession and something to be feared. And this really bothers me as it propagates the notion that those of us out of the 'broom closet' as it were, and openly wearing one at our throats, are evil, perhaps even satanic, and blatantly advertising it for all the world to see. It only serves to make our pagan lives more difficult than they already are when we are forced to defend or explain our beliefs to those who automatically assume we practice the Black Arts simply because of a small star enclosed in a circle.

The pentagram is a symbol of spirituality, with four of the points representing the four elements of earth, air, fire and water and the fifth representing the Spirit of the Divine. It has actually been in use since at least 3000 BC, where in Babylonia the five directions were astrological and represented the planets Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn and the fifth point, Venus, as the Goddess of Heaven. In Taoism the pentagram represents the five Chinese elements of earth, wood, water, fire and metal. Early Christians at one time used the pentagram to represent the five wounds of Christ (the Mormons still use the symbol in much of their architecture) and it was even the symbol of the city of Jerusalem for a time.

But somehow, somewhere, probably in the 19th c when the occult and all its frightfulness and intrigue took hold of so much of the population, it became something to fear, something unsettling. And while there are some Satanists who use it reversed with the three points facing down to symbolize a rejection of the Holy Trinity, the majority of people who use a pentagram use it to honor Spirit and all that Spirit encompasses in this beautiful natural world. And while it can be symbolic of that which is magickal, as we use it so much in circle, from calling the quarters to decorating our altars, it shouldn't automatically be assumed that the magick it's used for is black and dangerous.

Close-mindedness and ignorance are never a good thing, and when coupled with religious intolerance, they are a very dangerous thing. I try very hard to remain gentle when questioned by curious or concerned strangers about my belief system, even when I feel threatened by their fear and anger. By being kind, even in the face of hostility and derision, perhaps I can teach the truth to a few people who hopefully might in turn enlighten others if the subject of the pentagram and devil worship ever arises again in their lives. In the meantime in my own life, I'll continue to be annoyed by people who should know better (read: people of any faith who are by profession paranormal researchers). Stop spreading hatred and fear. Please.

Religious Intolerance Sucks

Why must people be so intolerant when it comes to spirituality? If the motivation one has actually comes from the Divine, from Spirit, from God, then it wouldn't be cold and evil, would it? The Goddess/God knows no religion, as religion and church are man-made and Spirit is natural and pure. When one follows a religion that follows Spirit in name only, but is in fact merely a group of people who are more concerned with self-gratification and personal gain (including amassing untold riches), in controlling those below them and coercing others into doing their bidding and blindly following their dogma, then one ceases to be spiritual even if one appears to still be "religious." There is a big difference between the two.

A great many people who purport to be good, God-fearing Christians are the single most close-minded, condescending, shallow and mean people I have ever met. They will tell you that by not accepting Jesus Christ as your savior that you are going to go to hell for all eternity. They fear anything different and they really fear anyone of the Pagan/Wiccan persuasion. Any amount of explaining that these gentle earth-based religious belief systems have absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with devil worship, and that the pentacle is not a symbol of Satanism or anything similar will fall on deaf ears. And all you get instead is someone with their fingers stuck in their fearful ears saying "badbadbadbadbadbadbad." Pagans are not atheists nor satan worshippers and they don't feel that those who choose other spiritual paths are evil, or inferior to them, nor do they spend their time attempting to convert folks to a Wiccan path because they believe that's the one true path to God. Not everyone who is a member of a mainstream religion is this obnoxious, but the majority of them sure seem to be and that's truly sad.

I can't think of any building more spiritual than a church or a temple, but fill it up with the parishioners and it usually becomes the least spiritual place on earth, with human nature ruining a simply perfect thing. People are inherently selfish, petty, rude and childish and a group of churchgoers is no exception. A Christian flock is really not so different than a group of social-climbing, intolerant third graders out on the playground at recess. To me, the Divine is most found in the wild where earth is at her most primal and her most untouched and there is no one there to ruin the purity of what nature has made. Spirit is in every leaf, every rock and on every breeze. The Goddess and the God are peace and gentleness and compassion. And that's the way spirituality should be felt: in one's soul and with love for everyone, regardless of who or what they are. You have your beliefs and I will respect them with my whole heart, so why can't you respect mine? Oh yeah, that's right: because I'm different from you.