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”

Born again, and again and again

Reincarnation can be a tricky subject for sure. I was recently involved in a Twitter discussion on the subject and I discovered that attempting to make a point in 140 characters or less is also tricky. The third tricky subject is definitions. So I thought I would spell out my views on my blog. It’s also worth mentioning that my views come from three sources: experiences, hearing and reading the old Welsh Myths and legends and from conversations with the wise.

To begin with definitions, the third bit of tricky. When I speak of reincarnation I’m referring to the basic “I” the part of me that really is me, eternal and developing, learning and growing but always me.

There are some who believe that when we die we return to the basic life force. That force may be referred to as the Goddess or something else. The analogy I have heard is of electricity, the life force is something like an electric current that lights up a string of light bulbs. When one goes out it is replaced but the current remains. I reject this view; this is a view that negates the person and the concept of eternal growth for us all.

Most of my views on life and death are based on the principle of the Triquetra and I set them out in an article I wrote for HubPages. Basically, I am convinced that we are eternal beings with an eternal essence. The universe is made up of matter and consciousness and just as matter cannot be destroyed only changed in form, so is consciousness. It may change from one life to another but it is never destroyed. We are on a great and eternal quest, an adventure beyond our imagining while in a mortal frame. You and I will always be you and I. We meet as we walk the long and winding road and we always aid and uplift each other even when it doesn’t seem that way.

Everyone is where they are supposed to be along the quest, some are in a tight, well organized religion, and some are free spirited and open to all views. Where you are is where you are, but one thing seems very real to me. When we do leave this mortal frame, when we cast off this suit of clothes we call a body, we will know for sure because in this question of what happens after death, there can only be one answer.

So if you hear that I’ve died, and then you meet a kid with dark hair, blue eyes and a Welsh way about him, keep your hand on your wallet. I’m back.

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"

Arianrhod, Goddess of the Silver Wheel

Arianrhod, the old tales tell us, lives in a castle of glass Caer Arianrhod it lies hidden deep within the mountains of Snowdonia. There she spins the web of life.

These old Welsh legends have meanings within secrets within mysteries. Arianrhod features prominently in the tale of Llew Llaw Gyffes,  (Lion with a sure hand) in the tale she lays on him three Tyngedau (fates or destinies.)  This gives us a very clear idea of what the web of life is and what is really happening.

The web of life is the firmament above us; the silver wheel are the stars. The stars move around in the sky and this is the web She weaves with the fate of us all entwined within the movements of the celestial web. When Arianrhod gave young Llew his fate She was foretelling what was woven in the silver wheel.

What Arianrhod tells Llew is that he must pass through the three manifestations of the God; Youth, warrior and sage. To be a youth he must have a name that only she can give. So his name is written in the stars. Secondly to be a man he must have weapons and armor, today we might say the “Tools of the trade” whether it be the physical tools of the Carpenter or the education of the Professor. These are the weapons and armor we need to survive. Thirdly he was fated to marry a woman not of the race who walk the Earth. In fact he was to be wedded to the Earth, to the spirit of the land. This is the mark of the sage, to be consort to the land.

These tales were written down after the conversion of the British Isles to Christianity. It was necessary to hide the true meanings so the story is told in such a way to disguise the divine nature of Arianrhod and of her role as the spinner of the web. She is the guardian and architect of the silver wheel that spins above us constantly announcing our Tynged.  

Just as Gwydion presented Llew to Arianrhod, we may go to someone like Gwydion. Someone who is close to the silver wheel, a person with real knowledge of the movement of the stars. Through a genuine and honest interpreter we can gain the knowledge of our fate and the wisdom to work with that fate. The story points out that there was acceptance of the fate but there was no surrendering, there was no giving in. What was done was the successful working within the challenges to bring about the desired result. There is a great lesson in this also.

We must face with courage the decrees of Arianrhod accepting our place within the great web of life, knowing that as one strand grows thin and breaks, another will be spun. So tonight, when you look up at the great silver wheel above your head, know that you and I are joined in the great web of life, eternally a part of the great mystery and wonder that is spun in the castle of glass on the silver spinning wheel of Arianrhod.

Non eclectic me

I occasionally attend pagan rituals in my area around Los Angeles County. Not as often as I should, indeed it’s not as often as I want to. The main problem for me is that rituals and retreats etc. take place on weekends. My career choice involves weekend work so I am effectively excluded from most rituals and celebrations. The cares of the mundane world hold me back and work gets in the way of life. That may well be the subject of another post but, for now; I want to write about the Pagan rituals I have attended here in this part of America.

Frequently before the ceremony begins, the participants are smudged. Drums are played to a Native American beat. In discussion with Americans who are seeking out the ancient path I hear talk of “Karma” and of “Chakras” These things and more make me uneasy and it took me a while to figure out why.

I am Welsh, nothing but Welsh as far back as I know. Most people in America are a mixture of many things. I have become convinced that it is this mixture of cultural heritages that make Americans in particular, more at ease with a mix and match of ritual and doctrine than I can be comfortable with.

I am an old Welsh Druid and that is it, simple and straightforward. I don’t go along with Karma but I understand cause and effect. I have a view of my physical body and its relationship to the spiritual energies that has nothing to do with “Chakra” These concepts are part of the spirituality of India. Valuable and worth knowing about, just not a part of my way or my views on Life the Universe and Everything.

I have a number of Native American friends, my wife is Apache Nation. From time to time we attend drumming circles and I always enjoy the Pow-Wow trail when we can get on it. Nevertheless there has been so much taken from the native peoples I feel that if I were to take an active part I would be just another European moving in on their land again. So I get uncomfortable when, at a Druid ritual, I am smudged. I can accept the gift gratefully when done at a Native ritual but in a European Pagan context it doesn’t sit well. I have come to realize that this is because my life, my heritage and my cultural roots all revolve around a distinctly Brythonic culture. For those who see themselves as new to this long and winding road we call the Pagan path it seems natural to explore various “Traditions” and include them in practice. For me personally, mix and match does not work.

The Awen, lost in translation

The Welsh legend of Taliesin begins with Ceridwen creating a Cauldron filled with a Magical elixir. This is where something tends to get lost in translation. Usually when the story is told, even by me as in this video, it is said that she is stirring the Cauldron of Inspiration. That isn’t exactly correct. Ceridwen is creating Awen.

The Welsh word for “inspiration” is ysbrydoliaeth the legend talks of Awen and that is not so easy to translate. Awen refers to that force in nature that creates inspiration. Frequently the word is translated as “muse” as in a line from the third verse of the Welsh national anthem “Ni liddwyd yr Awen trwy erchyll law brad” The Muse is not hindered by the awful hand of treason. However it means a lot more than that.

Consider the universe as being the ultimate in creativity. Everything in the universe includes all creativity. Creativity permeates the universe because it happens all the time. The universe is also the ultimate in inspiration. The existence of the universe is the product of the greatest inspiration. Awen is the personalization of all the inspiration and creativity that exists. Awen is untranslatable because it is a concept and an event. The event occurs when someone touches the Awen.

In the story of Taliesin he touches the Awen and is transformed forever. He becomes more than he ever could have been. This is the lesson and the challenge for us all. If we could just touch, just take three small drops of the Awen, there is nothing we could not create. We too would be transformed into something beyond our present imaginings. Can we touch the creativity and inspiration of the universe? It’s worth a try. Can we also drink from the Cauldron of Ceridwen?

See you around the fire.