Pagan Spirituality

The word “Spirituality” often crops up in discussion amongst Pagans. It’s an interesting concept, Pagan spirituality can almost seem like a contradiction in terms to the individual outside the Pagan realm; references to Magic and occult ceremonies, an assertion that the divine feminine loves all beings and that eternity is not judged by this life alone. In fact Pagans tend to resist the whole concept of a “Day of Judgment” Referring instead to laws of cause and effect; the three fold law or versions of Karma. The rewards or punishments of actions will be received either in this life or in another incarnation. That, in itself, presents a rather different concept. To the Pagan community, there is no permanent Hell. When you have sufficiently made recompense for your actions you may move on. This is best illustrated by the following story;

“Once there was a Priest whose duty was to prepare Goats for sacrifice. One day as he was commencing his duties the Goat he was preparing began to laugh, a very human laugh. Startled, the Priest asked ‘Why are you laughing?’ The Goat replied ‘For five hundred years I have been born as a goat to be sacrificed, born and reborn for the same fate but this time, when I am sacrificed I will be reborn as a man’ The Priest congratulated the Goat and said he was happy it would be so. Just then he saw a tear in the Goat’s eyes. ‘Why the tears?’ Asked the priest. ‘Because’ replied the Goat ‘five hundred years ago I was a Priest who sacrificed Goats’

The question that is then asked, and it is a fair question from the religion point of view, is that if there is no immediate judgment and everything will balance out in the by and by, what is the incentive for being spiritual?

Another apparent contradiction to Pagan Spirituality also raises itself. Pagans often speak of using Magic to manifest desire; Pagans frequently find themselves defending gay marriage and group arrangements. There is Sex Magic, The Great Rite and men and women jointly performing rituals naked, or “Sky Clad” as it is often called. This manifestation of Earthly desire and the glorifying of the body appear to the outside as the very opposite of spirituality. These questions bring us to the very foundation of what makes the Pagan, the Magical People, different.

Religions see a duality of Body and Spirit, Religions see them as separate entities and insist that the Body with all its earthly desire must be controlled and subordinated. The Pagan sees no such duality. To the Magical People there is no duality in that sense. We are one person and honoring our body and the body of another is a spiritual practice. The phrase often heard in Witches Coven and Druid Grove alike is;

“We are not bodies having a spiritual experience. We are spirits having an earthly experience.”

Once this concept is fully grasped then the questions of birth, death and re-birth are easily answered. The fulfilling of the Mortal experience is the aim along with a realization that such an experience must be done carefully, thoughtfully and with attention to the ripples it may cause. “Do as you will but harm none” is still the best counsel though the application is not as easy as it may sound. Pagan Spirituality is not about controlling or abandoning the desires of the body, Pagan Spirituality is about recognizing the whole person. Completely existing in this incarnation and living life to the full.

Have a wonderful and Magical life my Brothers and Sisters. All that this World has to offer is yours. Do not be distracted by the poverty of mind or the poverty of circumstance that many find themselves in. The Magic and the Blessings of the Gods are yours in abundance, you just have to learn how to claim your birthright.

Your birthright and your joy and the honoring of all that you are lie in the Love of the Earth and the Love that the Goddess has for you.  This is Pagan Spirituality.

Prosperity Ritual

One of the saddest and most disturbing things I hear about is people who follow the pagan Path finding themselves in dire poverty. I am referring to homes lost, cars repossessed and even homelessness. There seems to be something quite wrong about this. Those who have given their lives to honoring the old Gods should not end up this way. Since getting involved in Twitter and Facebook, especially Twitter where almost all of the people I interact with are Pagan, I have become more and more concerned with the brothers and sisters who find themselves in dire straits.

Those who love the Goddess and give honor to the Gods of nature should not find themselves in such a situation. I am firmly convinced that abundance is our goal. Enough to meet your needs is not sufficient. If all you have is enough for your needs then you have nothing to contribute to the truly needy and helpless. How can we donate to causes and give material aid to those in real need if all we have is enough for ourselves. So here, in this blog, I want to share a prosperity ritual. Drawing wealth to yourself through Magic.

Create an Altar specifically for this task. Declare to the Gods and to yourself that this is a Sacred Place. Every morning have your favorite Tarot deck prepared. Place upon your altar four cards from your deck using the 10 cards. These are the cards of abundance in the four suits. Place the 10 of Pentacles in the North, Swords in the East, Wands in the South and Cups in the West. Below the cards place a stone in the north, a feather in the east, a candle in the south and a small vessel of water in the west. In the center place whatever money you may have with you that morning. It doesn’t matter if it is only a coin put it there.

The next part I cannot tell you what to do. This is a matter for yourself, your needs and your relationship to the Gods. All I can give are general guides. First prepare yourself. What you are doing must be done with intent and awareness. Do not let your mind wander from the task at hand. Feel within you your love for the Gods and for the World we live upon. Spend some time in feeling the earth and exploring your feelings. Facing the North, let your consciousness flow down beneath your feet. Feel your consciousness moving below the rock, through the magma down to the very core of the Earth. Then draw that power through the Earth back up into your body. Feel the strength and energy of the Earth fill you.  Face the East, the direction of the rising Sun. Use your own words, drawing upon the way your preparation has filled your being and call abundance to yourself. Repeat this ritual every morning.

Magic appears to most of us in two ways; luck and coincidence. Pay attention, luck and coincidence will occur in your life, be prepared to move in the direction they take you.  Then you will be able to say, as I do every day;

“ I am Goddess Blessed”

The return of Magic and the Old Gods

THE RETURN OF THE OLD GODS
The people came to the Earth weak and frail, naked to the elements. The Elves looked on, for the people resembled the Fair Folk in outward appearance while the spirits of Tree and Stone watched and waited.

The people struggled to survive. It was not the will of the Gods that they perish, Mother Earth had brought them forth for purposes yet unclear so the Elves gently guided them and the people learned to survive. They learned when to plant and when to harvest. They learned the movement of animals, those they could eat and those that would prey on them.

In this learning they drew close to the Earth and to Nature. What was done to survive, in time, brought to them the greatest of all treasures. Their eyes and hearts were opened. They touched the AWEN the source of all inspiration and that which had inspired the creation of the Universe. They touched the NWYFRE, the life force of the Earth and the power to create and sustain all life. They saw the hidden world of the Fae. They spoke freely with the Elves and learned and did commerce with them. In those days the Gods walked the Earth and were known to the people.

The people were blessed and prospered and spread throughout the Earth.

As they lived separately they began to perceive the Gods in different ways. The people of the desert viewed the same God differently to the people of the mountains and the forest dwellers perceived other Gods. Then languages changed, words were expressed differently from one family to another and the people forgot that they spoke to the same Gods.

The people went to war. They fought for sport and food and greed. This was a time of heroes and legend. Of great deeds of darkness and of light. Some went to Elvenhome and returned with magical weapons. Some walked with the Gods and became mighty from their favor. This was the undoing of Gods and Men. 
All the tribes of the people called on the Gods to protect them but what were the Gods to do? The people invoked the same God to aid each side and unknowingly set God against God and even invoked a God to war against Himself. After a time it was seen that this could no longer be or the striving of the Gods would tear apart the fabric of time and space. So the Fair Folk hid their world and the Gods withdrew from the cares of the people. Magic was fading from the Earth, weapons of steel replaced prayer and incantation. Anger and fear replaced the sacred circles of love and fellowship.  Winter darkness covered the Earth. 

Still, the Gods knew that, in time, an awakening would occur, light would once more fill the Earth and the joy of life would once more fill the hearts of the people. So the old ways were preserved by an ever diminishing few. 

They were hidden, those who knew the ancient secrets. In cave and forest they hid from persecution and unbelief. They were hunted and those who had sworn to do no harm were burned or worse. Even when the killing ended, those who dared show themselves were called "Workers of Wickedness." Those who love life were called "Friends of Evil". So they hid and the Magic hid with them and was gone from the land. 

Through all this age of darkness a glimmer of hope found its way into the hearts and minds of the people. A story appeared here. A myth appeared there. There were legends and stories of heroes from bygone days. The tales remained, often-times changed so that the darkness would not perceive the light but the deep meanings were untouched. The hidden ones had sown the seeds of a new Magic. 

There came a time when hearts and minds began to open. Some began to look at the old tales again and take a somewhat sideways glance. Some, with subtle mind and sensitive spirit, saw meanings and a glimpse of other worlds in those old tales. They went, as instructed, to the sacred mound and the standing stone. There they looked with fresh eyes and listened with new ears and, from the depths of the Earth and the wide expanse of the Sky, from the cold of the Ocean to the heat of the Sun, They said:
 
                                                                      "YES! IT IS SO!" 

                                                And magic began to return to the land. 
Originally published on HubPages "The return of Magic and the Old Gods"

The First Axiom of magic

If you look where no one else is looking, you will see what no one else sees. I wrote a whole essay on this statement. This is what I view as the first axiom of Magic. It seems obvious to most and true on a deep level to a few. I changed my mind about presenting the essay here though. Looking and seeing are not efforts, not something to be worked at. These are things to do, or do not. Wonder and magic are all around us. Do you see it? If you do not see wonder and Magic, if you never look where others do not, you may still be happy and successful. You just won’t be Magical, that’s all.

The Axioms of Magic

Something I’ve been thinking about for quite some time is; how do we define Magic?  When the question is asked on an individual basis it is usually phrased “How do you define Magic?” The question is phrased that way because within the Pagan community there is a strong tradition that truth is not necessarily absolute, your truth is not necessarily my truth. I sense that this is more rebellion than tradition. A determination that those who honor the Old Gods will not set an absolute doctrine of “My way or Eternal Hell” as Abrahamic religions are fond of saying.

 There is no evidence of a “Holy War” among Pre-Christian inhabitants of North-West Europe. There were different names for the same God and quite naturally so: The God of a river would be viewed, and named, differently by those who lived near the lake at its source, those who lived near the rapids and those who dwelt by the estuary. Nevertheless there is no evidence of strife, no insistence that this is the God’s name and nature. It seems that each area had its own “Folk Ways” that were accepted by the visitor and the settler. The way in which the modern Pagan movement emulates this is warming and comforting to the modern settler and wanderer in the spiritual communities.

That’s all well and good, but what about the Magic? Some will say that Magic is simply science that hasn’t been understood yet. The problem with that is that science tends towards the absolute and absolute means that one Magic must be everyone’s Magic. The argument that “Your Magic may not be my Magic” Raises the thorny question of “Then what good is it?” If it is only Magic for you, then how can it affect me or any other being? Without universal truth Magic becomes self- serving, growing, or diminishing the practitioner, having no effect in the World and leading to the assertion that Magic fails.

I’ve been wondering for some time if there could be a set of axioms, along the line of Euclid’s axioms that are common to all sciences that could be common to all Magics. So I’m starting a series here on my Blog all about the axioms of magic.

My next post will talk about the first axiom.

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My Gods

I was 13 years old when I had a deeply profound experience. I don't remember the circumstances; I don't remember what brought it on. All I remember is this overwhelming feeling that I had the Love of the Divine. A deep abiding love that would always be with me. It didn't matter if my actions were such that I could never enter the divine presence. The love, once given, could never be lost. Even now when almost 50 years have gone by, I cannot think of this experience without emotion.
I am not a Christian. Since I was old enough to look at the stars I knew that the Hebrew God was not mine. The Gods I connect with are the Gods of my Welsh forefathers before the conversion (To Christianity). This is how I connect:
    I walk through the trees and connect with the wild God of the forest. I breathe his air and see the wonders around me.
I stand by the sea and remember Manawyddan ap Llyr. I see his power and draw strength from the wild beauty of the waves.
I stand by the graves of my parents and grandparents knowing they dwell in Annwn in the halls of Arawn and hear again the wisdom of Bendigeidfran. Resting until they once again enter the Cauldron of Rebirth.
I see the pattern of my life as it has unfolded. A series of events, seemingly random at the time but, looking back, there were no accidents. Everything led to where I am now. Then I think of Arianrhod in her castle of glass, spinning the web of life. Each thread having its own path interconnecting with every other thread. Each thread a part of the greater whole.
Many more come to mind in the course of a life filled with wonder. The Goddess Ceridwen, guarding her Cauldron of Inspiration. Waiting to see if I have the audacity to drink of the Awen. Rhiannon on her great white horse ready to sacrifice all for truth, honor and the care of her child
.Everywhere I stand, everywhere I look I see evidence of my Gods. Evidence that exists in the Trees on my street and the sound of the Birds in the morning. A phrase that resonates with me comes from the holy Book of the Hindu, the Bhagavad Ghita. “If you can see me in all things and see all things in me, then you will never lose sight of me and I will never lose sight of you.”
If the Christian Bible were left out in the wind and rain it would be destroyed. My Bible IS the wind and rain.
When I connect to my Gods in prayer and invocation I do not kneel. I do not bow my head and close my eyes. The Gods who made iron, the Gods who send the wind and the storms did not make slaves. Neither do they wish to be worshipped by such. I stand with my hands open and my eyes up towards the sky. I honor but I do not worship. I connect not genuflect.
I have heard it said that the road to Heaven is straight and narrow and the road to Hell is wide and smooth. I follow neither road. I connect to my Gods in a celebration of life on a long and winding road. I do not know what is around the next bend but my life is filled with joy, laughter, wonder and magic.
And the magic never dies.