Yesterday was the very first day of winter, or the Winter Solstice. This is just about the first time, that I can remember, that we actually had snow in time for it. Granted it was officially a fall snow, but there is snow and ice on the ground nonetheless.
So on to Yule. I had work on Yule. I know boo on work, but it couldn't be avoided and so I had to go. I was exhausted while I was there too. I was so tired and sick that I was worried I wouldn't be able to make it through the night. It also didn't help that I've had bad insomnia for the past few weeks and haven't been sleeping so I was tired from that too. As in I'd been up since 11am on Sunday and I also cleaned, did laundry, painted and set up my altar for Yule, then went and got my hair done, where I doozed off, but not a good sleep, and then back home to finish what I was doing before I left. Did I mention that I also cooked before I left too? Just some soup in the crockpot, which I didn't know wasn't plugged in when I left so it sat for 3 hours, but was still done when I came home from work.
So when I came home I ate some soup. I'd been looking forward to that soup since I went shopping with my mom on Friday, when it first started to snow. Tradition for me every year since I became pagan was to make soup on Yule. That was really the extent of my celebration.
But this year I did something different, and which I hope to make bigger and better every year. I'll admit I didn't stay up the whole night. I would have killed myself if I had I was so tired. So I went to bed and I slept a good sleep. I did set my alarm clock for 5am so I could greet the dawn.
I woke up, talked to my cat and put her ribbon on her. She gets Christmas ribbon every year on the Winter Solstice that she wears until Christmas. She loves her ribbon, though this year she made me run around to catch her to put it on. She was being silly and thought I was putting on her sweater(which she wears when she wants to get in the window because she catches colds really easily and needs to be warm.) So I put that on her and moved my altar from the south wall to the north wall and out from under the shelves I put up.
I warmed up some soup and put in my chalice some apple cider, cold. I then removed my small Christmas tree because I didn't want to start a fire and some tools I wasn't going to need for my Yule ritual. I then closed my door enough to shut out most of the light, then I turned out the lights. The only light I had in my room was the street light which looks like a really close star through my curtained windows.
I got in a comfy position and basically just said a 5-6 min prayer to the God and Goddess. I said something about what Yule/Winter Solstice means to me and how like the sun everyone goes through hard times only to rise up and become stronger. I said that I thanked them for the hard times as it makes me a better person. I also mentioned that I'm thankful for what I have. I'm thankful for my warm home, my warm food, clean water, a job, a car, clothes etc. I'm not a rich person I prayed, but I'm doing better than so many other people. I don't always like my job, but I have one. I thanked them for my family, my boyfriend, my best friends and friends and for what they have. I asked the God and Goddess to bless them and keep them safe in the coming year. I basically just poured my heart out to Them about all my feelings of Yule.
Once that was done I looked around me in the relative dark. I then began to light all the candles on my altar one by one. My whole room was just lit up with light and it was just the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen and I was very happy with the whole thing. I thanked Them yet again for the bounty I have and will have. I offered up some of the soup I made and the apple cider. Then I ate and drank them as a sign I accept the blessings I have from the Goddess and God whole heartedly(they were both good.)
Then I took pictures of my altar and made a short video explaining my altar and it's set up. It's nothing big or spectacular, but I love it nonetheless. I also need to take a picture of it when the tree is on there. I decorated it with some balls I got and some ribbon. It's a really nice tree.
So after that I spent some time just reading up on the Solstice. I stayed up until the sun was well up and then I went back to sleep.
Now I'm going to finish checking some things and then I'm going to wrap my Christmas gifts.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
Been So Long
It's been forever since I've written-typed-here that I'm having a bit of a time trying to figure out what to write about. I promised that I would write here everyday about something pagan, no matter how small, and I've fallen short of that. Not for lack of having something to talk about, but more because I let life get in the way.
Now don't think I've stopped, because I haven't, just I haven't really felt the inclination to write about anything pagan, witchy or anything. Work is the most of it. I work in a photo studio and our holiday season seems to start earlier and earlier. I'm also really busy, being a core person, so I'm also really tired when I come home. I don't even really check my e-mail. I have something like 1914 emails in the inbox. I'm going through it today and will delete most of it because a lot of it is so old that replying or reading would be silly.
I've also not made a video for YouTube in months because I've not crafted anything, and again, because of work I've been so busy. However this week and next means the Christmas rush will be over pretty much and things go back to normal. I'll be able to carry a book to work and have time to read it because I'll be so bored and have not much to do. I'm not supposed to do that, but if I'm making calls and reading they can't get too mad at me. I'll be doing my work and not be so bored.
But where's the pagan part of this. Well before the rush really hit I bought some pagan jewelry. I'm not a huge jewelry person. I might wear some of the rings I have. I might put in my lobe piercings(of the 13 I have those don't close so I don't wear them, everything else I never take out.) But I bought three necklaces, two of which I'll use for ritual use. They're really nice. One is a pentacle and the other a pentagram. Yes, there's a difference. Maybe I'll leave that for another post.
The other is a fairy and underneath is a pentacle. I wear this almost everyday since I got it. Now I'll mention that I almost never wear necklaces because I'm allergic to nearly everything(gold included) but this is silver(which I'm not allergic to and like better anyway.) When most kids see it they think the fairy is Tinkerbell and I'll either not correct them(it's not highly important and I was thinking of painting it something like Tinkerbell) or I'll just say it's just a fairy. Little girls like it, boys...well they're boys. They all never ask about the pentacle because to them, I guess, it's just a star like the fairy is Tinkerbell.
Now I'll say that when I went searching for a pentacle to wear everday I didn't want something huge. I live in a Christian area, though not the Bible belt(I'm at the top of the buckle. Too many churches for my small town, but people don't really give a crap really. Our JWs are highly respectful people, they don't come around and bug you. And the Mormons we had aren't anything like the stereotypes on TV.) But overall I didn't want to cause a fuss around or at work. Granted most of the time people never notice what a random stranger has on, and those aren't the folks I'm "worried" about. I'm talking about work really and when I have to interact with people wherever I go.
Like I said I didn't want something huge, nothing that said, "Hey I'm a witch! Come stone me!" I also wanted something that kind of worked with my "philosophy" on things and this little fairy/pentacle did.
I'll start with the fairy part. Fairies, to me, represent the imagination and things we can't see with the naked eye or mind. I can see a chair, I can see my cat, I can see the people around me. I can't see fairies, slyphs, salamders, auras etc. when I go about my daily business. When I'm cleaning or working I'm in the work-a-day world and can barely see straight, much less all things magical. So the fairy reminds me that there is magic in the world and that it's always with me.
The pentacle reminds me of the practical in life. Now some are going to disagree and say it's a magical thing, but bare with me. I loves me some Greek philosophy and one thing I've learned from the Greeks is everything in moderation. Work, school, fun, sleep, food etc. Everything in moderation. One Greek philosopher I've studied, and mean to study more, is Pythagoras. He used the pentagram to represent a bunch of stuff, not all of it physical, a lot metaphysical. However I personally feel a practical side to it right now. Even if you look at it as representing the elements no one element dominates the pentagram or pentacle. They're all in proportion. Yes, they occupy different spots on the pentacle but nothing is better or worse than any other. They all have their virtues and vices.
So when you combine the fairy and the pentacle they remind me that life is magical. I mean I breathe. Breathing is a physical thing, but why exactly do I breathe? What is the "animation" inside that says to my brain to do that? That's nothing something we can quantify. It also reminds me that life is practical. If I don't study the boring stuff my spells and rituals are just movements and lip service. If I don't sit down and meditate and visualize, which is hard for me still, I'll just make a mess.
So I wear it everyday. I haven't gotten any problems from it. I figure if Christians and Jews can wear crosses and Stars of Davids then why not me wear my fairy pentacle? I also suspect that some adults think it's a State of David since I've mentioned I wanted to take Hanukkah pictures(because well I'm tired of taking Christmas ones.) Or they just think it's a star and the circle is to attach it to the fairy(which helps the piece practically because without it the pentacle would have fallen apart). That and many just have no idea.
I should probably mention that I really like stars too. I love to see them on clear nights and have a set tattooed on my foot.
One thing I've noticed this year is that I'm not as upset about things as I used to be. When I work Christmas the past 3 Christmases there is usually a person once a week who would piss me off to absolutely no end. This year I've had only two people. Both of whom lied so much it's crazy and whose story changes each time with the telling(which is always a tell-tale sign someone's lying.) Thankfully though I have a manager who listens to her employees and doesn't always take the customer's side, unlike our company who just wants the money(but loses out more often than not because they just keep trying to get over on them, and they get into the habit of never buying anything.) So since I've been wearing it the pentacle has been doing it's job of protection. It's even duller than the fairy so it's time for it to be cleansed(already I've not had it three months, so after Christmas in the new year.) I'm one of those people who feel a lot. (I wouldn't say I'm an empath, I just feel a lot.) I had a hard time in school because I could feel everything and had no tools to handle all the emotions I had plus those of others. Now I do. The pentacle helps tremendously,so I suspect I'll be going through a few in my life. That, and my technique of the blank face. When people start to annoy me I just try to "Sookie" smile or just look blank. They can't stand either, but I have to live with me. I can't seem to do the brick wall or the bubble because that blocks out too much, and I can't do my job as well. I have to be able to feel and understand the stress of a baby or young child before I see it or I'll never get any pictures.
So that's my pagan/witchy thing for today. I'll try my absolute best to write everday, but if not then once a week until I begin to get close to everyday. There shouldn't be a three month hiatus unless something goes wrong.
Now don't think I've stopped, because I haven't, just I haven't really felt the inclination to write about anything pagan, witchy or anything. Work is the most of it. I work in a photo studio and our holiday season seems to start earlier and earlier. I'm also really busy, being a core person, so I'm also really tired when I come home. I don't even really check my e-mail. I have something like 1914 emails in the inbox. I'm going through it today and will delete most of it because a lot of it is so old that replying or reading would be silly.
I've also not made a video for YouTube in months because I've not crafted anything, and again, because of work I've been so busy. However this week and next means the Christmas rush will be over pretty much and things go back to normal. I'll be able to carry a book to work and have time to read it because I'll be so bored and have not much to do. I'm not supposed to do that, but if I'm making calls and reading they can't get too mad at me. I'll be doing my work and not be so bored.
But where's the pagan part of this. Well before the rush really hit I bought some pagan jewelry. I'm not a huge jewelry person. I might wear some of the rings I have. I might put in my lobe piercings(of the 13 I have those don't close so I don't wear them, everything else I never take out.) But I bought three necklaces, two of which I'll use for ritual use. They're really nice. One is a pentacle and the other a pentagram. Yes, there's a difference. Maybe I'll leave that for another post.
The other is a fairy and underneath is a pentacle. I wear this almost everyday since I got it. Now I'll mention that I almost never wear necklaces because I'm allergic to nearly everything(gold included) but this is silver(which I'm not allergic to and like better anyway.) When most kids see it they think the fairy is Tinkerbell and I'll either not correct them(it's not highly important and I was thinking of painting it something like Tinkerbell) or I'll just say it's just a fairy. Little girls like it, boys...well they're boys. They all never ask about the pentacle because to them, I guess, it's just a star like the fairy is Tinkerbell.
Now I'll say that when I went searching for a pentacle to wear everday I didn't want something huge. I live in a Christian area, though not the Bible belt(I'm at the top of the buckle. Too many churches for my small town, but people don't really give a crap really. Our JWs are highly respectful people, they don't come around and bug you. And the Mormons we had aren't anything like the stereotypes on TV.) But overall I didn't want to cause a fuss around or at work. Granted most of the time people never notice what a random stranger has on, and those aren't the folks I'm "worried" about. I'm talking about work really and when I have to interact with people wherever I go.
Like I said I didn't want something huge, nothing that said, "Hey I'm a witch! Come stone me!" I also wanted something that kind of worked with my "philosophy" on things and this little fairy/pentacle did.
I'll start with the fairy part. Fairies, to me, represent the imagination and things we can't see with the naked eye or mind. I can see a chair, I can see my cat, I can see the people around me. I can't see fairies, slyphs, salamders, auras etc. when I go about my daily business. When I'm cleaning or working I'm in the work-a-day world and can barely see straight, much less all things magical. So the fairy reminds me that there is magic in the world and that it's always with me.
The pentacle reminds me of the practical in life. Now some are going to disagree and say it's a magical thing, but bare with me. I loves me some Greek philosophy and one thing I've learned from the Greeks is everything in moderation. Work, school, fun, sleep, food etc. Everything in moderation. One Greek philosopher I've studied, and mean to study more, is Pythagoras. He used the pentagram to represent a bunch of stuff, not all of it physical, a lot metaphysical. However I personally feel a practical side to it right now. Even if you look at it as representing the elements no one element dominates the pentagram or pentacle. They're all in proportion. Yes, they occupy different spots on the pentacle but nothing is better or worse than any other. They all have their virtues and vices.
So when you combine the fairy and the pentacle they remind me that life is magical. I mean I breathe. Breathing is a physical thing, but why exactly do I breathe? What is the "animation" inside that says to my brain to do that? That's nothing something we can quantify. It also reminds me that life is practical. If I don't study the boring stuff my spells and rituals are just movements and lip service. If I don't sit down and meditate and visualize, which is hard for me still, I'll just make a mess.
So I wear it everyday. I haven't gotten any problems from it. I figure if Christians and Jews can wear crosses and Stars of Davids then why not me wear my fairy pentacle? I also suspect that some adults think it's a State of David since I've mentioned I wanted to take Hanukkah pictures(because well I'm tired of taking Christmas ones.) Or they just think it's a star and the circle is to attach it to the fairy(which helps the piece practically because without it the pentacle would have fallen apart). That and many just have no idea.
I should probably mention that I really like stars too. I love to see them on clear nights and have a set tattooed on my foot.
One thing I've noticed this year is that I'm not as upset about things as I used to be. When I work Christmas the past 3 Christmases there is usually a person once a week who would piss me off to absolutely no end. This year I've had only two people. Both of whom lied so much it's crazy and whose story changes each time with the telling(which is always a tell-tale sign someone's lying.) Thankfully though I have a manager who listens to her employees and doesn't always take the customer's side, unlike our company who just wants the money(but loses out more often than not because they just keep trying to get over on them, and they get into the habit of never buying anything.) So since I've been wearing it the pentacle has been doing it's job of protection. It's even duller than the fairy so it's time for it to be cleansed(already I've not had it three months, so after Christmas in the new year.) I'm one of those people who feel a lot. (I wouldn't say I'm an empath, I just feel a lot.) I had a hard time in school because I could feel everything and had no tools to handle all the emotions I had plus those of others. Now I do. The pentacle helps tremendously,so I suspect I'll be going through a few in my life. That, and my technique of the blank face. When people start to annoy me I just try to "Sookie" smile or just look blank. They can't stand either, but I have to live with me. I can't seem to do the brick wall or the bubble because that blocks out too much, and I can't do my job as well. I have to be able to feel and understand the stress of a baby or young child before I see it or I'll never get any pictures.
So that's my pagan/witchy thing for today. I'll try my absolute best to write everday, but if not then once a week until I begin to get close to everyday. There shouldn't be a three month hiatus unless something goes wrong.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
The fun of nature in an artifical place
So this is a little late in coming tonight, with about three minutes for me to post until tomorrow, I thought I'd say something about amusement parks.
Well not exactly amusement parks as in, "The rides are awesome!" though they are, or "I love the food, but it's so expensive." even though it is.
No, I went to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg and while my boyfriend and I went looking for something to eat we walked through the nature part of the park. We hadn't been back that way in forever. I mean we were little kids when we went through there last and had forgotten they had such cool stuff back there. Well, not stuff, but animals. First off almost right after we got there and rode the Loch Ness Monster twice in a row, we walked across a bridge where I stopped because something bobbed in the water. It was a turtle. A real, live turtle. And he was a pretty big turtle too. He was about his meal and the fish were swimming around with him minding their own business eating themselves. Then another, smaller, turtle came up and started eating what the big turtle was and the larger turtle got mad and took his food away from the smaller turtle. I started laughing because it was just really funny. But it was then I realized that I don't get to see that very often at my home. Mostly because I don't live right next to the river or anything and when I do go down to the river it's at night so I don't see much, but I hear the fish at night coming up for food.
Then on the other side of the park they have bald eagles. Yes, like the kind you see in pictures and America's national bird. Yes, real, live bald eagles. They are just as cool as you see in pictures. They are big birds. You know how in pictures animals always seem smaller or larger than they really are. Well these are big birds. They're pretty too. The males are just as pretty in real life as they are in pictures(though not as clean, but I know they airbrush them too.) The females are, as usual, not as brightly coloured, but even the female that was there was rather large. I didn't expect the female to be so large.
Then on our way to find more food we heard howling. I didn't really pay it any mind since they do have sound effects all over the park, but then I looked and it was a wolf. I stopped for a second because it howled and then I saw another one and it howled. But they didn't move. So for a second I thought they were the animatronic wolves that looked and sounded pretty damn real. Then they moved. And they moved too well to be fake. They were howling at nothing. No moon or anything. Just having fun. And the little boy was copying them and they howled back at him. He had so much fun I couldn't help but laugh. You could tell he really enjoyed the wolves.
Then a bit further up there were wolves so close. They were howling, playing and eating some treats. Steven, my boyfriend, read all about them. They were pretty animals.
Now they were smaller than I thought they would be, but the ones I saw may have been the pups so they were smaller. But they were just as gorgeous as in pictures. Yes, yes, they were. They were so pretty that looking at them made me feel a bit animalistic. The howling, which to some people may sound eerie, is honestly one of the prettiest things I've ever heard in my life.
They sound nothing like domestic dogs. They sound wild, natural, beautiful. The dogs next door and around my neighbourhood are sad imitations now that I think of it. They don't howl at the moon because we've told them to shut up, be quiet, pipe down, or whatever. But honestly now that I've heard wolves do it personally I think I'd never tell a dog to be quiet again, provided they were outside, as inside that would be extremely loud and make me think that someone was hurting them or break in. But outside I think that would be perfectly natural and fine.
So the tie in to paganism..... Well if it's not that obvious then I'll state it. Our animal beings are just amazing. They are really gorgeous to look at. Even the icky little insects I can't stand. I'll admit it. I'm not overly fond of a lot of nature. And yes I'm still pagan. I love four legged animals over animals with more than 4 legs, crawling, no backbones and crunchy. I think cats are infinitely cuter and more desirable in a home than a spider, but each has its own place in our world. My cat is just as important in my home(for reasons given in the last post) as the spider who traps flies outside, and mosquitoes(therefore spiders belong outside, not inside because inside they can't do their job to the fullest.)
I think bald eagles are awesome and detest flies, but even I understand that flies are important. They break down garbage and trash. They feed the awesome toads and frogs that live around my home. I'm highly allergic and afraid of wasps and bees(if stung I run the risk of dying so I'm rightly afraid) but know that leaving them alone will cause me to not get stung and that bees make the honey that soothes a sore throat. I think wasps help pollinate, but I'm not sure. I just leave them alone or hope they'll be convinced not to build nests near my home.
So while I was being amused by the "fictional" creature The Loch Ness Monster I was being taught how important and fun nature is by the animals they have there.
PS. I should also say that Busch Gardens Williamsburg has amazing landscape and the flowers and trees they have there are gorgeous and worth seeing even if you don't really ride rides. They're shady and smell pretty good after a rain. Plus I got some stones from Busch Gardens today that were just, again, gorgeous. Some amethyst, crystal, rose quartz, agate and calcite. Plus some other stones I have yet to identify like hematite.
PPS. The only animal I can find no real use for is the mosquito. Those nasty little things carry disease and drink blood and make you itch. They're pointless.
Well not exactly amusement parks as in, "The rides are awesome!" though they are, or "I love the food, but it's so expensive." even though it is.
No, I went to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg and while my boyfriend and I went looking for something to eat we walked through the nature part of the park. We hadn't been back that way in forever. I mean we were little kids when we went through there last and had forgotten they had such cool stuff back there. Well, not stuff, but animals. First off almost right after we got there and rode the Loch Ness Monster twice in a row, we walked across a bridge where I stopped because something bobbed in the water. It was a turtle. A real, live turtle. And he was a pretty big turtle too. He was about his meal and the fish were swimming around with him minding their own business eating themselves. Then another, smaller, turtle came up and started eating what the big turtle was and the larger turtle got mad and took his food away from the smaller turtle. I started laughing because it was just really funny. But it was then I realized that I don't get to see that very often at my home. Mostly because I don't live right next to the river or anything and when I do go down to the river it's at night so I don't see much, but I hear the fish at night coming up for food.
Then on the other side of the park they have bald eagles. Yes, like the kind you see in pictures and America's national bird. Yes, real, live bald eagles. They are just as cool as you see in pictures. They are big birds. You know how in pictures animals always seem smaller or larger than they really are. Well these are big birds. They're pretty too. The males are just as pretty in real life as they are in pictures(though not as clean, but I know they airbrush them too.) The females are, as usual, not as brightly coloured, but even the female that was there was rather large. I didn't expect the female to be so large.
Then on our way to find more food we heard howling. I didn't really pay it any mind since they do have sound effects all over the park, but then I looked and it was a wolf. I stopped for a second because it howled and then I saw another one and it howled. But they didn't move. So for a second I thought they were the animatronic wolves that looked and sounded pretty damn real. Then they moved. And they moved too well to be fake. They were howling at nothing. No moon or anything. Just having fun. And the little boy was copying them and they howled back at him. He had so much fun I couldn't help but laugh. You could tell he really enjoyed the wolves.
Then a bit further up there were wolves so close. They were howling, playing and eating some treats. Steven, my boyfriend, read all about them. They were pretty animals.
Now they were smaller than I thought they would be, but the ones I saw may have been the pups so they were smaller. But they were just as gorgeous as in pictures. Yes, yes, they were. They were so pretty that looking at them made me feel a bit animalistic. The howling, which to some people may sound eerie, is honestly one of the prettiest things I've ever heard in my life.
They sound nothing like domestic dogs. They sound wild, natural, beautiful. The dogs next door and around my neighbourhood are sad imitations now that I think of it. They don't howl at the moon because we've told them to shut up, be quiet, pipe down, or whatever. But honestly now that I've heard wolves do it personally I think I'd never tell a dog to be quiet again, provided they were outside, as inside that would be extremely loud and make me think that someone was hurting them or break in. But outside I think that would be perfectly natural and fine.
So the tie in to paganism..... Well if it's not that obvious then I'll state it. Our animal beings are just amazing. They are really gorgeous to look at. Even the icky little insects I can't stand. I'll admit it. I'm not overly fond of a lot of nature. And yes I'm still pagan. I love four legged animals over animals with more than 4 legs, crawling, no backbones and crunchy. I think cats are infinitely cuter and more desirable in a home than a spider, but each has its own place in our world. My cat is just as important in my home(for reasons given in the last post) as the spider who traps flies outside, and mosquitoes(therefore spiders belong outside, not inside because inside they can't do their job to the fullest.)
I think bald eagles are awesome and detest flies, but even I understand that flies are important. They break down garbage and trash. They feed the awesome toads and frogs that live around my home. I'm highly allergic and afraid of wasps and bees(if stung I run the risk of dying so I'm rightly afraid) but know that leaving them alone will cause me to not get stung and that bees make the honey that soothes a sore throat. I think wasps help pollinate, but I'm not sure. I just leave them alone or hope they'll be convinced not to build nests near my home.
So while I was being amused by the "fictional" creature The Loch Ness Monster I was being taught how important and fun nature is by the animals they have there.
PS. I should also say that Busch Gardens Williamsburg has amazing landscape and the flowers and trees they have there are gorgeous and worth seeing even if you don't really ride rides. They're shady and smell pretty good after a rain. Plus I got some stones from Busch Gardens today that were just, again, gorgeous. Some amethyst, crystal, rose quartz, agate and calcite. Plus some other stones I have yet to identify like hematite.
PPS. The only animal I can find no real use for is the mosquito. Those nasty little things carry disease and drink blood and make you itch. They're pointless.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Cat's Stress is My Distress
I didn't make a post yesterday because I was tired and just rather have listened to music, talked to my best friend and read over posting something. So today I might post twice to make up for it.
Right now I'll post on something semi-gross, but something which people may, or may not, know. I own a black cat. Cliche for a witch, but I got my cat before I started calling myself a witch. We wanted a calico, but they didn't have any and my cat was perfect when I saw her. She was pushing her brother's head down into the littler box playing with him and then he jumped on her. They were having fun together. (We should have gotten two cats because now she's mean and fat.)
But lately we've been remodeling the house and because of that it's been rather messy. Neither my mom, nor myself have had much inclination to clean normally(I mean it's not nasty, just stuff everywhere like in a normal remodeling) and once this one room is done everything will pretty much go back to normal because we'll finally have room to move around.
In it all my cat has found new hiding places,stuff to smell, things to play with that she shouldn't and she's already claimed a new chair as her own. Typical cat stuff.
But in it my cat has been throwing up nearly everyday it seems. It's not everyday, just every few days, and it's never a lot, just a bit, plus the normal hair balls. I woke up this morning to her puking. I finally had enough and wondered if it was time to take her to the vet and read that she's probably just stressed.
Now I figured the other day that's probably what it was. She's not had to live in this sort of chaos ever. She normally throws up hairballs every few months, and when she has to go on car trips because she get motion sickness. She went to the vet a few months ago, was pronounced healthy and is an indoor only cat(unless we take her outside for a few minutes because even indoor cats need fresh air.) so it's not some disease.
My cat is stressed. I look at her and I know that's what it is. Her eyes tell me so. She sleeps a lot, doesn't play a bunch(not like she ever did in her adult life) and she generally looks depressed.
My poor cat is depressed because we're trying to make the house look better, and she likes the results, different smells, different things to climb, different places to hide.
So hopefully we'll be done this week with that room and hopefully she'll stop throwing up so much. I mean there's no place we can put her, or have her stay, so she's stuck in the mess.
So what does this have to do with paganism? Since that's the goal of this blog. Well my kitty joins me in ritual all the time. I can close the door, but she insists on coming in and then sitting! on my altar during it. She's become my physical familiar and she's also my best animal friend. I love her to death. I've learned to read her the same as she reads me. She knows when I'm down and out. She knows when I don't feel good and she'll come and sit with me and purr. You cannot be upset when a cat purrs and looks at you with those eyes. Her job in the house is known as the "feel better kitty." She earns her keep by making you feel better, playing with you, keeping the mouse under the stove(we're not infested, but we have field mice who try to come in because of the winter. Having a gas stove leaves space for them to come in to try and warm themselves. They leave in the spring or when it warms up in the winter.) and she eats the flies that come in. She's a good cat. She's a good companion.
Therefore her being stressed is my distress. I want to do all of this quickly and well. I want to stop her throwing up. She makes me feel better and it's time I made her feel better. Cleaning up is what I'll have to do.
PS. When she went up with us last year for Christmas my mom brought her in to look at my cousin who doesn't like cats and doesn't like her too much. She said my cat looks like a witch's cat. I laughed to myself because she is a witch's cat. Mine.
Right now I'll post on something semi-gross, but something which people may, or may not, know. I own a black cat. Cliche for a witch, but I got my cat before I started calling myself a witch. We wanted a calico, but they didn't have any and my cat was perfect when I saw her. She was pushing her brother's head down into the littler box playing with him and then he jumped on her. They were having fun together. (We should have gotten two cats because now she's mean and fat.)
But lately we've been remodeling the house and because of that it's been rather messy. Neither my mom, nor myself have had much inclination to clean normally(I mean it's not nasty, just stuff everywhere like in a normal remodeling) and once this one room is done everything will pretty much go back to normal because we'll finally have room to move around.
In it all my cat has found new hiding places,stuff to smell, things to play with that she shouldn't and she's already claimed a new chair as her own. Typical cat stuff.
But in it my cat has been throwing up nearly everyday it seems. It's not everyday, just every few days, and it's never a lot, just a bit, plus the normal hair balls. I woke up this morning to her puking. I finally had enough and wondered if it was time to take her to the vet and read that she's probably just stressed.
Now I figured the other day that's probably what it was. She's not had to live in this sort of chaos ever. She normally throws up hairballs every few months, and when she has to go on car trips because she get motion sickness. She went to the vet a few months ago, was pronounced healthy and is an indoor only cat(unless we take her outside for a few minutes because even indoor cats need fresh air.) so it's not some disease.
My cat is stressed. I look at her and I know that's what it is. Her eyes tell me so. She sleeps a lot, doesn't play a bunch(not like she ever did in her adult life) and she generally looks depressed.
My poor cat is depressed because we're trying to make the house look better, and she likes the results, different smells, different things to climb, different places to hide.
So hopefully we'll be done this week with that room and hopefully she'll stop throwing up so much. I mean there's no place we can put her, or have her stay, so she's stuck in the mess.
So what does this have to do with paganism? Since that's the goal of this blog. Well my kitty joins me in ritual all the time. I can close the door, but she insists on coming in and then sitting! on my altar during it. She's become my physical familiar and she's also my best animal friend. I love her to death. I've learned to read her the same as she reads me. She knows when I'm down and out. She knows when I don't feel good and she'll come and sit with me and purr. You cannot be upset when a cat purrs and looks at you with those eyes. Her job in the house is known as the "feel better kitty." She earns her keep by making you feel better, playing with you, keeping the mouse under the stove(we're not infested, but we have field mice who try to come in because of the winter. Having a gas stove leaves space for them to come in to try and warm themselves. They leave in the spring or when it warms up in the winter.) and she eats the flies that come in. She's a good cat. She's a good companion.
Therefore her being stressed is my distress. I want to do all of this quickly and well. I want to stop her throwing up. She makes me feel better and it's time I made her feel better. Cleaning up is what I'll have to do.
PS. When she went up with us last year for Christmas my mom brought her in to look at my cousin who doesn't like cats and doesn't like her too much. She said my cat looks like a witch's cat. I laughed to myself because she is a witch's cat. Mine.
Friday, August 28, 2009
The Introductory Post
I said that my first post wasn't going to be an introductory post because that's a bit cliche. So instead I made it the less cliche second post.
I think introductory posts are always hard because I never know what to put in them. But here's my stab at it.
I'm a 23 year old witch who's been studying the pagan path for about 11 years. So that would make me 12 when I first found something pagan. Seems young, but it's not uncommon. However I didn't call myself a pagan or a witch until I was about 16. So 7-11 years of this. I still say I know nothing.
What brought me to the pagan path was a common dissatisfaction with my home religion, Christianity. Now don't get me wrong I wasn't dissatisfied with Christians, or with what the Bible said exactly, though I didn't agree with a bunch of it. It was my inability to relate with the Christian God. I found it next to impossible to have the relationship that is supposed to be had with God. Other Christians had it. I didn't. I tried. But it was like trying to talk to that really cute boy in high school when you're the painfully shy, bucktoothed girl. I craved that relationship. I learned my Bible verses, I went to church, I was in a Christian school (Not of my own free will, but I wasn't unhappy about it.), I learned to read the Bible on my own, I said my prayers, I even went so far as to begin to learn the more advanced stuff like Jewish law, reading Revelations, and trying to truly understand the more complex stuff.
Nothing. I got nothing. My prayers went unanswered. I finally realized after 12 years of doing what I was supposed to it was like talking to a brick wall. You can do it all day. You'll never get an answer. And that, to me, wasn't how it was supposed to be. My aunt had her prayers answered, not all the time, but some. So did my mom and other Christians I knew. And it wasn't like I was asking for hard things like world peace or stupid things like to pass my math test. And I definitely didn't ask for things all the time. I just wanted a few things, things that almost any child or pre-teen would want that would be serious, at the time. But nothing. In a relationship you're supposed to have communication. Otherwise it's not a relationship and I grew tired of the one way communication.
But when I was younger my mom bought me a Greco-Roman mythology book. I was about 8 or so when I got it and I read it cover to cover. I loved that book. I wish I could find it. Hopefully it's in the attic. I thought over and over in my mind that the names for the Gods were beautiful. So beautiful I thought about naming my children after Them. (You know every girl does this at some point.) So wondeful were those stories I wondered if They weren't real. But at 8 or so I knew that was bad. God was the only God and those stories were just stories. So I focused harder on what I was supposed to be doing.
But those stories never left me. I continued to read that book and other rmythology books. I really got into history because of that book. After reading more and more I began to really wonder why people didn't worship these Gods anymore. Up until then I hadn't explored the reasoning and felt like it was a "tragedy" that Artemis and Apollo weren't worshipped anymore. Their stories were fascinating and they stayed with me and entered my dreams. I never had that experience reading the Exodus story. These were far more alive.
I wasn't until I was 12 and received another book that mentioned Wicca that I found out. I looked up what Wicca was, but didn't really pursue it because even then I had the same reaction many Christians do. Witches were evil or fake. They weren't real or good. So I put it away for about 2 years. In that 2 years my thoughts and feelings toward Christianity became less ardent and more lip-service that I fully accepted as lip-service. I went to a Christian school because that's where my mom sent me and I didn't have much choice. I had to take a Bible class and that was that. We prayed in Spanish in Spanish class, history class completely glossed over the fact that once Christianity got a good hold they systemtically wiped out those who were not the same in sometimes to often brutal fashion. Or they co-opted holidays or whatever. I mean who would considering you always want to look good.
In 9th grade I remember having to do a vin diagram on Hinduism and Buddhism then compare them to Christianiy. I remember that that was probably one of the most fun projects, and the easiest, for me. I had so much fun finding out about other religions and that I liked them. I didn't feel like they were evil or bad or wrong or misleading. I didn't put any of that on my diagram. I put facts, not feelings. I don't know where that thing is, or even what grade I got on it. I do remember being questioned as to why I didn't do the standard thing. I don't remember my answer.
Another project we had to do was write our own myth. Instead of using the Greco-Roman pantheon I used the Norse pantheon. I changed some of it, left much the same. It was supposed to be our own myth and I didn't want to copy or do something I felt, oddly enough, would be sacreligious in telling a new myth with the Gods the same. I also didn't want anyone to know that at the time I was actively studying Wicca and that I felt a connection to the Old Gods. So I changed things around, was questioned at my use of Hel being a Goddess(had to say that Hel was spelled with 1 L, not 2.) and that Bragi was a bull in my myth. I got a perfect score on it. My classmates loved my story. I don't know where that paper is. Probably in the attic.
So as I mentioned I was in 9th grade, 14, and studying Wicca because I wanted something new. Wicca was completely new. I decided that I would look at all religions as if I were an alien on this planet and knew nothing. In addition to Wicca I studied various forms of Christianity(maybe my old approach of Pentacostalism wasn't suiting, overall nothing suited.) Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam(before 9-11 this wouldn't have put you on the terrorist list), Satanism, and some small religions I can't remember right now. I looked into everything and was fascinated that so my variety existed. In my world variety was missing.
At 14 I had this notion that magick would cure all my ills. I'd have my prayers answered and I would be awesome. Luckily for me I kept reading and learned that magick wouldn't help me with everything, my prayers wouldn't always be answered and that it was hard work. I was fine with that. Hard work isn't bad. I was so happy that I finally found something that spoke to me and made me feel as if I had finally come to something that worked. When I first said my prayers to a different God I felt happy. I felt like I was heard. (Since then I've had numerous incounters with my Gods, including one that occured in a moment of intense intimacy.)
I should also mention here that I was happy to find that goddesses did exist. When I was younger, say 5-7, we used to say that Mother Nature was God's wife. How funny that now I'm older it's true. I was always dismayed that God made pairs, but had no pair.
I did some magick when I was 14. I will say that I made big mistakes too. I had just happened to have a huge falling out with a friend and I did a curse that, luckily, I didn't put my full heart into. I was just angry and highly upset. It was stupid, but at 14 I did stupid things. I still do stupid things at 23, but now understand that what I did then could have been very harmful. That was my first and only curse. Since then I also know that cursing isn't so totally awful, evil, mean, but honestly takes far more energy to sustain than to bind or even ignore if possible.
I continued to study Wicca in my home and when I went to the library I'd pick up what meager books they had on the subject, along with mythology books. So that way when I checked them out it wouldn't look suspiscious since the Wicca books held some mythology in them. Small town, small library, gotta take what you have. But I didn't want my mom to know because I didn't know what her reaction would be. It wasn't good at first. Not good at all. She was highly upset. But when I told her how I felt, after some rehersal, she understood that I wasn't just doing this for fun and this wasn't a stage that just happens like only eating rice. After a while, and some discussions on religion and my agnostic theism(I believe personally the Gods exist, but can't prove or disprove Their existance to another. In fact if I could I wouldn't bother. It's not my place.) she came to accept that I wasn't a Christian, but that I still loved her and still respected it. I was told that until I was 18 I would have to receive permission to cast spells and do rituals. I was fine with that. I could have books, study, meditate and do whatever, I just had to get permission. I would say I was far luckier than many and didn't press the point of what I would do if she said no.
So during my high school years I studied and studied and studied. I found that there were more pagan religions out there than just Wicca. I found Hellenismos, which is a Reconstructionist religion for the Greek religion. I found a sort of home there. But overall decided to hold off on fully dedicating myself to that path. I still explore it, but not to the extent I will in the future.
When I was in college I took an ancient philosophy class, which I loved, and I learned about the pre-Socratics and their use of the elements to help them define what the Earth and things were made of. This was my first introduction to the elements in a format I never looked at and got me started on learning as much as I could about the elements. Ever since then I'd refer to myself as an elemental witch, if I wanted to be specific in a conversation concerning the elements.
And now here I am. I'm a 23 year old legally agnostic, Greek-leaning, elemental, pagan witch. I've learned many lessons, read many websites, read book after book, finally was able to buy some when I got a job, and I still love what I am and do. I celebrate the Sabbats and are incorporating some Greek festivals. I love watching the moon at night, don't mind being outside so much(though I avoid it at my home because I'm allergic to wasps, bees and hornets and that's what's about my house often.) if I'm at a park. When it rains...well rain sounds are beautiful anytime. When it snows I feel the Mother's warmth. I love it. I'm home.
I think introductory posts are always hard because I never know what to put in them. But here's my stab at it.
I'm a 23 year old witch who's been studying the pagan path for about 11 years. So that would make me 12 when I first found something pagan. Seems young, but it's not uncommon. However I didn't call myself a pagan or a witch until I was about 16. So 7-11 years of this. I still say I know nothing.
What brought me to the pagan path was a common dissatisfaction with my home religion, Christianity. Now don't get me wrong I wasn't dissatisfied with Christians, or with what the Bible said exactly, though I didn't agree with a bunch of it. It was my inability to relate with the Christian God. I found it next to impossible to have the relationship that is supposed to be had with God. Other Christians had it. I didn't. I tried. But it was like trying to talk to that really cute boy in high school when you're the painfully shy, bucktoothed girl. I craved that relationship. I learned my Bible verses, I went to church, I was in a Christian school (Not of my own free will, but I wasn't unhappy about it.), I learned to read the Bible on my own, I said my prayers, I even went so far as to begin to learn the more advanced stuff like Jewish law, reading Revelations, and trying to truly understand the more complex stuff.
Nothing. I got nothing. My prayers went unanswered. I finally realized after 12 years of doing what I was supposed to it was like talking to a brick wall. You can do it all day. You'll never get an answer. And that, to me, wasn't how it was supposed to be. My aunt had her prayers answered, not all the time, but some. So did my mom and other Christians I knew. And it wasn't like I was asking for hard things like world peace or stupid things like to pass my math test. And I definitely didn't ask for things all the time. I just wanted a few things, things that almost any child or pre-teen would want that would be serious, at the time. But nothing. In a relationship you're supposed to have communication. Otherwise it's not a relationship and I grew tired of the one way communication.
But when I was younger my mom bought me a Greco-Roman mythology book. I was about 8 or so when I got it and I read it cover to cover. I loved that book. I wish I could find it. Hopefully it's in the attic. I thought over and over in my mind that the names for the Gods were beautiful. So beautiful I thought about naming my children after Them. (You know every girl does this at some point.) So wondeful were those stories I wondered if They weren't real. But at 8 or so I knew that was bad. God was the only God and those stories were just stories. So I focused harder on what I was supposed to be doing.
But those stories never left me. I continued to read that book and other rmythology books. I really got into history because of that book. After reading more and more I began to really wonder why people didn't worship these Gods anymore. Up until then I hadn't explored the reasoning and felt like it was a "tragedy" that Artemis and Apollo weren't worshipped anymore. Their stories were fascinating and they stayed with me and entered my dreams. I never had that experience reading the Exodus story. These were far more alive.
I wasn't until I was 12 and received another book that mentioned Wicca that I found out. I looked up what Wicca was, but didn't really pursue it because even then I had the same reaction many Christians do. Witches were evil or fake. They weren't real or good. So I put it away for about 2 years. In that 2 years my thoughts and feelings toward Christianity became less ardent and more lip-service that I fully accepted as lip-service. I went to a Christian school because that's where my mom sent me and I didn't have much choice. I had to take a Bible class and that was that. We prayed in Spanish in Spanish class, history class completely glossed over the fact that once Christianity got a good hold they systemtically wiped out those who were not the same in sometimes to often brutal fashion. Or they co-opted holidays or whatever. I mean who would considering you always want to look good.
In 9th grade I remember having to do a vin diagram on Hinduism and Buddhism then compare them to Christianiy. I remember that that was probably one of the most fun projects, and the easiest, for me. I had so much fun finding out about other religions and that I liked them. I didn't feel like they were evil or bad or wrong or misleading. I didn't put any of that on my diagram. I put facts, not feelings. I don't know where that thing is, or even what grade I got on it. I do remember being questioned as to why I didn't do the standard thing. I don't remember my answer.
Another project we had to do was write our own myth. Instead of using the Greco-Roman pantheon I used the Norse pantheon. I changed some of it, left much the same. It was supposed to be our own myth and I didn't want to copy or do something I felt, oddly enough, would be sacreligious in telling a new myth with the Gods the same. I also didn't want anyone to know that at the time I was actively studying Wicca and that I felt a connection to the Old Gods. So I changed things around, was questioned at my use of Hel being a Goddess(had to say that Hel was spelled with 1 L, not 2.) and that Bragi was a bull in my myth. I got a perfect score on it. My classmates loved my story. I don't know where that paper is. Probably in the attic.
So as I mentioned I was in 9th grade, 14, and studying Wicca because I wanted something new. Wicca was completely new. I decided that I would look at all religions as if I were an alien on this planet and knew nothing. In addition to Wicca I studied various forms of Christianity(maybe my old approach of Pentacostalism wasn't suiting, overall nothing suited.) Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam(before 9-11 this wouldn't have put you on the terrorist list), Satanism, and some small religions I can't remember right now. I looked into everything and was fascinated that so my variety existed. In my world variety was missing.
At 14 I had this notion that magick would cure all my ills. I'd have my prayers answered and I would be awesome. Luckily for me I kept reading and learned that magick wouldn't help me with everything, my prayers wouldn't always be answered and that it was hard work. I was fine with that. Hard work isn't bad. I was so happy that I finally found something that spoke to me and made me feel as if I had finally come to something that worked. When I first said my prayers to a different God I felt happy. I felt like I was heard. (Since then I've had numerous incounters with my Gods, including one that occured in a moment of intense intimacy.)
I should also mention here that I was happy to find that goddesses did exist. When I was younger, say 5-7, we used to say that Mother Nature was God's wife. How funny that now I'm older it's true. I was always dismayed that God made pairs, but had no pair.
I did some magick when I was 14. I will say that I made big mistakes too. I had just happened to have a huge falling out with a friend and I did a curse that, luckily, I didn't put my full heart into. I was just angry and highly upset. It was stupid, but at 14 I did stupid things. I still do stupid things at 23, but now understand that what I did then could have been very harmful. That was my first and only curse. Since then I also know that cursing isn't so totally awful, evil, mean, but honestly takes far more energy to sustain than to bind or even ignore if possible.
I continued to study Wicca in my home and when I went to the library I'd pick up what meager books they had on the subject, along with mythology books. So that way when I checked them out it wouldn't look suspiscious since the Wicca books held some mythology in them. Small town, small library, gotta take what you have. But I didn't want my mom to know because I didn't know what her reaction would be. It wasn't good at first. Not good at all. She was highly upset. But when I told her how I felt, after some rehersal, she understood that I wasn't just doing this for fun and this wasn't a stage that just happens like only eating rice. After a while, and some discussions on religion and my agnostic theism(I believe personally the Gods exist, but can't prove or disprove Their existance to another. In fact if I could I wouldn't bother. It's not my place.) she came to accept that I wasn't a Christian, but that I still loved her and still respected it. I was told that until I was 18 I would have to receive permission to cast spells and do rituals. I was fine with that. I could have books, study, meditate and do whatever, I just had to get permission. I would say I was far luckier than many and didn't press the point of what I would do if she said no.
So during my high school years I studied and studied and studied. I found that there were more pagan religions out there than just Wicca. I found Hellenismos, which is a Reconstructionist religion for the Greek religion. I found a sort of home there. But overall decided to hold off on fully dedicating myself to that path. I still explore it, but not to the extent I will in the future.
When I was in college I took an ancient philosophy class, which I loved, and I learned about the pre-Socratics and their use of the elements to help them define what the Earth and things were made of. This was my first introduction to the elements in a format I never looked at and got me started on learning as much as I could about the elements. Ever since then I'd refer to myself as an elemental witch, if I wanted to be specific in a conversation concerning the elements.
And now here I am. I'm a 23 year old legally agnostic, Greek-leaning, elemental, pagan witch. I've learned many lessons, read many websites, read book after book, finally was able to buy some when I got a job, and I still love what I am and do. I celebrate the Sabbats and are incorporating some Greek festivals. I love watching the moon at night, don't mind being outside so much(though I avoid it at my home because I'm allergic to wasps, bees and hornets and that's what's about my house often.) if I'm at a park. When it rains...well rain sounds are beautiful anytime. When it snows I feel the Mother's warmth. I love it. I'm home.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
The Suicidal Planet
This is my first post here on One Pagan Voice and I'm not going to spend it introducing myself because I can do that in my profile, or in another post, which I will do. This post, instead, is on an article I just got finished reading on Yahoo about a planet about 325 light years away from us that is spiraling into its sun.
What could possibly be so interesting about that? There's probably no life on the planet because it's about 3,200 degrees and we couldn't imagine life surviving at that temperature. It's going to die, but in a million years or so. That's honestly....we'll never see it happen. Not just us, but possibly humans. It's also impossibly far away. At 325 light years, maybe million, I don't remember, we're not going to go exploring even if it weren't so hot.
So why make a first post on a dying planet, millions of miles away, too hot anyway and, I forgot to mention, larger than Jupiter?
Because it's there, it's, slightly, interesting to me and it made me think. When I was younger I was taught there were 9 planets. 9! That number has been moved around many times. There are now 8 planets in our solar system and Pluto has been reduced to a dwarf planet. Though personally I like it being a planet. 9 is a good number. But back to the number of planets...it's definitely not 9, or even 8. It's so much more. So many more. And there's a good chance that at least 1 harbours life. It doesn't have to be life like on Earth, in fact that might be boring. But chances of us being alone in this huge thing call thed universe is slight.
I'm not a conspiracy theorist, though conspiracy theories are fun. I'm not some UFO hunter, alien freak or Trekker(that's the correct term, not Trekkie.) I'm just a person who thinks odds are in favour of Earth not being the only planet with life.
So back to the dying planet. My first thought was of life that could be on the planet. I refered to that "life" as people. So let's pretend for a moment there was life and they called themselves people. I thought how would they feel knowing that for certain their planet wasn't going to survive the next 3 millia. Beyond that I thought what if those people had religion, who would they worship? Their form(s) of religion is/are probably so different from ours and how cool it would be to learn about them. But alas we probably can't, if they exist.
So what in the world does this have to do with paganism? Nothing really, but since the purpose of this blog is to write something on paganism, or connect something to paganism, or give my pagan thoughts everday, or nearly, here's a stab at something.
The universe is huge. Now whether it's expanding or contracting isn't the point, it's big. It's so big it's unimaginable to the human mind. I'm sent reeling thinking of how large it is. It instantly takes up the available space in my head. And in this universe there are so many things we know little to squat about. Planets, stars, asteroids, comets, space dust, ice, dark matter, matter, anti-matter, anti-dark matter matter, black holes etc. And it was created. It was created somehow.
Christians believe God did it. I believe Hindus believe Braham spoke it into existence. I love the Greek myth on Chaos having everything and out of Chaos was born Eros, Gaia, Nyx and other primordial Deities. Some follow that the Goddess gave birth to the God, or Herself, or She did everything Herself.
Now seeing as how I like the Greek myth of Chaos I kind of think we're all floating in the "arms" of Chaos, which is neither female or male and both at the same time. I guess you could call it The All. But because The All is like the universe, so it's large and too much for my mind to handle. Which gives me a good feeling oddly enough. Chaos birthed Nyx(night), Eros(love) and Gaia(Earth). Gaia is very important because we know Her as our planet. But Gaia would be very small if She were just our planet. I believe Gaia makes up the planets and other solid matter in the universe, excepting a few things. So while Jupiter is named after the Roman chief God, patterned somewhat after Zeus, and would be male, Gaia makes up Jupiter. So if Gaia makes up Jupiter and Earth, and this suicidal planet and asteriods and the moons then it's all connected(this is also another discussion I'll get into later on magick.) We're connected to that dying planet because we live on Earth. We're part of the earth, literally anyway. So we're connected to this dying planet.
We won't be around, in this body, to see its demise. We may not be around as a species to see it either. But while we're here and know this about this planet we're connected to it by even just one small "thread." My wonder about the "people" on the planet isn't some fantastical notion. I'm sure if there are people they probably wonder about us. Because we're connected. We're connected by the PD(primordial Diety) Gaia. It's something wonderful to think, I think. Pluto isn't some lifeless rock with a downgraded status and WASP-18b(the name of the planet) isn't some suicidal planet. Somewhere, deep down inside us, we feel bad for the planet.
But there is hope. The planet will be folded into the arms of Chaos again. It will die and some part of it will immediately go to Chaos to be used elsewhere. Much of it will go into the start, which will eventually die itself, going to Chaos to be used elsewhere. Gais, or Nyx, or Eros will use what's there to do whatever They do. So the planet may come back. It may be a very Earth-like planet, or the dark matter, or something we've yet to discover.
So that's my first post. It was long I know, but most posts won't be so long. In fact they'll be very short. I also know it was a bit stream-of-consciousness, but that's how I write best.
Future topics:
What could possibly be so interesting about that? There's probably no life on the planet because it's about 3,200 degrees and we couldn't imagine life surviving at that temperature. It's going to die, but in a million years or so. That's honestly....we'll never see it happen. Not just us, but possibly humans. It's also impossibly far away. At 325 light years, maybe million, I don't remember, we're not going to go exploring even if it weren't so hot.
So why make a first post on a dying planet, millions of miles away, too hot anyway and, I forgot to mention, larger than Jupiter?
Because it's there, it's, slightly, interesting to me and it made me think. When I was younger I was taught there were 9 planets. 9! That number has been moved around many times. There are now 8 planets in our solar system and Pluto has been reduced to a dwarf planet. Though personally I like it being a planet. 9 is a good number. But back to the number of planets...it's definitely not 9, or even 8. It's so much more. So many more. And there's a good chance that at least 1 harbours life. It doesn't have to be life like on Earth, in fact that might be boring. But chances of us being alone in this huge thing call thed universe is slight.
I'm not a conspiracy theorist, though conspiracy theories are fun. I'm not some UFO hunter, alien freak or Trekker(that's the correct term, not Trekkie.) I'm just a person who thinks odds are in favour of Earth not being the only planet with life.
So back to the dying planet. My first thought was of life that could be on the planet. I refered to that "life" as people. So let's pretend for a moment there was life and they called themselves people. I thought how would they feel knowing that for certain their planet wasn't going to survive the next 3 millia. Beyond that I thought what if those people had religion, who would they worship? Their form(s) of religion is/are probably so different from ours and how cool it would be to learn about them. But alas we probably can't, if they exist.
So what in the world does this have to do with paganism? Nothing really, but since the purpose of this blog is to write something on paganism, or connect something to paganism, or give my pagan thoughts everday, or nearly, here's a stab at something.
The universe is huge. Now whether it's expanding or contracting isn't the point, it's big. It's so big it's unimaginable to the human mind. I'm sent reeling thinking of how large it is. It instantly takes up the available space in my head. And in this universe there are so many things we know little to squat about. Planets, stars, asteroids, comets, space dust, ice, dark matter, matter, anti-matter, anti-dark matter matter, black holes etc. And it was created. It was created somehow.
Christians believe God did it. I believe Hindus believe Braham spoke it into existence. I love the Greek myth on Chaos having everything and out of Chaos was born Eros, Gaia, Nyx and other primordial Deities. Some follow that the Goddess gave birth to the God, or Herself, or She did everything Herself.
Now seeing as how I like the Greek myth of Chaos I kind of think we're all floating in the "arms" of Chaos, which is neither female or male and both at the same time. I guess you could call it The All. But because The All is like the universe, so it's large and too much for my mind to handle. Which gives me a good feeling oddly enough. Chaos birthed Nyx(night), Eros(love) and Gaia(Earth). Gaia is very important because we know Her as our planet. But Gaia would be very small if She were just our planet. I believe Gaia makes up the planets and other solid matter in the universe, excepting a few things. So while Jupiter is named after the Roman chief God, patterned somewhat after Zeus, and would be male, Gaia makes up Jupiter. So if Gaia makes up Jupiter and Earth, and this suicidal planet and asteriods and the moons then it's all connected(this is also another discussion I'll get into later on magick.) We're connected to that dying planet because we live on Earth. We're part of the earth, literally anyway. So we're connected to this dying planet.
We won't be around, in this body, to see its demise. We may not be around as a species to see it either. But while we're here and know this about this planet we're connected to it by even just one small "thread." My wonder about the "people" on the planet isn't some fantastical notion. I'm sure if there are people they probably wonder about us. Because we're connected. We're connected by the PD(primordial Diety) Gaia. It's something wonderful to think, I think. Pluto isn't some lifeless rock with a downgraded status and WASP-18b(the name of the planet) isn't some suicidal planet. Somewhere, deep down inside us, we feel bad for the planet.
But there is hope. The planet will be folded into the arms of Chaos again. It will die and some part of it will immediately go to Chaos to be used elsewhere. Much of it will go into the start, which will eventually die itself, going to Chaos to be used elsewhere. Gais, or Nyx, or Eros will use what's there to do whatever They do. So the planet may come back. It may be a very Earth-like planet, or the dark matter, or something we've yet to discover.
So that's my first post. It was long I know, but most posts won't be so long. In fact they'll be very short. I also know it was a bit stream-of-consciousness, but that's how I write best.
Future topics:
- reincarnation
- Greek mythology
- the Goddess
- magick
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