The Jesus Dilemma ~ How do you respond?

 

First, I want to start off by saying that I respect ALL religions. I want to start off by saying that there is no one true right path. I want to start off by saying that each individual has the right to choose their spiritual path and the beliefs that they adhere to, and they deserve this right to be respected by the world community without coercion, ridicule, or prejudice.

I have nothing against Christianity, or Jesus. I have dear family members who follow this spiritual path as well as individuals close to our family circle, and I would not think of interfering with their decision, or degrading their practices, beliefs, and dogmas. Among my own immediate family circle, we are a wide and diverse group. My seven children include, not only Christian practitioners, but Buddhists, agnostics, Wiccans, atheists, and more. Apparently this is something that makes us unique as a group of people that are close knit in spite of our varied and often conflicting spiritual beliefs.

It’s all good.

The ONLY thing that I find offensive about Christianity and the Jesus cult is the hard-core Christians who have a very obnoxious attitude of “My way or the highway”, and their incessant domineering insistence that you must believe what they believe, as well as their often disrespectful attitude and response to people of other spiritual paths. Sometimes this is very over-bearing and in your face, and other times it’s very subtle with biting quips and off hand remarks.

How should non-Christians respond when confronted by disrespect regarding our spiritual paths, practices, and deities without being disrespectful to someone elses’ spirituality?

It’s a conundrum.

A brief note to Christians determined to convert the non-Chrisitian ~

1. Just as grounded and passionate as you are about your Christian faith, we are just as grounded and passionate about our faith.

2. "But the Bible says..." :  You are assuming that everyone in the world views the Bible as a divine work from the spirit world. Not so. I can’t speak for other non-Christians, but I view the Bible as a piece of literature written by men, from a male perspective, over the course of centuries, and modified much through various translations since then.  There is nothing divine about it to me.  As a matter of fact, as a woman I find it very insulting and reflective of the negative attitudes towards women that prevailed back in the day.  And this negative insulting attitude survives to some degree today.

What the Bible says does not impress me.

3. “You need God in your life…”:  I’m assuming, as in god, you are referring to a super-natural entity of a high vibration. If this is the case, I call this entity Goddess, and She indeed enriches my life and life experiences through my connection with Her and the daily spiritual practices I use to connect with Her energy. I can only speak for myself when I say that I view divinity as a universal consciousness expressed around the world through a variety of pantheons, spiritual practices, mystical stories, and archetypes. However you personally connect with divinity, it will be a unique and blessed experience. Just because your experience is different from my experience, does not invalidate my experience, or the higher vibrational entity that I connect with on my spiritual journey.

4. “I’ll pray for you…”:   Under certain circumstances, this can be a positive statement to hear. For instance, if you’re facing a problem or a decision and close friends or family who are of the Christian faith want good things to happen for you. It’s like saying, I’m on your side, or I’ll add my energy for a positive outcome, or I’m concerned about you and I want to help. But when this comes from the lips of someone who is trying to convert you, someone who has pestered and preached to you about your spirituality, someone who has been at you to try and convince you that you are wrong in your beliefs, then this statement is chilling.

All thoughts are energy, no matter who they come from or what they consist of. The energy that these well-meaning people will be sending out into the universe will be very negative and conflicting with your soul and your connection to divinity. 

Personally, I view this as the ultimate insult.

I like to respond without being negative or rude if at all possible. I usually say:  “Well, while you’re praying for me, I’ll be casting a spell for you.” This generally brings about a very shocked reaction. Maybe they never considered that you would reciprocate in kind, or that this was even an option.

5. “It’s heaven or hell…”:  Actually, this is inaccurate. The non-Christian has so many other options. 

First, I have to say that the idea of hell comes from the Bible, so consider the source.  This book was written by controlling domineering males who wanted to intimidate and frighten people, which would make it so much easier to control people.  For the Pagan there is the idea of  The Summerland, the idea of reincarnation, and I'm sure there are other after-life beliefs and doctrines out there from a variety of spiritual paths that I'm not familiar with.  The Christians invented hell, and they can keep it.  It's part of their "reward and punishment" system.

Speaking for myself, the following perceptions were typed out randomly, as they came to mind, in no specific order:

I believe in life after death; I also believe in reincarnation. I believe that it’s possible for some very enlightened gifted individuals to connect with the spirits of those who have passed and communicate with them. I believe in the Wiccan idea of “The Summerland”. I believe that certain soul connections are so strong and indomitable that they reconnect through many life times. I believe that the soul is set free of the physical body at death. I believe we have spirit guides to help us through major transitions in life, which includes death.

Pagans Are Not Immune to Snobbery

 

We think that the Pagan, all hippie love-child neo-nature spiritualist, is above the spiritual snobbery of the mundane Christian mainstream society. Well, we’re not. Pagans are just as human as the rest of the population, and we stumble into all the same societal traps.  We just don’t like to admit it, and we tend to fall back on the peace, love, nature theme to justify ourselves... look at how spiritual I am, look at how in-tune with nature I am, look at how white is my magick, how pure my intentions, how saintly I am.

This is how it really is: 

Just because Pagans follow less conventional spiritual paths than most of society does not mean we are perfect by any means, nor does it imply that we are necessarily even nice.  Some of us aren’t. Sorry, but this is reality. Pagans can be snobbish, elitist, bigoted, holier-than-thou, and just as irritating as any Southern Baptist, as any Catholic, as any Fundamentalist, as any anything.

There is always conflict in the Pagan community, among ourselves. Pagans are just as opinionated as the next person, and there are very definite views, contradictions, contentions, and disputes. 

The disputes seem to mostly center around how to practice witchcraft, what is the RIGHT way... 

How to practice goddess worship correctly, whatever that means, and what about the god.

How to practice magick, what’s acceptable, what’s dark, what’s too dark, what’s light, what’s too light.

Pantheons -- you can’t mix them, it’s okay to mix them.  A Greek goddess would be angry if her energy was mixed with a Nordic goddess and your magick won’t work, etc.

You weren’t initiated by another witch, or you weren’t initiated in a coven, so you can’t be a witch.  

You can only do spells on certain days aligned with certain energies or it won’t work.

You should cast spells in the heat of the moment.  You should never cast spells in the heat of the moment

I’m a Very-Important-Witch because I was initiated by someone who was initiated by someone who was initiated by someone (however many times back) who was initiated by another Very-Important-Witch…

and so it goes.

"The gods or goddesses from different pantheons will be insulted if they're used together, or placed on the altar together..." Who the hell knows that? What mortal can say this with finality? In truth, if magick works through energy and there are five goddesses, all from different pantheons, whose attributes all work for the same purpose, their energy aimed at the same outcome, why couldn’t you work with all five of them for some kick ass enormously powerful energy? 

  

Truth is, you could, and you can. 

At the other end of the spectrum is the pagan who embraces and immerses themselves in the deities from one pantheon, who swears by and only works with the gods and goddesses from one culture, and this is okay if that's how they want to do it, as long as they don't get all ridiculous and "all-knowing", thinking they can tell other pagans how they have to practice their spirituality, how they have to worship a deity. 

The truth is that paganism, or any spiritual path for that matter, can be practiced anyway that the practitioner chooses. You cannot police another person’s spirituality. You cannot force people to believe, or to practice, what you do, or how you do it.  

There’s been a segment of Pagans, around for some time now, who combine witchcraft and Christianity, and this has driven both hardcore Pagans and hardcore Christians nuts. “They can’t do this!” both sides howl in indignation. Why not? Who says?

I mean who says -- who really has any authority, whose opinion would really count? No one, nada. If a Christian Witch wants to cast a circle and use Christ for her god-form and Mary as the goddess, who’s going to stop her? Whose going to be standing around policing her spiritual practices? The fact is that no one has the right to interfere in this case. This witch is what she is, she’ll find her energy through the magickal means available to her, and I predict that the universe will work with her, blessing her endeavors.

There are also cliques. Really. 

You think this is a phenomena relegated to the halls of Junior High? Well, you would be wrong. Adults are just as guilty of being cliquish as teen-agers, and Pagans are no exception to this. Sometimes these cliques are disguised as covens, or as literary groups (who has the magickal stamp-of-approval from the Powers That Be and who does not), or social site groups, pagan internet societies, or any other such society by which people must be okayed and allowed in. I can understand this to a point, as in the case of a coven, where a very specific number of people are desired; but on a vast internet social site, or a piddly little Facebook page, it gets a little stickier, a little trickier.

A spiritual path is suppose to enlighten us, to inspire us, to help us live better lives, more productive lives. We find our inspiration where we do, by super-natural and miraculous means. It really is magickal, this business of finding one’s spiritual path, working ones spells, solemnizing life with our little rituals. The most we can do is to try, try to be better human beings; try to be kinder; try to be more open-minded; try to be understanding; try to love other people and treat them well; try to see the world and the universe in the big-picture scheme of things.

All we can do is try, and some of us will succeed.

Don't Ask if You Don't Want an Honest Answer

 

You call yourself a witch. Do you ever worry about the negative connotations behind the term?

I identify completely, specifically, and thoroughly with the word “Witch”. It is who I am  It is what I’m made of. It envelops me genetically through familial connections, through spiritual connections, ancestral connections, and through universal esoteric connections. I revel in the word. I worship the word and the idea of the creature behind the word. It is one of the most positive connotations in the world. It is the wise-woman, the healer, the mid-wife, the herbalist…it is the ultimate image of the perfect woman.

Here I should note that in modern times many males who embrace the pagan path refer to themselves as "male witches", and they are, by all means, free to call themselves whatever they wish. But for me, within my world, within my practice, within my experience, within my coven… "Witch” is “Woman".

*Note: This blog and my experiences are related to the world through my eyes, through my world.  It is a Woman’s Point of View, a woman born of another generation, a women who views gender in much simpler terms. My focus is on the feminine aspects of my spirituality, my beliefs, my practices, my experiences. I could not, and would not, try to explain or write about the male pagan experience.

Do witches have a creed of some sort?

Some do... those who follow specific paths and formal traditions, those who consider themselves Wiccan, those who practice what they call White Magick, those who stand at the edge of the cauldron and only dip one toe daintily, cautiously, carefully within the bubbling depths, they will have a creed. The Wiccan creed is, “Harm none, do what ye will”, and this isn’t a bad creed. It actually makes a lot of sense. 

Those of us who follow this pagan path did not choose to do so in order to harm anyone. Harming anyone or anything is not our intention, it is not what magick is for. But there are exceptions. Within the world of the Gray Witch, there are boundaries that, under certain circumstances, can be crossed. The one thing that breaks the Wiccan Rede for me is the need for protection, the need for self-defense, the need to keep safe myself, my family, my home, and anything else connected to my world which would directly affect my standard of living, or my sense of well-being.  

Harm me or mine, and you will experience the wrath of the dark angels, the animosity of those spirits called upon for protection, for retribution, for justice.

What are today’s witches like?

Today’s witches are a diverse panorama of women from a varied melting pot of humanity. They are immersed in our culture and within our communities so completely that they have become part of the tapestry of our modern world, rather than some medieval myth.

Who is the Witch?

She’s a teacher, a librarian, a nurse, a doctor, a lawyer, a shop keeper, a writer, a mother, a student. She’s a blue collar woman, she’s a professional woman, she runs a business, runs for office, runs a household. She’s a companion to her spouse, a grandmother, a partner to her same-sex mate. She could be any woman you’ve ever met and any woman that you interact with everyday.

What makes her different from other women? She sees things that other women don’t. Nature speaks to her in an ancient tongue that has been forgotten by most. Her body responds to the waning and waxing of the moon, to the powers of the planets, the changing of the seasons, the behavior of wild animals, the energies of the plants, the energies of the stones.

The Universe speaks to her with the colorful images on cards, by the crystal images of a glass ball, by the movement of the pendulum, by the visions only she is shown.

Who is the Witch?… she is the Sorceress, the Mother, the Healer, the Wise Woman, the Priestess. She is part of a dim and distant past, and she is the shining light of our future.

Witches celebrate the earth and the seasons. What specifically do you do?

We most certainly do celebrate the earth, the turning of the seasons, called “Wheel of the Year”. The progression of the Goddess’s story is highlighted throughout the year.  It’s connected to the natural world, through the cycles of birth, death, and rebirth. 

As I try to explain about the significance of the Pagan holidays in our modern world:

“I think, for one thing, we have some innate deep-seated unspoken need to have our lives punctuated by milestones, whether personal milestones like weddings, graduations, and births; or societal, communal, and spiritual milestones. There’s a strange reassurance that the universe works in an ordered and predictable manner and time table. And maybe this is comforting to us because so much of life is unexpected, unpredictable, played without a script, and undeniably finite.

Long after we are but a memory, there will still be people celebrating these pagan holidays, punctuating the end of summer, welcoming with open arms the predictable end to the season of light and warmth, retreating into the dark and comforting confines of winter and the still peace that it will bring, only to return to a new season of light with spring.”

What specifically do I do to celebrate these holidays?

Some of these holidays might pass quietly, barely noticed by the rest of the household, significant only to me, celebrated with somber reflection in the flame of a candle upon my personal altar. Other holidays are more all inclusive. like Samhain (Halloween), when we get all giddy and excited, decorating the house and grounds for the evening, opening our doors to friends and family, reconnecting with our ancestors, but also reconnecting with each other. As the bonfire burns late into the night on Samhain Eve, and the air gets cooler, we huddle together, punctuating another year, reminiscing about the past and looking towards the future.

Is a coven supposed to be 13 women?

A coven can be anything you want it to be.  As far as I know there are no written rules and laws to be followed, there are no Pagan Police who will break down your door and serve you with a warrant if your coven is all female or all male, whether it has 13 members or a hundred. A coven is a very personalized group of people, like-minded people, gathering to celebrate their pagan spirituality, gathering to support each other in the day to day humdrum of daily life. Coven members provide a shoulder to cry upon, an ear for listening, a field board for new ideas. Your coven consists of people you can laugh with, be totally yourself with, and they are a group of individuals within this great big wide world with whom you can depend upon for loyalty. Your coven should be a safe haven.

My personal preferences?... my coven is an all female coven consisting of 13 members. I prefer the all female energy, the hen-party aspect if you will.  I prefer a small group, and I like the number 13.  It’s significant to me and it "feels good". I want Coven Sisters for all the reasons I just stated in the paragraph above.

Reality check:  when you put any group of people together, it might take some time, some experimenting, some failures, before you create a group of individuals who will work well together, who will successfully support each other, who will get along, and who will click. But when it works, you know it; and when it works, it is an amazing experience.

Is there a prescribed form to your rituals?

Yes and no. I’ve performed formal rituals, and I’ve written formal rituals. I’ve done so in the past, and I probably will do so again in the future. But this is not the only way I connect with the Divine.  This is not the only way I celebrate my spiritual path; this is not the only way I create magick. My favorite form of witchery lay in the world of the Kitchen Witch, the Green Witch, the natural witch. Spells put together by the seat of your pants, on a wing and prayer, have been some of the most powerful and successful magickal endeavors of my life. When Spirit hits you, when you make this connection, you want to grasp it when and where you find it. My special connection with the Goddess does not rely upon getting all dressed up in formal robes and wielding a ceremonial sword to cast a formal circle.

How does being a witch help you in your everyday life?

Being connected to your spirituality, no matter what path you take, is reassuring in the idea that there is more to the big picture. There’s something larger than ourselves.  There is a higher power, there is a rhyme and reason to the Universe and how it works; and thus, there is a rhyme and reason for existence within this realm.

Witchcraft is a very unique spiritual path, in that the power to create change, the power to shape our lives, the power to overcome obstacles all lay within us. Divinity is part of us, not some intangible stereotype hovering in the heavens above watching us. I embrace the Goddess.  I am the Goddess, and the Goddess is me. All of life’s infinite possibilities lay in the knowledge of my own being and within the energies and entities that I have aligned my life with.

If you approach your spirituality in this way, everyday is a celebration of the miraculous.

The Frenzied Drama Around "Historical Accuracy"

 

“I Offered the Wrong Fruit to This God!"... "I set up my altar the wrong way!”…"I made the gods angry and now My Life is Falling Apart,” they wail.

People, mostly youngish people I’m finding (mostly), have gone over-the-top insanely fixated on practicing their paganism from a strictly Historically Accurate context. We all know that this is impossible, those of us old ‘uns who’ve been around a while and tread the pagan path from various perspectives and dimensions and pantheons.

I sit back in quiet amazement watching the high-drama:  "I’ve insulted Zeus and Cerridwen !"

(This is a Greek god/Celtic goddess, for those who don’t know, and that’s ok, and this was an actual FB post meant in all seriousness)

These people chasing historical accuracy either set an altar up "WRONG", or put the wrong offering out, or put the opposing altar with the opposing deities from opposing pantheons and cultures up too close together, or on the wrong day, or with the wrong intention… on and on and on and on.

If you want REAL historical accuracy, when was 

the last time you led a cow to the bog for sacrifice?

These kiddos make me tired, just watching them. They must be expending an enormous amount of energy on the how and why, the “historical accuracy” of an ancient deity, the who and when, how much, how often, worrying about repercussions from the G’awds above if something isn’t done the way it was a bazillion years ago.

And in doing so, they are missing the point completely.

They are missing the blessing of any divine insight because they are so wrapped up in our physical world and human mundane fanatical practices, and totally consumed with worry about DOING IT WRONG.

How can Divinity get a message through all the dramatic over the top cadder-walling going on, both verbally and in their mind. You have to be still, and preferably calm and peaceful, to connect with that inner voice, the voice that most often winds up to be the spiritual world trying to reassure us, or give us a message, or direct us in some way. You can’t hear that voice when you’re all hot and angry under the collar because you are trying to reconstruct an ancient practice that has left no witnesses, and you’re all mad that no one understands what you’re trying to do, and you’re even more angry that some people are telling you it’s not only impossible, it’s unnecessary.

How can anyone connect with the Divine through all that?

The biggest negative to come out of all this, that I can see, is that these people are blaming everything that goes wrong in their life on the fact that they might be worshipping a deity incorrectly, and it’s the mad wrath of the god or goddess coming down on them.

Bullshit.

You’re not that important in the big scheme of ancient deities.

Your life is falling apart, if indeed it is, by the decisions you make; your own personal choices; the people you choose to associate with; or the life-style that you choose to live. Your life is falling apart because of personal fears, personal weaknesses, and personal demons.

Your life is falling apart because of all these things and maybe more.

It’s time for you to grow some kahoonas and take responsibility for the mess your life is in instead of blaming some ancient deity and whimsical modern religious practices for your personal predicament and the shit-show your life is.

You can’t fix it, repair it, or rebuild it by going bat-shit fixated crazy trying to worship some ancient god or goddess in an “historically accurate” way; and then getting yourself all messed up because you feel you’ve failed this in some way.

And then there are those people who just LOVE DRAMA, and they’ve found the perfect foible with which to feed this appetite. I’ve seen desperate posts on Facebook by people simply hungry for attention, with all kinds of crazy stories about how they did something historically inaccurate to bring down the wrath of the gods upon them.

And, you know, they generally get the attention they seek.

Again, I’m amazed.

They get patted on the back, blessings sent, hugs and kisses, because some big-ass old god is angry that they set up an altar the WRONG WAY, and now they are VICTIMS. Of course, the people who respond to such nonsense in this way are enabling this victim mentality.  And it will go on and on and on and on. This won’t stop. It feeds too many emotional, psychological, and mental needs on such a wide variety of levels, both for the “victim” and the enabler. It’s not going to go away.

The saddest thing is that a true Divine Connection will never be made, experienced, enjoyed, or accepted for what it is.

Be still.

Find peace.

Sit with the sun on your face.

Stand with the moist earth beneath your bare feet.

Listen to birds.

Pet cats.

Pick a bouquet of wild flowers.

Watch a sunrise, or a sunset… 

Allowing your Spirit to connect with The Divine

And know that you’ve just DONE IT RIGHT.

Episode #1 General Reading

 

Episode #3 Who will benefit if you fail? So, who will benefit? Apparently there is someone who would prefer that you do not come to a resolution for this issue.

Merry Meet

"Reclaim your power, O' ancient one.

Walk the paths of your ancestors,

communicate with the spirit world,
and challenge the shadows.

The universe will be still to hear
your whispered words of wisdom."

~ Mystic Crone



Witchcraft, Tarot, & Life...
from an unapologetic crone.

They say that once you reach a certain age you become invisible, and to an extent, that's true. However, with age and invisibility comes a certain sense of power.