tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63397055670463564962024-03-06T01:29:23.529-08:00Pagan Presence: News & InterestsPagan Presencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156838635410194154noreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339705567046356496.post-82319702639091438212012-07-09T06:49:00.003-07:002012-07-09T06:49:48.534-07:00Em's Birthday GIVEAWAYIt's been ages since I've been able to find the time and creative state of mind to craft a blog post here at Pagan Presence. Busy summer days and nights blur together and I float through them admittedly content to be getting nothing productive done with my writing. <br />
<br />
Instead I enjoy my little kitchen chemistry experiments that accompany my goals to create a line of all-natural bath & body care products. It's been such fun taking my witchy knowledge of essential oils and using such to craft the loveliest scrubs, salts, lotions and blends. <br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQQv8kl36IVK4FqTmcLYoeLNF7qEe5y70qLSv2-EFseSd0ZIWKVDKrjIgFI1LMwcDlw1fF0XXFWhMufPcjVhU2iY1yylaHTQQ9ntEHgVUC8pM1wvSK5gnodrnEoqcBxu8ggQzsGZRPYFP/s1600/BEFORE.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQQv8kl36IVK4FqTmcLYoeLNF7qEe5y70qLSv2-EFseSd0ZIWKVDKrjIgFI1LMwcDlw1fF0XXFWhMufPcjVhU2iY1yylaHTQQ9ntEHgVUC8pM1wvSK5gnodrnEoqcBxu8ggQzsGZRPYFP/s200/BEFORE.JPG" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BEFORE</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqAZboMNTXXz8P_wvp87o8ptbrA7NB5OqxWNtINxoaU_ydQA20n3y1MOswpTNgzCeT0rxtwPOWQI0gQw31M_-MOwqhAaySzRVBKRyyogJXxB9JQuOWslaYyVTEw5ZzkX91rBeuZEP5PnfH/s1600/DSCF3346.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqAZboMNTXXz8P_wvp87o8ptbrA7NB5OqxWNtINxoaU_ydQA20n3y1MOswpTNgzCeT0rxtwPOWQI0gQw31M_-MOwqhAaySzRVBKRyyogJXxB9JQuOWslaYyVTEw5ZzkX91rBeuZEP5PnfH/s200/DSCF3346.JPG" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AFTER 5 WEEKS</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Most important to me has been the search for an all-natural skin care line.<br />
<br />
I struggle with breakouts during the hot summer months and it's never been something I can gain an edge over -- even when I anticipate its arrival weeks in advance! <br />
<br />
After much reading and in-turn many realizations [oil is needed on the skin -- it's just WHICH oils are good and WHICH are bad that make the difference]...<br />
<br />
I have perfected an all-natural exfoliating cleanser, toner and moisturizer that have personally performed miracles on my summer skin. The Before/After pictures are my own. They are not retouched and I am not wearing makeup in the After photo. Not only are my breakouts now under control but the overall glow of my skin is dramatically improved -- mind you, I have gotten a bit more of a tan as well from my vacation poolside! ;) <br />
<br />
I am THRILLED to share this skin care line. One of my guinea pigs [human variety, of course] has all but broken down my door to get a second bottle of the exfoliating cleanser after using up what I'd given her to "test out". The last of the back-ordered ingredients [jojoba esters] have arrived so we needn't wait any longer! <br />
<br />
Now to the good part...<br />
THE GIVEAWAY!!!<br />
<br />
I would like to share an entire set of the skin care line [exfoliating cleanser, toner and moisturizer] with a lucky winner and will draw the name on my birthday, July 16th. <br />
<br />
To Enter:<br />
<br />
1. Visit <a href="https://www.facebook.com/EssentialPresence" target="_blank">Essential Presence</a> on Facebook and "LIKE" us.<br />
2. Head over to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pagan-Presence/129504247119400" target="_blank">Pagan Presence</a> on Facebook where you'll find a post related to the Giveaway. Comment on that post. Say anything you'd like! :)<br />
3. Once you've done steps 1 and 2 I will add your name to the bunch. If you see that I've 'liked' your comment, then you know you've been accepted into the drawing. <br />
4. You have until July 15th at 11:59pm to enter. I will draw the winning name as I drink my morning birthday coffee on the 16th! :) <br />
<br />
Best of luck my Wickedees!<br />
<br />
<br />
***INGREDIENTS<br />
<br />
Exfoliating Cleanser: features jojoba esters to scrub off dirt and grime, an emulsifier, almond oil for healthy skin, grapeseed oil to clear and shrink pores, vegetable glycerin to soften and clean and grapefruit & lavender therapy-grade essential oils which are known to promote clear and healthy skin by acting as natural antibacterial and antimicrobial sources.<br />
<br />
Toner: witch hazel to reduce redness and irritation on the skin, grapeseed oil and tea tree oil [antimicrobial].<br />
<br />
Moisturizer: emulsifier, almond oil, apricot oil [helps to soften fine lines], grapeseed oil, grapefruit & lavender.Pagan Presencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156838635410194154noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339705567046356496.post-28725372916210875752012-05-04T19:57:00.001-07:002012-05-04T19:57:10.421-07:00And the WINNER is...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijNWREzUWwnHCz9r2tvLpicexInTYCYbxlxgZAgRvEw99nUriGK8egVSMMAUiCOebWvbH9NUerXx9_HiEACRLeYyL_QfnkV2KcI1XF7TmubYQXQQA2lcd0bbDL_UXA170CEbZuKLdBn-OQ/s1600/DSCF2281.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijNWREzUWwnHCz9r2tvLpicexInTYCYbxlxgZAgRvEw99nUriGK8egVSMMAUiCOebWvbH9NUerXx9_HiEACRLeYyL_QfnkV2KcI1XF7TmubYQXQQA2lcd0bbDL_UXA170CEbZuKLdBn-OQ/s320/DSCF2281.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
After returning from seeing AVENGERS [great movie, by the way], I put the names of those who entered the giveaway into my hat [you didn't think I'd really use my pointy black hat, but I did!]...<br />
<br />
<b>Congratulations to the winner of our ESSENTIAL PRESENCE Foot Scrub GIVEAWAY:</b><br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Salem Witch Child</i></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Salem will be choosing her favorite from my three all-natural foot scrubs. <br />I'll be in touch Salem! Congrats!</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">These scrubs are available for purchase through my Etsy shop, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_595440012">Essential Presence</a></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I'm very excited about the trial-and-error progress of the upcoming facial cleansers and will also be looking to list an all-purpose household cleanser featuring orange zest and thyme in a mild vinegar base. Look for all of these new products May-June 2012! Gift baskets coming soon too!</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
As the new products become available, we'll be sure to do another giveaway! </div>Pagan Presencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156838635410194154noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339705567046356496.post-1565485646193526972012-05-04T06:52:00.000-07:002012-05-04T06:52:05.851-07:00Last Day 4 the GIVEAWAY!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0PAZen-Oo0fs-Wm5YdMVUxQ8ZkfQgFCBwxufGPS7m2YTGgRV0BytOSqSvIMDm2vJBaE44nawOv6Kq_Sbk3OfZVvJdycYJ7gK8WDf9fTcJJqwmY4rxifweYU2UocX4Tc1lAYT4n_dpqd5c/s1600/DSCF2274.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0PAZen-Oo0fs-Wm5YdMVUxQ8ZkfQgFCBwxufGPS7m2YTGgRV0BytOSqSvIMDm2vJBaE44nawOv6Kq_Sbk3OfZVvJdycYJ7gK8WDf9fTcJJqwmY4rxifweYU2UocX4Tc1lAYT4n_dpqd5c/s320/DSCF2274.JPG" width="210" /></a></div>
May the 4th be with you!<br />
<br />
Today is the last day of the<br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Essential Presence Foot Scrub Giveaway Extravaganza... anza... <span style="font-size: small;">anza</span>... <span style="font-size: x-small;">anza</span></span>!!! </div>
<br />
Okay, I'm going overboard. But still... freebies are cool. :)<br />
<br />
Our winner will choose from my tried and true all-natural foot scrubs in three delectable scents:<br />
<i>a. Sweet Orange Sugar Scrub</i><br />
<i>b. Lavender Orange Sugar Scrub</i><br />
<i>c. Citrus Mint Sugar Scrub </i><br />
<br />
<br />
These sugar scrubs are also available for purchase on my Etsy shop, <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/essentialpresence" style="color: #0b5394;" target="_blank">ESSENTIAL PRESENCE</a>.<br />
<br />
Keep checking back to Etsy and our Facebook page for new scrubs and
other organic products [such as the Sweet Orange & Thyme All-Purpose
Cleaner]. Gift baskets also coming soon!!<br />
<br />
RULES OF ENTRY<br />
____________________________________________<br />
<br />
1. Visit Essential Presence on Facebook and "LIKE" the page.<br />
2. Return to Pagan Presence on blogspot and comment with "TREAT MY FEET"<br />
<br />
That's ALL? Yep! That's ALL!!! The giveaway will end at sunset on May 4th 2012 <br />
at which time I will gather the names of the participants <br />
and pull a winner from my [pointy] [black] hat!<br />
<br />
I will contact the winner by midnight on the 4th to share the good news <br />
and obtain shipping details.<br />
<br />
Good luck!!<br />
____________________________________________<br />
<br />
<br />Pagan Presencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156838635410194154noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339705567046356496.post-27154168124239270852012-05-02T21:02:00.001-07:002012-05-02T21:02:23.873-07:00SuperMoonSaturday, May 5th will host the year's largest full moon -- a true Supermoon at that. So what exactly is meant by the term 'super' moon?<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_-XfPLQ8AXwGb92EGXD6XmE7aCmyIfPhiRxE3QVRL5c7sV3zKggnAPS9l6GDsN2GTucbIeOKCjA2H7XfZ-6IZ3MGEHHEoQUXICiBSK2fJF8yIhwDpAHqPqWdkPlq_nu9L4wfw9YM8E6Q/s1600/supermoon-photos-15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_-XfPLQ8AXwGb92EGXD6XmE7aCmyIfPhiRxE3QVRL5c7sV3zKggnAPS9l6GDsN2GTucbIeOKCjA2H7XfZ-6IZ3MGEHHEoQUXICiBSK2fJF8yIhwDpAHqPqWdkPlq_nu9L4wfw9YM8E6Q/s200/supermoon-photos-15.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
On its elliptical orbit, the moon reaches perigee [the point when it passes closest to the earth]. When this close approach coincides with the whole illumination of the full moon... blam! SUPERMOON! Though, don't try to discuss this term with a full-blown astronomer. They don't recognize it. To them it just happens to be that perigee and the full moon share a day and because of it, the moon will be noticeably larger than it is when it is full at apogee (the point in its orbit farthest from Earth).<br />
<br />
Yawn!<br />
<br />
Good thing the Witching World knows there's more to our moon than just science! The moon, in all of its phases -- from dark to waxing crescent and full to waning Crone -- embodies the Goddess aspect of our divinity. She is a symbol of the ever-changing, ever-flowing energies around and within each of us. There are many in our Faith who <i>draw her down</i> and soak in her light and who follow her through her cycle -- taking on new goals and projects as she grows; discarding negativity and completing what lies pending and in wait as she descends into darkness once again.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.vivaboo.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/catch-the-moon-child-girl-dream-fantasy-fishing-net-fish-full-wharf-cloud-sky-kneel-photoshop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://www.vivaboo.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/catch-the-moon-child-girl-dream-fantasy-fishing-net-fish-full-wharf-cloud-sky-kneel-photoshop.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffe599; font-size: xx-small;">Image by Kane L Strand</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In honor of Saturday's extreme Supermoon, I humbly share with you the ritual prayer that I wrote for my children to recite on the esbats. For those of you with Pagan children of your own, I hope that you find its innocence touching -- [to hear my son's voices as they repeat it is nothing shy of angelic].<br />
<br />
To our Esbat Blessing we like to add Moon Cookies [recipe provided] and a selection of incenses and essential oils under the moon's rule [camphor, jasmine, lemon, lily, melon, night-blooming cereus, sandalwood, stephanotis and water lily -- <i>thank you to Scott Cunningham's "Magical Aromatherapy" for those particular correspondences</i>].<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHrvb55CpKjkfD9lRq_UF18XBrdraQfXmZPfUnixnhHfx64CtRwe53_jMq-pJLdtL7gO2Uya403-cJvDQzS_iyLuVEJacuojgEIYMD7OR0gjDg2wMYAr0SWh4GiN_TN9tYh_JLffVZFAhB/s1600/DSCF2168.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHrvb55CpKjkfD9lRq_UF18XBrdraQfXmZPfUnixnhHfx64CtRwe53_jMq-pJLdtL7gO2Uya403-cJvDQzS_iyLuVEJacuojgEIYMD7OR0gjDg2wMYAr0SWh4GiN_TN9tYh_JLffVZFAhB/s200/DSCF2168.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-size: xx-small;">Moon Cookie</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #d0e0e3;">MOON COOKIES</span><br />
<span style="color: #d0e0e3;">1C butter, softened</span><br />
<span style="color: #d0e0e3;">1/2C brown sugar</span><br />
<span style="color: #d0e0e3;">3/4C white sugar</span><br />
<span style="color: #d0e0e3;">2 eggs [cage-free please!]</span><br />
<span style="color: #d0e0e3;">2 3/4C flour</span><br />
<span style="color: #d0e0e3;">2TSP baking soda</span><br />
<span style="color: #d0e0e3;">1TSP vanilla</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #d0e0e3;">Oven: 375</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #d0e0e3;">Cream butter. Add sugars. Beat one minute. Add eggs one at a time. Beat well between eggs. Slowly add flour and baking soda. Then vanilla. Beat well for three minutes. Refrigerate ten minutes. Roll out between parchment paper [with flour if needed]. Use a clean aluminum can [or circle-shaped cookie cutter] to cut 'full moons' from the dough. Re-refrigerate to make the transfer to the cookie sheet easier. </span><br />
<div style="color: #d0e0e3;">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: #d0e0e3;">Bake 8 - 10 minutes.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #d0e0e3;">We like to add two crescent moons to either side of the cookie in a light blue frosting to get the full effect of the triple goddess. We also make them during crescent moon phases [any excuse for a cookie, right?!] and frost accordingly. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #fff2cc;">***A CHILDREN'S FULL MOON RITUAL</span><br />
<br />
Begin by casting your circle -- to make it fun for a child, hold hands and move in a circle as you call upon the elements and invoke the gods. <br />
<br />
<div style="color: #fff2cc;">
PRAYER</div>
<br />
<div style="color: #fff2cc; text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">"Mother Moon,
so bright,<br />
so full and round,<br />
do you know my voice<br />
within the sound --<br />
of life on earth,<br />
of all the noise,<br />
of cars, of tools,<br />
of games and toys?<br />
For though I’m small,<br />
I am here,<br />
the only Me<br />
that you will hear.<br />
Bless my dreams.<br />
Keep them true.<br />
And when fears I face,<br />
please see me through–<br />
from dark to light,<br />
from night to day.<br />
By you, I live<br />
to laugh and play."</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Reach your arms toward the moon and recite the following as you pull your hands toward the center of your chest, welcoming the energy being offered:</span><i><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";"> </span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><span style="color: #fff2cc;">"I draw you down,</span><br style="color: #fff2cc;" /><span style="color: #fff2cc;">
a light so whole</span><br style="color: #fff2cc;" /><span style="color: #fff2cc;">
and keep you</span><br style="color: #fff2cc;" /><span style="color: #fff2cc;">
in my very soul."</span><br />
</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 16pt;"></span></i></div>
<br />
At the close of our prayer we blow our goddess a kiss as we proclaim, "<i>Bless-ed Be</i>". And, of course, we end our night reading "Goodnight Moon" by Margaret Wise Brown.<br />
<br />
Good night moon. Good night cow jumping over the moon.<br />
Good night stars. Good night air. Good night noises....<br />
everywhere.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Pagan Presencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156838635410194154noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339705567046356496.post-46294786603491193092012-04-30T13:13:00.000-07:002012-04-30T13:13:59.296-07:00GIVEAWAY ends Friday, May 7th<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiII8As-DzG-38x5quBOL0BcuRRbDS428nkTeKG2JDytb82foyLMuTMGU0ztLa8T2D8_mrONEpDtjPt-QgASYQ6TSREQXsHm7WJkjEIeodAqmNBPMNtuuodDhPhexRlWhwJEdrVcpHjFLRs/s1600/DSCF2260.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiII8As-DzG-38x5quBOL0BcuRRbDS428nkTeKG2JDytb82foyLMuTMGU0ztLa8T2D8_mrONEpDtjPt-QgASYQ6TSREQXsHm7WJkjEIeodAqmNBPMNtuuodDhPhexRlWhwJEdrVcpHjFLRs/s1600/DSCF2260.JPG" /></a></div>
Just a reminder that I'm running a [very first] GIVEAWAY here at Pagan Presence. The freebie up for grabs is from my new line of Essential Presence Foot Scrubs featuring almond and grapeseed oils, turbinado sugar and essences of lavender, orange, mint and more!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
RULES OF ENTRY<br />
____________________________________________<br />
<br />
1. Visit Essential Presence on Facebook and "LIKE" the page.<br />
2. Return to Pagan Presence on blogspot and comment with "TREAT MY FEET"<br />
<br />
That's ALL? Yep! That's ALL!!! The giveaway will end at sunset on May 4th 2012 <br />
at which time I will gather the names of the participants <br />
and pull a winner from my [pointy] hat!<br />
<br />
I will contact the winner by midnight on the 4th to share the good news <br />
and obtain shipping details.<br />
<br />
Good luck!!<br />
____________________________________________<br />
<br />
<br />
The three sugar scrubs are also available for purchase on my Etsy shop, <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/essentialpresence" style="color: #0b5394;" target="_blank">ESSENTIAL PRESENCE</a>.<br />
Keep checking back to Etsy and our Facebook page for new scrubs and
other organic products [such as the Sweet Orange & Thyme All-Purpose
Cleaner]. Gift baskets also coming soon!!<br />
<br />
a. Sweet Orange Sugar Scrub<br />
b. Lavender Orange Sugar Scrub<br />
c. Citrus Mint Sugar Scrub <br />
<br />
Treat your Feet... it's ESSENTIAL!Pagan Presencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156838635410194154noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339705567046356496.post-14825608408029657282012-04-28T18:09:00.002-07:002012-04-28T18:09:34.901-07:00*** GIVEAWAY ***It's the very 1st Pagan Presence GIVEAWAY!!!! <br />Woo hoo: freebies!!! <br />
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For many months I have been diligently working to perfect a line of sugar foot scrubs and am inexpressibly excited to have the first three recipes ready for shipment!!!<br />
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These scrubs feature Turbinado Sugar [Sugar in the Raw], Grapeseed & Almond oils blended with the essences of Orange, Lavender, Grapefruit, Spearmint and more. Your feet will thank you for such an indulgence! <br />
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And what better than to share these amazing scrubs with a fabulous reader!<br />
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RULES OF ENTRY<br />____________________________________________<br />
<br />1. Visit Essential Presence on Facebook and "LIKE" the page.<br />
2. Return to Pagan Presence on blogspot and comment with "TREAT MY FEET"<br />
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That's ALL? Yep! That's ALL!!! The giveaway will end at sunset on May 4th 2012 <br />at which time I will gather the names of the participants <br />and pull a winner from my [pointy] hat!<br />
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I will contact the winner by midnight on the 4th to share the good news <br />and obtain shipping details.<br />
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Good luck my wicked friends!!<br />
____________________________________________<br />
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The three sugar scrubs are also available for purchase on my Etsy shop, <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/essentialpresence" style="color: #0b5394;" target="_blank">ESSENTIAL PRESENCE</a>.<br />
Keep checking back to Etsy and our Facebook page for new scrubs and other organic products [such as the Sweet Orange & Thyme All-Purpose Cleaner]. Gift baskets also coming soon!!<br />
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a. Sweet Orange Sugar Scrub<br />
b. Lavender Orange Sugar Scrub<br />
c. Citrus Mint Sugar Scrub <br />
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Treat your Feet... it's ESSENTIAL!<br />Pagan Presencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156838635410194154noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339705567046356496.post-63410865952885774742012-04-23T18:12:00.002-07:002012-04-23T18:12:59.974-07:00Coming Out of the Broom Closet<b>"Coming out of the Broom Closet" </b><br />
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It's a phrase that cycles often through the Pagan community. And as silly as it may sound to some, there are those who find the idea of publicly announcing a connection to this still very misrepresented faith a bit overwhelming. Not silly, but scary!<br />
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Not everyone can afford to be linked to something that takes them "off the beaten path" in the eyes of their peers. Forget any hope of being seen as a cutting-edge, unique individual that might offer a refreshing perspective. No, you'll become "the odd man out", "that devil worshiper", "the freak". Or at least that's what many closeted Pagans fear may be the reaction they will face if they ever chose to "come out".<br />
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Everyone's situation differs and it may be that you whole-heartedly fear a loss of your job, family or friends should you let your faith be known. No judgments from me! But in my heart I can't see a healthy benefit in masking who it is you truly are within.<br />
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In honor of the upcoming <a href="http://pagancomingoutday.org/" style="color: #f3f3f3;" target="_blank">International Pagan Coming Out Day</a><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"> </span>[May 2nd], I wanted to take the opportunity to share my own story of finding this well-worn path that many of us call home.<br />
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<b>"So, when did you discover that you were a witch?"</b><br />
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I recently finished reading "The Goddess is in the Details" by Deborah Blake, author and High Priestess of the Blue Moon Circle. In her first chapter she tells very enchantingly of the moment she felt <i>"an indefinable <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">something</span> inside [me] shift and change"</i>. She speaks of one Halloween when she was persuaded to come to a Pagan event hosted by her friend. Reluctantly she decided to attend. <br />
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Deborah writes, <i>"And there, amid the trees, in a clearing lit only by moonlight and candle flame, <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">something</span> unexpected happened. The circle was cast, the quarters called, the gods invoked, and I felt an indefinable <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">something</span> inside me shift and change."</i><br />
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She was amazed to find a profound connection to Nature and to the other members of the party, who had, but moments ago, been merely strangers. Deborah felt as though she had touched the gods and that they had touched her back [chapter 1: page 8]. <br />
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She proclaims, <i>"never had I felt with any certainty that there was, in fact, a god. But on that Samhain night, in that circle in the park, I was suddenly absolutely sure: sure that there was deity around me and inside me, sure that what I had found was the right path for me. I was a Witch, and I had come home."</i><br />
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Many <b> </b>a-story of finding the Pagan faith[s] elude to this idea of "coming home" -- like it was always waiting quietly in the shadows of your life until that moment when you finally noticed it and it pulled you with warm welcome into its arms. I know the feeling well...<br />
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I was raised Roman Catholic -- just about as anti-Witch as you can get! And I didn't really think about it much until... well, until reaching an age when I actually started to think about it!<br />
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My mother would dress us up and haul us off to church on Sunday mornings, which, aside from being exceedingly boring, didn't cause me much concern. That is, until my growing little mind began to sort through what it was that they were preaching -- there were stories with lessons and rules [oh! The rules!]. And when I began attempting to make sense of it all, well, there were just too many conflicting details.<br />
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And so... what was a confused and curious young girl to do but to ask for clarification [because, after all, the only 'dumb question' is the one not asked, right?]. Not quite.<br />
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I was probably age seven or eight when I began Religion Classes. This was my opportunity to make some sense of it all -- or so I thought. <br />
<i> </i><br />
<i> "Are they sure Jesus was born in December? Because that's when we celebrate Christmas but The Bible says there were shepherds living in fields nearby and watching over their flocks and I don't think that happens in winter." </i><br />
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<i> "What do Easter eggs and bunnies have to do with our Lord?" </i><br />
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<i> "You said Jesus was crucified on Friday and rose on Sunday but that's really not three days like they say in church [<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">'on the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the scriptures' </span></i>-- yes it's still burned into my brain].<i>"</i><br />
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This innocent mind wanted to know! And I was ready for their answers [so that I might set some order to the madness I was hearing]. But these answers never came. Instead I was warned about doubting the word of God. "Just have faith" I was told. <br />
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Have faith? Have faith that the Lord thinks Friday afternoon to Sunday morning could somehow work out to be three days? I can't imagine the look that must have fastened itself onto my perplexed little face but regardless, that was the end of that! No room for discussion!<br />
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It wasn't but a year or two after this that I learned of a particularly well-like Father's involvement in an embezzlement scam. That was my breaking point. I had suppressed my desire to clarify some fairly senseless Christian claims and did my best to "just have faith" when all the while these very people [who stood preaching about righteousness endless Sunday after endless Sunday] were picking the pockets of those who turned to them for spiritual purpose.<br />
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I likely couldn't have defined the term "double-standard" back in those days but I sure as heck could tell you how it made a person feel! Abandoned. Lost. Dare I say... bitch-slapped?! I dare!!!<br />
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My mother never batted a single eyelash when I told her I would no longer be attending church. I think she herself questioned what benefit the Catholic faith could bring to her children. Truly I believe that the only reason she ever dragged us there to begin with was a thoughtless fall into the family routine she herself was raised to follow. It's just what you did.<br />
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I was quite content without religion... for awhile. It was about my junior year of high school that I noticed a soft-spoken emptiness inside and began to explore. I attended a church function with a friend who was Born Again and was frightened away from that very restrictive belief system just about as fast as my cut-off shorts would take me!<br />
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It was random chance that would lead me to the "Pocket Guide to Wicca". Random chance. Or was it? Perhaps I was supposed to be in that bookstore at just that moment, walking around aimlessly after picking up a new hard-cover blank journal [to house my totally deep, teenage-drama poetry].<br />
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So we've all learned that the Catholic religion had left me with a bitter taste towards spirituality. And I'm not ashamed to admit that when I first came across the small section of books on Witchcraft, my initial draw to it came from a deep desire to stick it to those Roman Catholic hypocrites! What could be worse than turning to the very heathens that they'd preached against?! <i>* insert sinister cackle like the one by the plump witch from Looney Toons *</i><br />
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This less-than-virtuous motive was enough to get me to purchase that pocket guide. Little did I know how much it would change my life.<br />
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The mini book laid out the basic foundations of Wicca with simple descriptions of rites, elements, correspondences, sabbats and more. The text itself contained no rushing waves of passion and power. And yet, through its simplistic breakdown of the Faith it was very clear to me that this was a belief system that encouraged a more personal connection to divinity. It wasn't about doing what everyone else told you to do so that you might 'find the Lord'. It was about doing what felt right so that you might develop a personal inner relationship with deity.<br />
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And when it related across the board to the profound expressions of Ralph Waldo Emerson that I so cherished -- those expressions that stated <i>God's ability to connect with every individual through private door to their heart </i>-- that is when I felt "the shift". <br />
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At age 16 I had found what was needed to occupy the void that Catholicism had left within me. And it truly was a "coming home". It was comfortable and uplifting. The world was brighter, the wind was crisper. After years of reading, learning and following a more typical Wiccan path, I veered onto my own trail of eclectic Pagan beliefs and inspirations. <br />
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And today I don't turn to anyone to validate my connection to divinity. Just as author Deborah Blake expressed in her book, I too touch the gods and they touch me. And while I've faced judgments and opinions from others as I've walked this ["off-the-beaten"] path, I need only look within to recognize that what they <i>think</i> they know dulls in comparison to what I feel is right [for me]. <br />
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My Pagan faith fulfills me. It gives me the foundation to face a hectic and imperfect world with optimism and with confidence. It provides me with a compassion for others -- something that I noticed [even as a young child] is very lacking in the Catholic community [generally speaking, of course]. I live with an outlook of "open-mind & open-heart". Everyone matters because everyone is connected at a level deeper than what this physical world allows us to recognize. <br />
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And to now see my two sons growing up to cherish and accept everyone as special and unique -- to know that they themselves hold a special light which makes them a 'one and only' -- that has served to enhance the gratitude I have for my faith.<br />
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A friend [one raised to fear and detest Pagan religious beliefs] once told me that I should at least take my children to a non-denominational church so that they are raised with <i>some</i> sort of foundation. Rather than take offense, I almost laughed, with all sincerity, right in her face! My children have more compassion and genuine respect for themselves and others than your average, educated adult! They do not lack anything that a Christian counterpart can claim. And in fact, I find that because they are <i>not</i> taught that one path is the only path, my children are more likely to form a lasting bond of genuine acceptance with another person than might a child from a monotheistic faith.<br />
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Yes I'm 100% out of the broom closet! Plenty of storage space in there! I don't worry about the opinions that others form based on misconceptions that continue to circulate... because I live by example. Someone can examine my life, my words and my actions and know that it is my belief system that grants me the open-hearted perspective that I have towards the world around me.<br />
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In the Closet or Out, Bless-ed Be my Pagan friends. Know that you are beautiful.<br />
Love & Light,<br />
Em<br />
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Pagan Presencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156838635410194154noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339705567046356496.post-38876957399313021292012-04-18T21:22:00.001-07:002012-04-18T21:28:02.304-07:00Snake HandlersI am thoroughly fascinated by all things 'religion' -- the history, unfolding and overlapping of it all! So when I get ambitious I take on the challenge of theology-related open courseware available [for free!] via elite schools such as Notre Dame and Yale. Ever try them out? They're wonderful! Entire semesters of courses in a variety of topics provided to the general public free of charge -- all for the noble purpose of extending knowledge to the masses.<br />
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My latest endeavor is a course provided by MIT titled "Magic, Witchcraft and The Spirit World". Right up my alley, right?! And yet who might've thought that with such a title we would be diving head-first into the curious world of Pentacostal Snake Handlers?!<br />
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My initial reaction: <i>What does a sect of Christian outliers have to do with magic, Witchcraft or the Spirit World?</i><br />
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In the name of knowledge however, I quieted my objections and was rewarded with a frightening journey into the overzealous minds of "The Holy Ghost People". I provide my written assignment on the subject below.<i> </i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #7f7f7f; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 22pt; line-height: 115%;">Pentacostal Snake Handlers<br />
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</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Magic, Witchcraft & The Spirit World<br />
Professor James Howe<br />
MIT<br />
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April 18 2012<br />
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The Book of Mark [16:17] preaches </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“these signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”</span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Is this small portion of the Holy Bible, translated by a small church in Scrabble Creek West Virginia as the literal word of God, sole inspiration for the mumbling, twitching, hollering, dancing, convulsing, poison consumption and dangerous snake-handling undertaken by its members? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
One outsider, journalist Dennis Covington, began as neutral observer and soon found a permeating power in the depth and atypical display of the group’s belief.<br />
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<span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Each member of the rural congregation claims with grand passion to have received the Holy Ghost, finding proof of this in the signs offered to them by the aforementioned verse in the book of Mark.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
Their excitement for this extraordinary connection to the Divine is expressed with an almost orgasmic melodrama -- flailing themselves about in such jerking spasms and reckless imbalance that, if encountered in society outside of this religious sect, would incite a reaction of urgent alarm and an immediate call for emergency services.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
As one leading member of the informal church service mentions, the Bible preaches <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“against idols, I-D-O-L-S, and it preaches against idles, I-D-L-E-S”</i>. It is because of this latter testimonial that the members of this church strive to express their faith with such an overactive participation. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
They welcome the Holy Ghost as it enters them and takes control of their bodies. Through this assumed union of soul and God they work as faith healers to any who claim an ailment and dance in chaotic, uncoordinated groups all while carrying poisonous snakes, such as Copperheads and Rattlers -- even tossing the serpents to one another across a crowded room filled with babies and children. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
It is unclear through the mumbling of their ‘new tongue’ or the few bits of Gospel shared in the stumbling voices of clearly uneducated adults what purpose these snakes serve and why the risk of a bite is worth their continued use in church services. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
In the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Genesis refers to a serpent that was responsible for the fall of man [2Cr 11:3]. Do the members of this and similar congregations view their snake-handling as a sort of conquering of temptation and of evil by the pure goodness of their received Holy Ghost? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjce1gXFzoCd4CdHfY-PvjP6V59KzCQGu1Xha7uwOcHInY47foqHlZ2mpz2OGqH9k74YLL78zWqqzKcHILA0iSAldfFcTOIb-B6gw4Zz95t3KWfejH2PSpiOAKPLaryYJ6mSlXAyTZlGLo/s400/222_snakehandlers_dewey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjce1gXFzoCd4CdHfY-PvjP6V59KzCQGu1Xha7uwOcHInY47foqHlZ2mpz2OGqH9k74YLL78zWqqzKcHILA0iSAldfFcTOIb-B6gw4Zz95t3KWfejH2PSpiOAKPLaryYJ6mSlXAyTZlGLo/s320/222_snakehandlers_dewey.jpg" width="308" /></a><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
If this is so, their reactions upon seeing a fellow member bitten by one of the potentially deadly snakes portrayed a very tangible doubt in their divine invincibility. In spite of any fear that may have provided them a moment of clarity and humility, the group refrained from seeking medical attention for their stricken brethren and instead turned back inward to the Holy Ghost that they believed waited within to ensure a miraculous healing. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
And should they fail; should he die, would they come to realize the irrationality of their practices? Not likely. The congregation had seen the loss of members due to snake bites in the past. Most felt that a failed faith healing resulted when those among them did not fully believe.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
These impassioned church-goers may or may not truly experience being taken over by “Holy Ghost” but they believe in the signs listed by the Book of Mark and accept these as proof of their ethereal enlightenment. And this belief has power.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
When journalist Dennis Covington describes the first time he takes up a serpent, this once objective bystander claims to lose himself in light, stating <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“There is a power in the act of disappearing; there is a victory in the loss of self.”</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
There is no doubt as to the dangers faced by members of this Scrabble Creek church but perhaps an outsider will never fully understand what it means to be guided by something larger than one’s self when you take up a serpent in the name of the Lord. <br />
</span></div>Pagan Presencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156838635410194154noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339705567046356496.post-44106522628829535662012-04-17T14:42:00.001-07:002012-04-17T14:44:28.231-07:00In Search of History : Salem Witch Trials<div class="MsoNormal"><b>IN SEARCH OF HISTORY : SALEM WITCH TRIALS by The History Channel</b><br />
<div style="color: #cfe2f3;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Salem-Witch-Trials-History-Channel/dp/B0007WFUQ0" target="_blank">Purchase the DVD</a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51BGACETABL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51BGACETABL.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Today's post provides Part One of a three-part offering of the Manuscript for The History Channel's special on The Salem Witch Trials.<span style="color: #999999;"> <br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<span style="color: #999999;">Manuscript by Em Graves</span><br />
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In 1692 mass hysteria and rampant paranoia swept the New England countryside. Citizens in the small village of Salem were being accused of casting spells, of consorting with the devil, of being witches. This persecution was a relatively new phenomenon in America, but across France, Italy, Germany and England massive witch hunts had been going on for 300 years.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">From the 14<sup>th</sup> to the 16<sup>th</sup> centuries an estimate forty to fifty thousand people were executed. The religious impetus for this human devastation came from the holy scriptures. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.gordon.edu/images/galleries/Goss_David_2008_11_21_01_32_24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.gordon.edu/images/galleries/Goss_David_2008_11_21_01_32_24.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">DAVID GOSS</b> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>[former] Executive Director</i></span>, Beverly Historical Society<br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">“What is written in the bible is the word of God. It is viable. It is infallible. And we have to live by it on a daily basis. And when you read, in the Book of Exodus Chapter 22 Verse 18: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.</i> There it is.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Despite the biblical condemnation, early Christians were relatively tolerant of Paganism and witchcraft. But as the Roman Catholic Church began to consolidate its power, heretics were looked on as enemies. By 1231 Pope Gregory IX instituted the Inquisition in order to expose and punish heresy. From this point on attitudes toward witchcraft took a decidedly violent turn.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> In 1484 Pope Innocent VIII declared witchcraft a heresy. The punishment was death. Witch hunts were often conducted by superstitious villagers. As animosities and tensions rose amongst them, the villagers used the witch hunt as a convenient and powerful tool to get rid of their imagined or real enemies. And the authorities did very little to stop them. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ocean1025.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/hutton1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://ocean1025.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/hutton1.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">RONALD HUTTON</b> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Professor of History</i></span>, University of Bristol<br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in;">“Let’s make a play on what a witch hunt actually means. It doesn’t mean that people with hoods go around knocking on doors and asking if any witch is there. It means that unusually the authority is actually encouraged local people to be afraid of each other and to denounce each other as witches. It’s both a purging of the local community by itself and a hysteria whipped up by people who ought to have known better -- people in charge.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Once a person was accused of being a witch, it was still necessary to provide concrete evidence before prosecution. But how do you prove that a spell or curse has been cast? What the authorities needed were other, more tangible signs, of witchcraft. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://historicmysteries.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/malleus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://historicmysteries.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/malleus.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">In 1486 a guidebook on finding witches called <a href="http://www.malleusmaleficarum.org/" style="color: #cfe2f3;" target="_blank"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">MALLEUS MALEFICARUM</b></a>, or The Hammer of the Witches, was published. It provided a definition of witchcraft as well as rules on how to investigate, try and judge cases. The book stated that one sure sign of a witch was the Devil’s Mark or Witch’s Teats. Looking for the Devil’s Mark became a very popular pastime and may have served more prurient interests than the health and welfare of the community. It involved a careful inspection of the suspected witch’s body, which could only be accomplished after shaving all of his or her hair, including the genital area.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">RONALD HUTTON</b> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Professor of History</i></span>, University of Bristol</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in;">“It’s an old folk tradition based on the idea that the Devil, making a pact with the witch, leaves a special mark which is in turn based on an even older tradition that witches have teats through which they suckle their familiar spirits -- the animal spirits that serve them. The idea is that if you can find these marks, these teats, you can prove that this person’s a witch.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">DAVID GOSS</b> <i><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></i><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">[former] Executive Director</span></i>, Beverly Historical Society </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in;">“They would then test that mark by piercing it with a needle or pin. If pain was felt or if blood was drawn from the mark, there was no evidence there to indicate that this person was a witch. On the other hand, if after probing with a needle or pin, they find there is no pain and there is no blood, it is not normal. It is not natural. It is unnatural. Then there is evidence, in their view, that this might in fact be a witch’s mark.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Another popular method in the Middle Ages was called “Swimming a Witch”. The theory was that water, being pure, would reject all evil. The belief was that a witch would float and an innocent person would sink. The test always provided a victim. The Malias Maleficarum also encourage torture as a way to illicit a confession from a suspected witch. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">RONALD HUTTON</b> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Professor of History</i></span>, University of Bristol</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in;">“The best way of obtaining a confession is to apply force. That’s in purely brutal, practical terms. The most effective actual method used was known as ‘the stripadum’ and was just like having your arm twisted around your back, as in the school playground, except that it goes on for hours. Now the reason why this was used is that it was excruciatingly painful. It was horrible.“ </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Torturing suspected witches was justified in the eyes of the law. English Magistrates considered the practice of witchcraft a crime against the Church and the State.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">DAVID GOSS</b> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>[former] Executive Director</i></span>, Beverly Historical Society </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in;">“From the days of Henry the VIII and onward, the King is the head of the Church. So your political leader is also the head of the Church of England. And for this reason, when you turn your back upon God and upon the Church, you are also very much so turning your back upon your King.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> Witchcraft was therefore considered an act of treason and a capital offense. Witch hunts continued unabated through the 17<sup>th</sup> century. Neighbors accused neighbors. Thousands of innocent lives were lost. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In 1629 King Charles I of England granted a religious splinter group called the Puritans -- a charter to settle and govern an English colony in the Massachusetts Bay. Their desire? To create a new, perfect society based on the principles of the Bible; a theocracy with no separation of Church and State.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCo1PkslygbtgMbMKLwBU2UjgtQGcgzs3-0yVClPTNEh8uAcuWhbfDyLhAjDZnWr80U2eCSVso_6k8whpPh9RNaJwt1N60yYWRNvd3frJUP6S7Jx0cewrEdS2UrsOiarjLcZD_sHgZO9eR/s1600/ckarlsen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCo1PkslygbtgMbMKLwBU2UjgtQGcgzs3-0yVClPTNEh8uAcuWhbfDyLhAjDZnWr80U2eCSVso_6k8whpPh9RNaJwt1N60yYWRNvd3frJUP6S7Jx0cewrEdS2UrsOiarjLcZD_sHgZO9eR/s200/ckarlsen.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">CAROL KARLSEN </b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Visiting Professor</i></span>, Harvard Divinity School & <i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Professor Emerita</span></i>, University of Michigan</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in;">“Their goal was a kind of model community -- what they called “a city on a hill” -- that would be a kind of light to people all over the world. We still have that notion of the U.S. with us today but it was very intense in those early years.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Not everyone who crossed over was a Puritan. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.oah.org/images/kamensky.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.oah.org/images/kamensky.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">JANE KAMENSKY </b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Professor of History</i></span>, Brandeis University</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">“Others leave because they have no land, because they have no jobs; because their lives in England are so difficult that going to the edge of an unknown world and building a society out of nothing sounds better. One of the things that eventually produces a natural kind of tension in many New England communities, as indeed in many Colonial communities, is you have people there for many different reasons." </span><br />
<br />
<br />
***Look for the upcoming Part 2 Manuscript for <b>The Search for History: Salem Witch Trials</b> on this blog in April 2012! <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=6339705567046356496&postID=4410652262882953566&from=pencil" name="_GoBack"></a></div>Pagan Presencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156838635410194154noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339705567046356496.post-7688477676459553242012-04-13T19:12:00.002-07:002012-04-13T19:15:06.097-07:00Why Formal Religion Continues to Get It Wrong<div style="color: #cccccc;">What is the purpose of religion? </div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;">This is a question that could be answered in as many ways and with as many voices as there are uncountable stars in the night skies. And these various answers have often been the cause of the most heated controversial disagreements in the history of humankind. It pins Catholic against Christian, Christian against Muslim, Muslim against Jew, Jew against Buddhist, Buddhist against Born Again, Born Again against Pagan.</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;">But WHY? For what reasons would someone care so deeply how another connects to divinity?</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;">My opinion in response to that very question is simple -- POWER.</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;">Share with another the very core of their beliefs beyond this physical world and you may but enslave them to join you against another of your peers who believes differently. Grow your collection of these like-minded individuals and you might rule over their world. </div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;">Sounds tyrannical for a reason -- it IS! And the leaders of empires [if you journey back to consider days before the rise of Christianity] recognized the power in "sharing" the faith of its populations. Why else might a ruling party get involved in what should be a personal connection between God and Self? They were power-hungry then and it continues to this day.</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;">So what was it that jump-started this world's longest-running power trip? And how exactly did they do it so successfully?</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;">Enter...</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><b>PHILO JUDAEUS [25BC - 47AD]</b></div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #cccccc; text-align: center;"><a href="http://stellarhousepublishing.com/images/philo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://stellarhousepublishing.com/images/philo.jpg" width="169" /></a></div><div style="color: #cccccc;">Philo was a Greek-speaking Jewish writer who was <i>"born before the beginning of the Christian era, and lived until long after the reputed death of Christ. He wrote an account of the Jews covering the entire time that Christ is said to have existed on earth. </i><br />
<br />
<i>Philo was living in or near Jerusalem when Christ's miraculous birth and the Herodian massacre occurred. He was there when Christ made his triumphant entry into Jerusalem. He was there when the crucifixion [with its attendant earthquake, supernatural darkness, and resurrection of the dead] took place -- when Christ himself rose from the dead, and in the presence of many witnesses ascended into heaven. These marvelous events which must have filled the world with amazement, had they really occurred, were unknown to him [Philo]." </i><span style="font-size: x-small;">[The Christ by John E. Remsburg]</span></div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Why is it that Philo [who would have been a contemporary of Jesus Christ] [and who wrote extensively on the Jewish religion and area politics] documented not even a footnote on this supposed savior who was said to have been gathering a following and performing miracles along the Levant at this time? And if the astounding birth and rise of Christianity's poster child is not historically factual, why was it crafted? </span></span></div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Or was it?</span></span></div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Insert...</span></span></div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>MITHRAS</b></span></span></div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #cccccc; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuTPSIZSH-YN9LZoFYwKgvQbugIV0Ny1mqRbIUmtMO64T3xyvU3qwzZJ-Uoka4PLgrIi-Z8dmxRE1S4E8_hyMDZisHm_WnvKmEc6F5FwnirdCwNn_j3k9nofn-MM5Y6hjYPEZic6ZIqwEx/s400/Helios.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuTPSIZSH-YN9LZoFYwKgvQbugIV0Ny1mqRbIUmtMO64T3xyvU3qwzZJ-Uoka4PLgrIi-Z8dmxRE1S4E8_hyMDZisHm_WnvKmEc6F5FwnirdCwNn_j3k9nofn-MM5Y6hjYPEZic6ZIqwEx/s200/Helios.gif" width="200" /></a></div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mithras, an Indo-Iranian deity of ancient Persia [linked to Zoroastrian beliefs and the later cult of Mithraism that ran through the soldiers of the Greco-Roman empire], predates Jesus Christ by more than a thousand years -- with first written accounts of him being mentioned in a Peace Treaty [circa 1400BC] between the Hittites and the Hurrian Kingdom. <span style="font-size: x-small;"> [Journal of the American Oriental Society, 80.4, pages 301 - 317]<b> </b> </span></span></span></div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mithras was said to have been born of a virgin on December 25th, in a cave, attended by shepherds. He was considered a great traveling teacher and master. Mithras had 12 disciples, promised his followers immortality, was claimed to have performed miracles, and sacrificed himself for world peace. Mithras was buried in a tomb and rose again [you guessed it] after three days. Mithras was identified with both the Lamb and Lion and was called "the Good Shephard", "the Way the Truth and the Light", "Logos" [the Word], "Redeemer", "Savior" and "Messiah". </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> [The Mithras Liturgy, Marvin Meyer]</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Oh, and the day set aside for worship of this "unconquerable Sun" God? Yep, Sunday. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> [RestoringOurJewishRoots.blogspot.com]</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sound familiar? And let me restate that the deity Mithras of Persian mythology antedates Jesus Christ by over a thousand years.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">So why then did the heads of the Roman and Byzantine Empires push so hard to spread what is likely an imitated story from another ancient belief system? And why adopt the customs and rituals of even more faiths only to turn around and demonize those very religions?</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">POWER.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="color: #cccccc; float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.laits.utexas.edu/moore/sites/laits.utexas.edu.moore/files/images/0209190510_1024.preview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="246" src="http://www.laits.utexas.edu/moore/sites/laits.utexas.edu.moore/files/images/0209190510_1024.preview.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">"Constantine's Conversion" by Peter Paul Rubens</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="color: #cccccc;">Early Christianity was but one of many religions existing in the Roman Empire. Constantine [the Great] would be influential in sparking the spread of this, his chosen religion. So what did he see in this little known belief system? Constantine realized that initial persecutions had failed against the Christians. Instead it only resulted in disharmony, which he disliked immensely.<span style="font-size: x-small;"> [Neobyzantine.com]</span></div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;">Through the Church, Constantine controlled the Christians in his empire. "<i> The bishops now found themselves serving as Constantine's principal advisors and following his will. Many bishops actually owed their positions to Constantine. In return, Constantine gave them religious and judicial powers."</i> <span style="font-size: x-small;"> [Neobyzantine.com]</span></div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;">It's also curious to note which Pagan God was most supreme in Constantine's eyes -- Mithras. Say what?! Yes, there are very simple explanations for why this Christ and this Mithras seemingly share the same life. Early Christians made it so. <span style="font-size: x-small;">[RestoringOurJewishRoots.blogspot.com]</span></div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Council of Nicaea, [a council of Christian Bishops convened 325 years after the claimed birth of Jesus Christ by the request of Roman Emperor Constantine I], met to "create" statements and doctrines with the intent being to unify the beliefs of those followers of Christianity. </span></span></span></span></span></span>Constantine adjusted the laws of the empire to reflect his Christian values.</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">From here Christianity spreads with the Roman Empire, and then the Byzantine after that -- at times quietly absorbing the customs and rituals of other belief systems; occasionally forcing conversion through the persecution, torture and death of those that would not repent.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">And with this the power of the Church grew immensely. Take one look at the authority and richness that is Vatican City. A wealth beyond measure in antiquities [and all the corrupt secrecy one could imagine from a lifetime of lies and cover-ups]. </span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>FAST FORWARD...</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">...to the United States today. </span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="color: #cccccc; float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/content/2012/0225-romney-versus-santorum.jpg/11849990-1-eng-US/0225-romney-versus-santorum.jpg_full_600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://www.csmonitor.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/content/2012/0225-romney-versus-santorum.jpg/11849990-1-eng-US/0225-romney-versus-santorum.jpg_full_600.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Santorum & Romney</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">It's difficult not to see the relevance that religion plays in the American political arena. Entire campaigns seem devoted to who is the better Christian. And why? What should it matter to me how you connect to divinity just as long as you know how to balance the nation's budget, manage our foreign policy with tact and keep employment and education numbers on the rise! </span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">It might be easier to swallow if in their hearts they truly connected with the values of this Christian Faith that they parade through the campaign trail, but considering the mockery they make of their personal faith during these media storms, I have my doubts about their sincerity.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #cccccc; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.inner-light-meditation.com/images/Fotolia_17790204_XS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://www.inner-light-meditation.com/images/Fotolia_17790204_XS.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">When ulterior motives creep their way into a faith it becomes less about personal connections and more about personal agendas. And this is why formal religions continue to get it wrong. </span> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;">Ralph Waldo Emerson declared that God has <i>"unrestricted access to every soul, and conversely every soul has like access to all divinity." </i> One's spiritual connection should be through Self and not through the fattened pockets of pastor, priest or parish.</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=6339705567046356496&postID=768847767645955324" id="TopOfPage" name="TopOfPage"><span id="region397337"><i></i></span></a><i> </i>Pagan Presencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156838635410194154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339705567046356496.post-25269048729822682682012-03-28T15:02:00.001-07:002012-03-29T08:20:36.088-07:00Now Whose Holy Day is an Oxymoron<div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">In the wake of our beloved Mrs. B facing "religion-gate" [between her daughter and a particularly rude music teacher], let us all share a light chuckle over an insatiable irony -- the origins of Christianity's "Easter". To fully appreciate the aforementioned irony it is necessary to know that this heinous educator proclaimed to Mrs. B's daughter...</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>"Pagan Holy Days are an oxymoron."</i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I know, right! Now, pick up your jaws and let's carry on.</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Because the truth of the matter is, their Easter, as celebrated across the globe today, and most especially here in the United States, is undoubtedly linked to a Pagan past. One needn't strain to see the similarities between the Pagan celebration of Ostara [rooted in preChristian festivals honoring Spring, fertility and new life on earth] and the Christian customs of Easter [honoring the resurrection and "new life" of the Savior].</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">The name alone has been factually linked <span style="font-size: xx-small;">[World Book Encylopedia, </span></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(article, "Easter," vol. 6, p. 25)]</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">to <i>"Eostre, a Teutonic goddess of spring, or from the Teutonic festival of spring called Eostur"</i>. Eostre [Eostur/Eastur/Ostara/Ostar] was coined by the Norsemen to mean the birth of a new season and this name is given to the Anglo-Saxton Goddess of Spring and Fertility. Considering the age of these cultures and their related words, celebrations involving such "Feasts of New Life" predate not only the Christian faith but the very birth of the Messiah.</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Is there even such thing as a <b>double-oxymoron</b>?! Because if you follow the customs of a religious holiday that date back to Pagan origins which you then claim to be of themselves an oxymoron, doesn't that make your celebration of Easter a double-oxymoron? Yikes, my brain hurts!</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.someecards.com/someecards/filestorage/drag-pagan-church-easter-ecard-someecards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="178" src="http://cdn.someecards.com/someecards/filestorage/drag-pagan-church-easter-ecard-someecards.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #eeeeee;">Another double-oxymoron courtesy of someecards.com</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Please remember before belittling the beliefs of another that no Faith is without its controversy. You have no more right to claim your holy days than I do mine. Even your own holy book refers you to the Church-sanctioned holidays that you should be celebrating -- oh, and heads up... Easter is not one of them. Nor Christmas. </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">According to David C. Pack, [author of <a href="http://rcg.org/books/ghdoph.html" target="_blank">"God's Holy Days or Pagan Holidays"</a>]: </span><i>"The Bible does, in fact, mention Christmas and Easter—and certain other familiar holidays—but it bluntly condemns them as heathen customs. The proof is overwhelming that these days are “traditions” and “commandments of men.” But vast multitudes keep them anyway, seemingly content to worship Christ <i>in vain</i>!"</i></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;">Even your own Jesus Christ is quoted to have said: <i>“<span class="small-caps">In vain</span> do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men…full well you <span class="small-caps">reject the commandment of God</span>, that you may <i>keep your own tradition</i>”</i><i> [Mark 7:7 9]. </i></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;">So until you're willing to give up these highly-celebrated "holy" days, I suggest you bite your tongue when it comes to the traditions of others. Shame on you for that alone and shame on you additionally for defiling your position as educator by demeaning the values of someone who once looked to you with respect. Bravo for showing this impressionable young mind how very ugly the world can on occasion be.</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;">Want to be such a snooty-puss? Fine -- give us back our Easter Eggs, Easter Bunny, Easter Parade and Hot Crossed Buns!! Oh, did you think they were your traditions? Not quite. I feel and sound very catty in stating that. Normally I do strive to remain very tolerant of others. After all -- how might we expect to receive acceptance if we can't offer it in return. I guess when an individual is willing to attack the beliefs of a child however, my naughty<i> kitty</i> comes out to play. [I just might have to get her declawed because if anything similar ever happens to my children, I'll probably swipe first and hiss later!] <br />
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I leave you now with the following, a relevant excerpt from the <a href="http://www.hope-of-israel.org/easterfr.htm" target="_blank">Hope of Israel</a> site:</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: small;"><i>W</i></span><i><span style="font-size: small;">hat about the myriad customs that surround this day -- the chocolate bunnies, the Easter eggs, the parades? </span></i><br />
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<div align="justify" class="main" style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div align="justify" class="main" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">You may be surprised to learn that red, blue, yellow or green eggs, as symbols of the renewal of life, were part of a custom that goes back centuries before the birth of the Messiah. Eggs, a symbol of fertility in many lands, are easily traceable to ancient pagan lore. So is the famous Easter bunny. (Only the chocolate rabbit is modern.) This rapidly breeding and multiplying animal was an ancient symbol of fecundity. And so modern children, eagerly hunting for Eastern eggs supposedly deposited by a rabbit, are unknowingly following an ancient fertility rite. </span></i></div><div align="justify" class="main" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i> </div><div align="justify" class="main" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">What about the Easter parade? Does that, too, date back to the days of antiquity when pagans paraded in the springtime, donning new hats and clothes to honor their goddess of spring? </span></i></div><div align="justify" class="main" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i> </div><div align="justify" class="main" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">The answer is yes. Scholars can trace the Easter parade to similar rites in ancient Germany, Greece, and even India. </span></i></div><div align="justify" class="main" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i> </div><div align="justify" class="main" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Hot-cross buns, interestingly enough, were eaten by pagan Saxons in honor of Easter, their goddess of light. The Mexicans and Peruvians had a similar custom. In fact, the custom of eating hot-cross buns was practically universal in the ancient pagan world! </span></i></div><div align="justify" class="main" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i> </div><div align="justify" class="main" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Easter fires, although not a widespread phenomenon today, are still lit in some northern European countries, notably Germany. This practice is clearly traceable to pagan antiquity. </span></i></div><div align="justify" class="main" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i> </div><div align="justify" class="main" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">And what about Easter sunrise services? They too go back to the pagan custom of prostrating before the rising springtime sun. The goddess of light, Eastre or Ostera, was identified with the rising sun. </span></i></div><div align="justify" class="main" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i> </div><div align="justify" class="main" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">Plainly, then, today's Easter has its roots deep in ancient paganism -- centuries before the birth of the Messiah -- and its rites have scarcely changed. </span></i></b> </div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><i> </i><i> </i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>Pagan Presencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156838635410194154noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339705567046356496.post-17716954464778904222012-02-23T18:13:00.000-08:002012-02-23T18:13:10.060-08:00The Emancipate Pantheacon ProclamationIf you're up to date on your Pagan social media buzz then you've learned of the controversy surrounding this year's <a href="https://pantheacon.com/wordpress/" style="color: #a2c4c9;" target="_blank">PantheaCon</a>. Front and center, [and out-shadowing all of the wonderful happenings at one of the largest yearly gatherings for Pagans], was a conflict regarding gender exclusions in rituals. To break it all down into a simplified one-liner: if you were born with a "boy toy", you were not allowed to participate in a particular event. <br />
<br />
Z. Budapest, founder of the Dianic Tradition of Wicca, organized a ritual for women at PantheaCon and, for the second year in a row, chose to exclude women who were not born female. What makes this controversy even more upsetting [and, if you ask me, as tacky as Uncle Al's apricot leisure suit] is the theme of 2012's event: "Unity in Diversity". Ha! Truly! You're trying to argue <i>for</i> exclusions at a gathering to <i>promote</i> unity?!?! This oxymoron is about as easily pegged as Jumbo Shrimp!<br />
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In a country that has seen waves of injustice followed by campaigns and outcries for equality, how can some from a community that prides itself on its diversity and acceptance, feel it appropriate to still claim "your kind ain't allowed." What is this, pre-Civil War America? Not last I checked!<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.pagan-heart.co.uk/articles/whatisapagan/whatisapagan.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.pagan-heart.co.uk/articles/whatisapagan/whatisapagan.gif" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">What is a Pagan if not Peace and Acceptance</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>To be completely frank, I think the entire debacle stems from Z. Budapest's severe hatred toward men. Just take a quick peak at her most recent blog post, <u><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Nobody Loves Women</span></u>. I believe her to be so consumed by her disgust with the male species that she can't find it in herself to embrace anyone from the transgender community. Even her followers were quick to notice how extreme it is to claim hatred against women when you yourself hold such a strong distaste for men. One reader commented, <i>"Wow... you do realize that this post is just as phobic against men as you claim men are against women. This is nothing more that tossing more fuel onto the fire."</i><br />
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Many of the posts from the Pagan community were filled with outrage and hurt when they learned that such an intolerance would be permitted, for a second year, at a gathering that is supposed to represent a coming together. <i>E. Pluribus Unum</i> and all that jazz, no?! Instead we saw "Unity in Diversity... except for you." Not very catchy.<br />
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Mrs. B of <a href="http://www.confessionsofapagansoccermom.com/2012/02/on-subject-of-pantheacon-and-that.html" target="_blank">Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom</a>, a favorite e-spot for many Pagans, had this to say in response to the PantheaCon controversy: <br />
<i style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="s1">"I've heard various arguments to defend both Budapest's actions and the organizers of the event's action in allowing it to go on for another year. "It's always been that way, why should it change?" Really? If that was a real argument, nothing would ever change or improve. Pagans wouldn't be allowed to have their symbol on military graves, women wouldn't have the right to vote, and people of different races couldn't legally marry. ... </span></i><i><span class="s1">The time when it was okay to exclude people based on their gender, physical sex organs, or sexual orientation is over." </span></i><br />
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<span class="s1">I have to agree with Mrs. B. </span><br />
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<span class="s1">All tackiness jokes aside, this issues boils down to the rights that we all have as human beings. This is not about what is between our legs. It's about what is in our hearts. Shame on those who speak out otherwise in the name of Paganism. You embarrass us all. What is a Pagan if not peace and acceptance? </span><br />
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<span class="s1">I look forward to being available to attend the 2013 event and will hope to see that these exclusions are no longer invited. PantheaCon 2013: COMPLETE Unity in Diversity... or bust! </span><i><span class="s1"> </span></i><i style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="s1"> </span></i><br />
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<div style="color: #cccccc;"><i style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="s1"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Graphic by pagan-heart.co.uk </span> </span> </i></div>Pagan Presencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156838635410194154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339705567046356496.post-42232644355017402792012-01-26T21:17:00.000-08:002012-01-26T21:17:40.984-08:00Meditation MayhemIt's official -- when it comes to meditation, I'm just plain broken!<br />
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I do yoga. I'm down with the <a href="http://www.dalailama.com/" style="color: #9fc5e8;" target="_blank">Dalai Lama</a><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">.</span> I recognize the value and potentials of regular intervals in a meditative state. I say all of this and yet, when it comes to meditation, I'm just plain broken!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.learnreikihealing.co.uk/images/Meditation-pose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://www.learnreikihealing.co.uk/images/Meditation-pose.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>On and off over the sixteen years since finding my way to the well-worn path I have attempted to master the self-disciplined art of meditation. And with each attempt, failure. The problem is I happen to have "that" brain. You know the one -- a quiet, peaceful moment comes along and suddenly "that" brain kicks into a thought-process marathon. To-Do Lists unleashed! <br />
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<i>"Don't forget we're running low on milk. And I better grab a strawberry jelly since grape wasn't the big hit everyone thought it was going to be. Maybe I can print a coupon. The printer needs color ink. Or was it black ink? Better get both. Breathe in. One. Two. Three. Breathe out. One. Two. Three. Is there a load of clothes in the washer that I forgot about? Oh! That missing Nintendo DS game must've gone through the laundry in my son's pocket! Damn, not another one. Oh yeah, Breathing. And, I'm breathing. One. Two. Three."</i> <br />
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And then the internal arguments begin.<br />
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<i>"I know I bought that book of stamps the other day. Tell me THAT went through the wash too! Great gatsby! Focus! Breathing. In. One. Two. Three. Out. One. Two. Three. Forget about the laundry. The grocery store can wait. One. Two. Three. One. Two. Three. Was that birthday party this weekend or next? Gonna have to visit a toy store too. And what does a seven year old girl like these days anyway? For real?! You can't even quiet your mind for a stinkin' minute?! Not one minute?! Let's DO this thing! Shake it out. Shake away the world. In. Out. In. Out. And just... breathe."</i><br />
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This would be the time the kids throw the football into the sliding glass door and send the dogs into an eruption of barking and howling. <br />
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<i>"Aaaaaand, I'm done." </i><br />
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Jump forward to my latest attempt -- guided meditation. I figured if the solo route was not one I had the will power to get through, maybe a group session with someone talking me through it would see more success. <br />
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You're expecting me to say <i>"well, it didn't work"</i> but in actuality it worked quite well. A little too well. And ever since, I have been bombarded with enormous amounts of energy that I've no IDEA what to do with! Not the sort that powers the body. The sort that charges the emotions. My empaths out there will know exactly the sort of confusing and overwhelming energy I'm referring to. <br />
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So, as I stated early on -- this girl? Meditation-deficient. <br />
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I am now beseeching my readers and fellow bloggers who excel at this ancient art of inner light to please aid me in containing the current sporadic energy frenzy so that I might feel grounded and centered once again. Patch me up! Please!!!<br />
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Apparently my chakra doors are flung wide open and the hinges seem to be stuck. Oh, lucky me -- there's a wind storm picking-up outside. Auntie Em! Auntie Em! Any advice would be greatly appreciated. <br />
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Namaste. ;)<br />
- EmPagan Presencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156838635410194154noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339705567046356496.post-80312128337667320862012-01-12T13:46:00.000-08:002012-01-13T15:58:31.934-08:00Does Religion Belong in School?There's been quite a bit in the news as of late regarding religion in our public schools -- from <a href="http://gazettextra.com/news/2012/jan/12/pagans-atheists-christians-and-battle-equal-treatm/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Ginger Strivelli's</span></a> request for the equal distribution of religious materials to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/28/us/battling-anew-over-the-place-of-religion-in-public-schools.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all" target="_blank"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">religious rally assemblies</span></a> taking place during school hours. <br />
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The Separation of Church and State is clear -- religion has no place in affairs of the state. When it comes to enforcing this however, routine occurances in communities across this nation prove to show that it may not be such a black-and-white concept afterall. <br />
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So where are we to draw the line? It's easy to say "simple: no religion at all". Yet the world itself is not free of religion, so how is it helpful to young minds to pretend it to be so? We can't place students in a neutral environment as they mature and grow and expect them, at the same time, to know and understand the diversity they will encounter as they enter the adult world.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.lowdensitylifestyle.com/media/uploads/2010/01/open-mind2-copy1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kba="true" src="http://www.lowdensitylifestyle.com/media/uploads/2010/01/open-mind2-copy1.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>Exposure and explanation are necessary for these absorbant little brains. Just as children need exposure to numbers in order to learn mathematics, they need exposure to the differences around them in order to know and understand the complexities of America's sociopolitcal state of being. Send them into the "rat race" thinking everything is set at some homeostatic neutrality and they're going to be in for a rude awakening. Their school careers should be preparing them for a future in the real world -- and this real world includes people of differing faiths, cultures, classes, values, hobbies and hair colors! To teach them otherwise is counter-productive. <br />
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Should we <em>practice</em> religion in schools? Absolutely not! But there is also nothing beneficial in pretending it does not exist. We live among streets that boast a variety of faces, races, colors and cultures. To feign that we are all alike is ignorant. So how is it that we can express our nation's diverse collections and at the same time respect one another's differing customs and beliefs? Ah, the million dollar question indeed! <br />
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Past visitors to Pagan Presence may remember that I faced a situation in the fall where-in my son's school district sought to remove all celebrations from school in the name of political correctness. We would accept the stripping of our children's memories just to avoid the very diversity that founded this nation at its earliest beginnings? Grow a backbone School Boards!<br />
<br />
On the other hand, we also cannot permit the blatant disregard for the respect of all. My nephew is growing up in the south [Pensacola Florida]. At a local public high school in this gulf coast area teachers were citing The Bible as fact in the classroom. Such actions brought a<a href="http://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/school-15573-religious-students.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"> lawsuit to the school board</span></a>, resulting in the protection of the first amendment rights of the student body. The court ruled that "<span class="a" style="left: 663px; top: 4774px; word-spacing: -2px;"><em>School Officials shall not cite to the Bible or <span class="w6"></span>any sacred text as authority for </em><span class="a" style="left: 663px; top: 683px; word-spacing: -2px;"><em>historical or scientific fact</em> ." </span></span>A press release by the ACLU [American Civil Liberties Union] stated that Pace High School students <em>"not only face overt compulsion to adopt the religious beliefs of school officials, but also must contend with subtle, coercive pressures to conform their religious beliefs to those favored by school officials</em>,". <br />
<br />
Teaching about differing cultures and beliefs is a far cry from pressuring students to convert. And that's where the line gets blurry. The intentions of the educators will make all the difference. I think it would be beneficial for my sons to go through school learning about the amazing flavors that exist in the unfolding story of humanity but not when the objectives become conversion. <br />
<br />
Educate; do not coerce, and then you can provide nothing but knowledge to the open minds before you.<br />
<br />
But I gather school boards would rather take an easier path by excluding beliefs and customs from their cirriculum. Well, as they say, "ignorance <em>is</em> bliss" but is it really what we want for our children?Pagan Presencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156838635410194154noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339705567046356496.post-19548095200060914502011-12-20T21:05:00.000-08:002011-12-20T21:10:37.849-08:00Honoring the Solstice, YULE<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.rachelleb.com/images/2009/01/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="166" oda="true" src="http://www.rachelleb.com/images/2009/01/3.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Image by RachelleB</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>In the barren cold of the winter months it is the sightings of earth's evergreen decor that remind us of the new life waiting just around the corner. And as we carry ourselves through the day of longest night, we honor the rebirth of the light and cherish the bit of green that remains, despite the frigid darkness. Deck your halls and deck your doors!<br />
<br />
Since pre-Christian days of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturnalia" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Saturnalia</span></a> for the Romans, Winter Soltice for Celtic Druids and Festivals of Balder for the Scandinavian Vikings, people have decorated homes and hearths with the boughs of these stoic evergreen symbols. Along with their candles and fires, they have, through the ages, welcomed firs, pines, spruces, holly, mistletoe and laurel into their homes. And now this secularized tradition, [which places so many wreaths of green on so many doors in so many neighborhoods], pays quiet homage to the steadfast greenery of our winter months.<br />
<br />
As our Yule logs calm to soft glowing embers, the strength of our <em>Sol Invictus</em> ["Invincible Sun"] begins to grow. May your Solstice be blessed with warmth and light!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-size: large;">"On this day of longest night<br />
await sun's birth at morning light. </span></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-size: large;">Tend your log to keep aspark<br />
the warmth that shall combat the dark.</span></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-size: large;">Boughs of evergreen to share<br />
scents of life and sights of cheer."</span></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/2010/12/yule_log_2010_a_l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" oda="true" src="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/2010/12/yule_log_2010_a_l.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
</div>Pagan Presencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156838635410194154noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339705567046356496.post-14500865155649843252011-12-06T17:47:00.000-08:002011-12-07T09:46:20.302-08:00It's Merry EVERYTHING<div style="color: #cccccc;"><a href="http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/71159_208092163139_6203198_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="76" src="http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/71159_208092163139_6203198_n.jpg" width="200" /></a>I have been noticing quite a bit of what I have deemed "holiday uncheer" via social networking and blogging mediums as of late. <a href="http://voices.yahoo.com/keeping-christ-christmas-its-not-happy-holidays-2376435.html" style="color: blue;" target="_blank">Complaint-filled and loaded phrases like "Put Christ Back in Christmas" and "It's Merry Christmas not Happy Holidays"</a>. It would be easy for Non-Christians to grow bitter and frustrated over such displays of close-minded arrogance were it not for the fact that many of "their" Christmas celebrations are rampant with Pagan roots. So rather than fueling the fire with anger of our own, let us smile knowingly at the irony of things like "their" Tree, "their" Santa, "their" Yuletide.</div><br />
<a href="http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/hash/83/b0/83b0cac07c17d1065bb4794f37fbd9ea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/hash/83/b0/83b0cac07c17d1065bb4794f37fbd9ea.jpg" /></a><span style="color: #cccccc;">To piggy-bank a bit off of a</span> <a href="http://ljwitch.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/793/#comment-398" style="color: blue;">wonderfully amusing post</a> <span style="color: #cccccc;">by fellow Pagan blogger, ljwitch [of </span><i style="color: #cccccc;">Through Witch-Colored Glasses</i><span style="color: #cccccc;">], the phrase "happy holidays" was coined not to steal Christmas from the Christian followers in America, but to encompass the celebrations of the many faiths who celebrate as well in our diverse country this time of the year. Taking offense to this phrase only proves to show you as a bigoted individual who is incapable of coexisting with those who differ. And in a country founded by</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deism#Deism_in_the_United_States" style="color: blue;">deist leaders</a> <span style="color: #cccccc;">like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin no less! These founding men of America believed in the promise of a land where one lived with a personal connection to the "Supreme Architect" and appreciated just such a freedom.</span><br />
<div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;">I had the good fortune of chatting about this topic with my relative -- lets call her "Auntie K" for all intents and purposes. It's always good to get a different perspective to keep oneself honest. Auntie K was able to provide insight from the mind of a Catholic. She felt that the recent increase in a push to reclaim the holiday season in the name of all things Christian is in response to the push by Atheists to ban God from every nook and cranny of the American community. </div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;">Valid point. </div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><a href="http://rlv.zcache.com/its_not_illegal_to_say_merry_christmas_photocard-p243761865771186573z7p2f_152.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/its_not_illegal_to_say_merry_christmas_photocard-p243761865771186573z7p2f_152.jpg" /></a>I disagree with the Atheist actions as of late as well. In my opinion, your choice not to believe does not give you the right to keep me from believing and displaying such belief in and around my place of living. I don't have a problem at all with Court houses having Christmas Trees in their entrances or even Nativity Scenes on their lawns, so long as their is an open invitation to include the symbols from other faiths. Being a tolerant society doesn't mean wiping away any evidence of our diversity of religion -- it means welcoming them all. And if your choice is to believe in none, then you walk right by the displays of others and pay them no mind, for they do not pertain to you. Carry onward. </div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;">All in all, the main motive for this post is not to deprave Christians of their Christ. I merely wish to stress the visible ignorance in assuming that yours is the lone religion with ties to the winter season. It is not. Accept this. Most especially considering that there is much in terms of evidence that declares many of your claimed symbols and traditions to be of Pagan origin -- including The Tree, Santa Claus, Yuletide, Wreaths, the date of December 25th... and I could go on. </div><div style="color: #cccccc;"></div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
Unless you are willing to give up such symbols, as ljwitch suggested in her post, you cannot press the issue of putting Christ back into such a secularized version of Christmas without appearing completely ignorant of truth and history. Take a hint from your Christ this holiday season and give love to ALL, even those that differ from you.</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><i><span style="color: #cccccc;">"For Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."</span> </i><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+8%3A34-38&version=NIV" style="color: blue;" target="_blank">[Mark 8:34-38] </a><br />
<a href="http://sathyasaibaba.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/god-is-one.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://sathyasaibaba.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/god-is-one.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<div style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-size: small;">Do not shame Jesus with your petty attempts to claim December as your own. Do not let him be ashamed of you because you do not love thy neighbor as you love thy self. Accept that this is a secular time of year and embrace the portion of it that you share with your God. Others can then do the same, and all will be merry. </span></div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">And bright.</span> </span> </span><br />
<br />
<i><span class="woj"> Happy Holidays & Merry Everything, including Christmas!</span></i><br />
<i><span class="woj">Em Graves</span></i><br />
<i><span class="woj"><br />
</span></i>Pagan Presencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156838635410194154noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339705567046356496.post-26028975393480087602011-11-20T20:53:00.000-08:002011-11-20T20:53:19.122-08:00Sharing the God & Goddess with My SonsFor those of you who've popped onto Pagan Presence in days past, you may have read that I once struggled with the idea of instilling religion into the lives and minds of my children. One more avenue of intolerance and challenge that they might have to face in this ever-segregated world! And yet, as they grow [and so too do I], my Faith seems to find its own way into quiet parent-child moments. <br />
<br />
My eldest boy is in Kindergarten. Recently the elementary school lost a fourth grade student, Greta, who died unexpectedly. The principal and administrative staff sent letters home to parents asking that we break the news to our children in a way most appropriate for our own family. My boys have thankfully had very limited access to death -- two bowl-side ceremonies to say good bye to two bubble-eyed fish. <br />
<br />
I took the time then to explain life and death to my son --<em> that though the body dies, your energy moves into a new life, a spirit life</em> -- but I wondered how he would relate this to the death of a child close to his own age. While we loved our watery pets, this tragic news would bring death to an entirely new and more weighted level. <br />
<br />
As I prepared dinner that evening, I debated whether I should even tell him at all. This was not a girl he knew. They just happened to share the same school building. But then, he approached <em>me</em> to ask about the letter that his teacher had put into his backpack.<br />
<br />
<em>"What was on the white paper? Is it a coloring page?"</em> he asked.<br />
<br />
Sweet innocence! I left the stove to let the supper simmer and sat him next to me at the kitchen table. I told him that many of the teachers and older kids in his school were very sad because they had lost a special friend; a girl who had passed away.<br />
<br />
Immediately he sought confirmation in his understading of what I had relayed to him.<br />
<br />
<em>"Her body died?"</em><br />
<br />
I nodded and then asked him if he remembered what that meant. He thought for a moment and then touched the deepest part of my heart with his reply...<br />
<br />
<em>"Her special light goes to the spirit world. Then she can find other people that's body died, like Rocky</em> [the fish]. <em>Do you think she'll see Rocky? I do! And since the God and Goddess are spirits too, they'll probably be there too. So all day she could watch her teacher and her friends with the Sun and at night she can watch them with the Moon. I'm sure they'll let her. Right?"</em> <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k183/Momolicious923/moongoddess.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="320" src="http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k183/Momolicious923/moongoddess.jpg" width="250" /></a></div>I'm sure they will, little man. I'm sure they will.<br />
<br />
After dinner, he and I lit a 'blessing stick' [incense] in honor of Greta. And he ended his blessing as he always does, with an adorable <em>"Bless a Bee"</em> [Bless-ed Be]. <br />
<br />
And I was worried about sharing my beliefs with him! His compassion rekindles my own connection to the Divine.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">For Greta <br />
May you ride the blue skies on the arcing Sun <br />
and dance among stars with our Lady Moon. <br />
Bless your special light, sweet girl. <br />
Bless-ed Be.</span></div><br />
Pagan Presencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156838635410194154noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339705567046356496.post-46951193062415187862011-11-08T19:11:00.000-08:002011-11-10T12:18:53.458-08:00My Reply to an Invitation by a Theistic Satanist<span style="color: #cccccc;">In browsing through this week's news articles relatable to the Witching World, I stumbled across a posting on </span><a href="http://community.beliefnet.com/reverend_gino/blog/2011/11/07/theistic_satanists_and_pagans_unite"><span style="color: #cccccc;">BeliefNet</span></a><span style="color: #cccccc;"> by a reverend of the Theistic Satanism [Church of Satan] faith. In his post, reverend Gino invites Pagans to join with his faith in a rise against oppression by mainstream religions. If one can get beyond the ghastly writing style, grammar boo-boos and countless misspelled words [which I know is nit-picky of me but my former days as an Editor refuse to go quietly], the post offers the suggestion that Pagans might consider uniting with the Satanist movement.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_LoPFbZozmCaer2Z1WPQrAi8d7XP9qWEUq3vu1m59pMaMeQ30ETIweZOMeYUnoUY4E7Np9keGmrZmgBB-ZZd8KQWAoV0GToCtuE3mSL7OJWNWpdXRcHCLJt08cjJ4WmrIb1bZWOQegG5e/s400/421388405_80774f1d47_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_LoPFbZozmCaer2Z1WPQrAi8d7XP9qWEUq3vu1m59pMaMeQ30ETIweZOMeYUnoUY4E7Np9keGmrZmgBB-ZZd8KQWAoV0GToCtuE3mSL7OJWNWpdXRcHCLJt08cjJ4WmrIb1bZWOQegG5e/s320/421388405_80774f1d47_o.jpg" width="185" /></a></div><a href="http://www.religionfacts.com/satanism/church_of_satan.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
</a><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;">The reverend states <i>"I am asking that Pagans who want a change who want rights that every other religion has these days be strong and fight with us…using our brains our wits to gain all the religious and spiritual respect and advantages we so rightfully deserve."</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;">I know. But try to ignore [ *deep cleansing breath* ] the lack of punctuation and grammatical errors so that you might actually ponder the message at hand. Per the reverend, Pagans share a common ground with Satanists -- after all, <i>"we are the one’s that existed before Christianity so why should we sit back and be treated like we are the bad guys." </i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;">Well, now wait a moment...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;">While I am the first to stand behind the ideals of religious freedom, I cannot grant support to an individual who speaks to historical significances that simply aren't true. A Theistic Satanist, per Diane Vera [owner of a website dedicated to </span><a href="http://theisticsatanism.com/"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Theistic Satanism</span></a><span style="color: #cccccc;">]<i> "is one who does believe in and worship Satan as a deity</i>." Considering that the deity of worship here is Satan, a Christian construct, I struggle to understand how this faith could then possibly predate the Christian movement. This is as much an oxymoron as the email I recieved recently signed <i>'A Christian Atheist'</i>. Um. Yeah. How to even begin?!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;">I don't claim to be an expert on the Satanist faith -- be it the atheists within the movement who view Satan more as a symbol of desirable human qualities, <i>"such as independence, individuality, and strength"</i> [<span style="font-size: xx-small;">per D. Vera, theisticsatanism.com</span>] or those Satanists who revere the actual deity. I can only form my opinions based on information provided by self-proclaimed members of the faith, incuding the aforementioned Diane Vera. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;">That disclaimer now stated, I find fault with reverend Gino linking his faith to ancient Pagan beliefs and practices, [beliefs and practices that hold historically trackable evidence linked to times before the rise of Christianity and other monotheistic religions, such as Judaism and Islam]. I find fault with it because I fail to accept how a faith that worships a deity from the Christian religion could have existed during the ancient days before Christianity. Satan did not exist during these pre-Christian times. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://smp.bz/mozartland/images/Pan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="http://smp.bz/mozartland/images/Pan.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;">In fact, in most polytheistic religions of eras past, there was no sole figure of pure evil. It wasn't until later, with the rise of monotheistic beliefs, that the concept of an entity purely malevolent emerged -- a balance to the pure goodness of the faith's one true God [<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Discovery Channel, Out of Egypt, episode: The Birth of the Devil</span>]. It is even probable that the likeness of the Christian devil was pieced together using charateristics of varing gods and goddesses, such as Pan of Greek mythology.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;">And so... no Satan in the pre-Christian world = no Satanism in the pre-Christian world. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;">My rant on reverend Gino's inaccuracies behind us, I finally offer up a response to his invitation to unite.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;">To Reverend Gino,</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;">Note that I am but one Pagan and am responding to your request to unite as such. I make no claims to speak on behalf of the entire Pagan faith.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;">You speak of common grounds and shared histories. In referring to what each of our religions face, you state <i>"...no recognition and respect from the government and society. We are constantly shunned and treated lack weirdos and freaks if we say what we are."</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;">There is one major explanation separating the Satanist faith from Paganism. And that is the difference between<b> misconception</b> and<b> fact</b>. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;">It is a <b>fact</b> that [Theistic] Satanists worship the Christian deity, Satan. It is of no surprise then that a Christian individual and a majority-Christian nation would find issue with the core of your beliefs, considering they are the antithesis of their own.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;">Unlike the deity worshiped by your religion, Pagans do not worship Satan. That many people assume such is a <b>misconception</b> brought about during the time of conversion to Christianity, when the Church sought to demonize the gods and goddesses worshipped by Pagan locals. It was a 'join us or you will be perceived as evil' sort of deal. Actually this is where you see the coining of the term <i>heathen</i> -- Heathen (an unconverted individual of a people that do not acknowledge the God of the Bible)<span class="sc"><span class="hwc" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;"><span class="hwc" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;"> </span></span></span><span class="hwc">is</span> <span class="hwc">often</span> <span class="hwc">distinctively</span> <span class="hwc">applied</span> <span class="hwc">to</span> <span class="hwc">unenlightened</span> <span class="hwc">or barbaric idolaters,</span> <span class="hwc">especially</span> <span class="hwc">to</span> <span class="hwc">primitive</span> <span class="hwc">or</span> <span class="hwc">ancient tribes [<a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/HEATHEN"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/HEATHEN</span></a>].</span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="hwc"><span style="color: #cccccc;">While I whole-heartedly believe in your right to seek divinity/spirituality via whatever path you choose, I am in no way required to acknowledge manufactured comminalites attempting to merge two very different forms of worship merely for the sake of building some religious army of anti-mainsteam power.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="hwc"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I have faced intolerance and slander concerning my Pagan path, but choose to end misconceptions through living by example. My choices and actions represent the virtues of my faith. Let go the bitterness and embrace a lifestyle that might prove to show these persons who treat you <i>like a weirdo or freak</i> what it means to you to follow the </span><a href="http://www.religionfacts.com/satanism/church_of_satan.htm"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Church of Satan</span></a><span style="color: #cccccc;">.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="hwc"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Sincerely,</span></span><br />
<span class="hwc"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Em Graves</span></span><br />
<span class="hwc"><span style="color: #cccccc;">one Pagan voice</span></span>Pagan Presencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156838635410194154noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339705567046356496.post-27869320334637994342011-10-30T13:58:00.000-07:002011-10-30T13:59:00.070-07:00Stereotypes [Written Assignment, Notre Dame, 2011]<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 217;">American poet and scholar Ralph Waldo Emerson offered the idea that the individual is the center of his or her own universe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>‘In the individual can be discovered all truths, all experience. For the individual, experience must be direct and unmediated by texts, traditions, or personality’, </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 200%; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 217;">[Vince Brewton (University of North Alabama) for the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Jul 2003]</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 217;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But while Emerson’s suggestion that self-reliance and independence provide one with a perspective of the world from a non-conforming self, an actual look at the widely accepted generalizations and stereotypes in existence seem to state that the Western public perceives otherwise.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/25/112525-050-915A4502.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #eeeeee;"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/25/112525-050-915A4502.jpg" width="246" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 217;">Emerson, the infamous Transcendentalist, stated “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">to believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, -- that is genius</i>”, </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 200%; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 217;">[RW Emerson, Self-Reliance, p19].<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 217;">Why then might one fail to understand another as an extension of himself should such a person merely claim a particular culture or religion different from one’s own?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps this notion of the individual as center of the universe keeps us isolated and unwilling to accept beliefs and values that may seem distal to the comfortable norm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Such discomfort with external lifestyles, most especially those of the Arab world, shed a light on the common ease with which the Western culture limits its views of the Middle East to those provided by government officials and journalists -- restrictive representations of an extreme few to stand for the whole.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://word.world-citizenship.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/edward-wadie-said-usa-297x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: #eeeeee;"><img border="0" ida="true" src="http://word.world-citizenship.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/edward-wadie-said-usa-297x300.jpg" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 217;">Palestinian-American and former professor at Columbia University, the late Edward Said coined the term “orientalism” in his controversial book of the same title to suggest that the West views the Arab world through a “lens” of preconceived notions, </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 200%; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 217;">[Sut Jhally, Media Education Foundation, Video: “Edward Said On ORIENTALISM”]</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 217;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Depictions of persons of Arabic decent in the popular media are far from realistic, confined to the perspective of Arab as extremist; as terrorist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They create an unchanging, undeveloped image of a barbaric Middle Eastern culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 217;"><span style="color: #eeeeee;">When one seeks a reason for such a stalemate perspective into the Arab world, it becomes clear that irrational fears seem to play a role of breathing life into this “orientalism” -- fears kept aflame by shock-factor focused media personnel and finger-pointing government agencies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Descriptives that for any other ethnicity would be frowned upon as controversial racial profiling, for the Muslim counterpart are accepted as almost necessary because of fears of jihad-like attacks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 217;">In truth, the larger majority of persons of Arabic decent seek peace and coexistence just as does the greater part any nationality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Extremists, such as Al Queda, who happen to follow a warped Islamic faith fail to offer an accurate depiction of the population of Arab Muslims just as Arizona shooter Jared Lee Loughner fails to offer an accurate depiction of any average right-wing American; just as Reverend Fred Phillips fails to offer an accurate depiction of the Baptist faith; just as the Klu Klux Klan fails to offer an accurate depiction of the Southern American; just as the Third Reich fails to offer an accurate depiction of anyone of German heritage.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 217;">Putting any sense of accuracy into generalizations or permitting oneself to accept a depiction of a small group as factual representation for the whole, steals away any unique insight we might have had into the relationship between self and another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Conformity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And as R.W. Emerson warned <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“this conformity makes them not false in a few particulars, authors of a few lies, but false in all particulars</i>”, </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 200%; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 217;">[RW Emerson, Self-Reliance, P23]</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 217;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>Pagan Presencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156838635410194154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339705567046356496.post-18819536724708321792011-10-21T08:17:00.000-07:002011-10-21T08:23:27.703-07:00Origins of HalloweenHalloween seems to be the one mainstream celebration that is universally credited to the ancient Pagans... and yet many would be surprised to learn that the holiday actually traces back to a Christian celebration. So how have Roman and Celtic festivals for the dead blended with Catholic influences to form the modern day Halloween celebrated in communities today?<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">Samhain of Ancient Celts</span></b><br />
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During the days of the ancient Celtic people, [who occupied the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and Northern France some 2,000 years ago], the year was dissected by the four seasons -- the last of which they prepared for on November 1st:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bodyofchristonline.us/halloween/images/samhain_fire4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.bodyofchristonline.us/halloween/images/samhain_fire4.jpg" /></a></div>Winter. Dark and cold. The start of this time meant the end of harvest and on the eve before this barren season was to start, ancients celebrated by honoring the death of the sun and, in-turn, remembering their own dead. It began with the fire in their hearth, which they would extinguish to represent the end of summer and the dying light. <br />
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Large bonfires were raised in communities where celebrations included dancing in costumes consisting of animal heads and skins.<span style="color: #0b5394;"> <span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://www.history.com/topics/halloween">[1]</a></span></span> When the festivities concluded, each family would bring home a burning piece of the ceremonial fire. They would use the flames to reignite their hearths, blessing the fire in honor of the sun; hopeful that its warmth and light would get them through the cold, dark winter nights.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8r5KcavfltE/SnmTzJmQyWI/AAAAAAAAFeo/GeP5hY-NtCw/s400/Hestia01-l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" rda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8r5KcavfltE/SnmTzJmQyWI/AAAAAAAAFeo/GeP5hY-NtCw/s200/Hestia01-l.jpg" width="140" /></a></div><strong><span style="color: #e69138;">Lemuria of Pagan Rome</span></strong><br />
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Ancients of pre-Christian Rome celebrated the festival of Lemuria on May 13th. During this "Lemuria/Lemuralia", rites were performed to exorcise the<em> lemures</em> [restless malevolent spirits]. Priestesses of the Goddess Vesta [<em>goddess of the hearth</em>] would prepare offerings of beans and sacred flour cakes [made from the first ears of seasonal wheat].<span style="color: #0b5394;"> <span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Lemuralia.html"> [2]</a></span></span><br />
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<strong><span style="color: #e69138;">Conversion Intentions by Catholic Popes</span></strong><br />
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So what link connects Halloween to a Roman festival in spring and Celtic celebration in fall? Enter: The Catholic Church.<br />
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Around 609-610 Pope Boniface IV dedicated the Pantheon in Rome to the Virgin Mary and all Martyrs, converting it into a Christian Church and thusly establishing the feast of <em>dedicatio Sanctae Mariae ad Martyres</em>.<span style="color: #0b5394;"> <span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Lemuralia.html">[3]</a></span></span><br />
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This is the first known instance in Rome of transformation of a Pagan temple into a site for Christian worship. The date of this conversion, May 13th, is not likely to be coincidental and is believed to have occurred in attempt by the Catholic Church to de-Paganize Rome.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://intellectualfaith.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/all-saints.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" rda="true" src="http://intellectualfaith.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/all-saints.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>In the 8th century, Pope Gregory III founded an oratory for the relics <em>"of the holy apostles and of all saints, martyrs and confessors, of all the just made perfect who are at rest throughout the world</em>". <br />
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Pope Gregory III added saints to the celebration of Boniface IV's martyrs, calling it All Saint's Day [or All Hallowmas from the Middle English for <em>Alholowmesse</em>].<span style="color: #0b5394;"> <span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://www.history.com/topics/halloween"> [4]</a></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj87ozH59NZZI4RG_kqNE3AxUg8BU9TFJ5sP2JZYjO8POGdSAlDvhfRfI3ln9MDRRNUan8-__HbqcVEH-B0j8I8fJb-jIUkIiwQTNbW47wvltfty14osBxlQ8VkWfSrvgrEEWxFoXIhVI48/s1600/pope+greg+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" rda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj87ozH59NZZI4RG_kqNE3AxUg8BU9TFJ5sP2JZYjO8POGdSAlDvhfRfI3ln9MDRRNUan8-__HbqcVEH-B0j8I8fJb-jIUkIiwQTNbW47wvltfty14osBxlQ8VkWfSrvgrEEWxFoXIhVI48/s200/pope+greg+3.jpg" width="141" /></a></div>Additionally, Pope Gregory III moved the date of the sacred feast from May 13th to November 1st in attempt to envelope the Celtic celebration of Samhain; hopeful for a smooth conversion of Ireland to Christianity.<br />
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Over time, Samhain celebrations merged with those enjoyed on the eve of All Saint's Day, called All Hallow's Eve and, eventually, <em>'Halloween</em>' [first attested in the 16th century]. <span style="color: #0b5394;"> <span style="font-size: xx-small;">( [5] <span class="citation book"><i>The Oxford English Dictionary</i> (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. 1989. ISBN 0-19-861186-2.)</span></span> <b> </b></span><br />
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We often hear from conservative Christians about the evil Pagan roots of our modern holiday and yet the irony proves hysterical when we consider that the day is celebrated today because of its connections to the Catholic Church and its intentions to convert the Romans, Celtics and Gaels by overshadowing local festivals with comparable observances of their own. <br />
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<strong><span style="color: #e69138;">Speaking of conservative Christians...</span></strong><br />
<br />
Recently a very slanderous and ignorant opinion article was posted in<span style="color: #0b5394;"> </span><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-10-19/halloween-s-pagan-themes-fill-west-s-faith-vacuum-amity-shlaes.html"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Business Week</span></a> unleashing harsh and inaccurate depictions of Paganism's grips on an otherwise Christian-West [through the celebration of Halloween].<span style="color: #0b5394;"> <span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-10-19/halloween-s-pagan-themes-fill-west-s-faith-vacuum-amity-shlaes.html">[6] </a></span></span><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The author, Amity Schlaes, states "<em>Halloween isn’t secular. It is pagan. There’s nothing else to call a set of ceremonies in which people utter magical phrases, flirt with the night and evoke the dead</em>." It wasn't long at all before Mrs. B of the popular blog<span style="color: #0b5394;"> </span><a href="http://www.confessionsofapagansoccermom.com/"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom</span></a> and other icons from the Witching World enlightened our research-deprived Mr. Schlaes with counterresponses containing references to the actual origins of America's Halloween.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.signatureillustration.org/illustration-blog/wp-content/Raquel-Aparicio-Skeleton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" rda="true" src="http://www.signatureillustration.org/illustration-blog/wp-content/Raquel-Aparicio-Skeleton.jpg" width="153" /></a>Truth be told, Halloween and Samhain are two separate holidays, among many across the globe, which happen to fall on the same date during the year.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Mrs. B commented "<em>Cultures, including those that follow Christian faiths, honor their ancestors this time of year all over the world. Why focus just on those people of Pagan faiths? Seems a little like religious persecution to me.</em> "</div><br />
When will we see a time when supposed reputable sources for news, such as Business Week, demand more [ie, the truth] from authors submitting articles to their publications? Let's leave the spewing of lies to the tabloids, shall we?!<br />
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Happy Halloween, Samhain, Day of the Dead, Ten Chieh, Yue Lan, Alla Helgans Dag & many many more!Pagan Presencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156838635410194154noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339705567046356496.post-34522044073889684592011-10-10T16:15:00.000-07:002011-10-10T16:15:34.857-07:00Why Deny: Connections Between Christianity & Paganism<div style="color: #cccccc;">When I lost my faith as a young girl, it took many years of research into the generic realm of faith and religion to find my way to Paganism. Because of this self-induced decade of study, I came to learn much about the history of different religions and the very similar, overlapping connections shared by many. I've proposed these similarities in conversations of the past and find people are typically unwilling to accept that Christianity has much in common with ancient Pagan beliefs, rituals, symbols and more.</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;">Why the denial? Recognizing that your religion shares a past with another doesn't taint it or steal it from your heart anymore than the advances of science overshadow faith. People still believe, regardless.</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;">Reactions by Christians upon my suggestion that our religions have a shared background have always intrigued me -- from laughter to scoffs to outright anger. Finally an article written by Ellen Lloyd, [author of <i>Voices from Legendary Times</i>], has shed some light on the topic.</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;">In the article, <a href="http://www.esolibris.com/articles/alternative_history/christianity_pagan_connection.php" style="color: #9fc5e8;"><u>Christianity Jesus and the Pagan Connection</u></a>, Ellen explains that "<i>a majority of us [Christians] associate Paganism with idol worship, blood sacrifices and witchcraft. We [Christians] were taught to believe that Pagans are primitive people, who in some way worship the Devil.</i>"</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><a href="http://trinitygrove.weebly.com/uploads/3/8/8/3/3883036/752523.jpg?580" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://trinitygrove.weebly.com/uploads/3/8/8/3/3883036/752523.jpg?580" width="197" /></a>Makes sense then that they would find issue with having their "pure, sacred and unique" religion of Christianity based, however loosely, on ancient occult beliefs and practices. However, Ellen warns, "<i>to write off something as 'impossible' is an easy and quick process... but before we [Christians] reject the Christian/Pagan connection, we should first ask ourselves a couple of questions</i>."</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;">In her article, Ellen's questions seek to answer if perhaps Christians have a wrong and very twisted image of old traditional Paganism. "<i>Were the mystery religions maybe more spiritually developed than we realize? What was the true reason for painting followers of the mystery religions in such black colors?</i>" she asks.</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;">The author recognizes that the Church's past is tainted by its political and social struggle for power. Long wars were waged by the Church of Rome and the Roman Empire to eradicate Paganism and its followers. However, within their bloody intent to take over as the majority shareholder[s] of spirituality, these early enforcers for the Church brilliantly understood that by adopting portions of Pagan dates, rites & rituals, their chances of conversion increased drastically. </div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;">And by painting a dark and sinister portrait of the Old Ways, long-term success was all-but guaranteed. Because even millenia later, who would think to question the Church -- especially considering the deterring examples made of those who did [insert horrific tales from the Crusades, the Inquisition, or the Burning Times]. People accepted out of fear. </div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;">And then it was just a matter of permitting time to cover-up any true origins... what was once clear embellishment turned to possible... and what was possible, after more time, turned to probable... to likely... to absolute. Centuries after the life and death of Jesus Christ we find ourselves now struggling to convince His followers that much of what they irrefutably consider to be His tale was in-fact borrowed. The plan worked wonders.</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;">Yet if more Christians took an eye-opening glance into historical references and symbolism of the past -- a past, mind you, that precedes the life of their savior -- they may be shocked to find handfuls of identical stories and icons. Author Ellen cites more than a few compelling examples including present-day traditions of the Christmas season, the birth story and life of Jesus and other similar saviors and the existence of the cross at least 14 centuries <i>before</i> Jesus Christ. [The Scandinavians, for example, considered it a representation of the four equinoxes and even celebrated a crucifixion of the sun upon its arrival at the shortest day.]</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;">Even Bishop and self-proclaimed Christian Druid Alistair Bate, in his contribution to the book <a href="http://trinitygrove.weebly.com/the-oak-and-the-cross.html" style="color: #9fc5e8;"><i><u>The Path of the Blue Raven</u></i></a> [by Mark Townsend] stated <i><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-language: #00FF;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>"the Christian and pre-Christian myths are so intertwined,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>interdependent and complementary as to be inseparable".</span></span></span></i> </div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;">There is far more here than can be so easily dismissed with a laugh, scoff or angry outburst. Just as much of our lands, our histories and even our genetics have intermingled since the dawn of man, so too have our religions. Instead of taking offense, take interest! There are some fascinating tales interlinking many different faiths and cultures. What once created wars and rifts now has the potential to bring us together.</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;">Divine Unity : Many paths up the same mountain.<br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"> </div>Pagan Presencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156838635410194154noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339705567046356496.post-64724654868252856552011-09-22T21:05:00.000-07:002011-09-22T21:10:49.587-07:00School District to Eliminate All Celebrations<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://jo-online.vsb.bc.ca/div7/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/halloween-picture1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="176" src="http://jo-online.vsb.bc.ca/div7/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/halloween-picture1.gif" width="200" /></a>The school district in which my son is a Kindergartener is looking to implement changes that would eliminate celebrations [incuding but not limited to Halloween and Valentine's Day]... all in the name of, [you guessed it], POLITICAL CORRECTNESS. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">* Hisses and bares her teeth * </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Isn't it sad that what was once an ideal created for the protection of those who faced intolerance has come to morph into some menacing, sinister excuse used by any nitpicking ass-hat wishing to promote his or her own twisted agenda? Honestly, if I hear someone use the coupled phrase "political correctness" one more time I'm going to vomit in my own pointy black hat!!</div><br />
Because my work at the University will prohibit me from attending the board meetings in which these policy changes will be discussed, I drafted the following letter expressing my disapproval. Comments and opinions please!!!<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">To Members of the School Board for the District of XXXX XXXX:</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">It was brought to my attention recently that pending changes in school policy seek to eliminate celebrations in the school(s).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am disappointed to learn that at the suggestion of a bitter few, you [a group formed to make decisions to better the learning environment for students] would altogether eradicate social engagements for current and future student populations.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">When did “political correctness” become some four-letter word defined as “a necessary depriving of our own children in order to appease the belly-aching of a small handful of overly opinionated objectors”?</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">And at what point will it end?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are robbing our students of the simple joys that create lasting childhood memories, and at a rate equivalent to an overzealous bride running through the aisles with her registry gun! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>[<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Zap – there go birthday cupcakes!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Zap – go the jack-o-lanterns!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Zap – go the shamrocks!</i>]<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can no one recognize that we have already crossed the line into absurdity?!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What will you seek to steal from my child next?!</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">School years should offer far more to a student than just decent test scores.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While it is a home setting that instills a child with the compassion, manners and confidence needed for interactions with others, it is in their school environment that just such values are put into practice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is the social endeavors shared with classmates that, joined with one’s education, ultimately produce a well-rounded individual.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remove these communal opportunities and what you can expect to create are empty shells; generic and average.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Where faculty of the past sought to ignite fires of encouragement, individualism and passion within the spirited young hearts of its students, you wish to stifle with demoralizing policies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And for what?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Out of a fear that you may offend a minority of faultfinders [whom, you will come to learn, will never be satisfied]?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Toddlers learn to use whining as a tool to get what they want if their mommies give-in to such tactics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Should the educated members of a school board react with similar enabling actions?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(My family’s pediatrician would be appalled!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And rightfully so!)</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">I think back to my own school-age memories and cannot fathom giving up costume parades and handmade envelopes stuffed full with Valentines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>FOR SHAME that a committee designed to protect the development of each child would elect to simply erase such fundamental moments.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Keep pushing such idiocies into standard policy in the name of “political correctness” and I think you’ll find that future children will have no room for self-expression or creativity in the smothering atmosphere that such policies will generate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Let us not teach our children that “only the squeaky parts get oiled,” even to the detriment of the entire working machine.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">_______________________________________</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;">If you have similar stories, please share! Suggestions? Send them my way! Wanna play Devil's Advocate? Have at it! I would love for someone to tell me how it will be politically correct to ban a Kindergarten class from showing off their costumes and exchanging Valentine cards. </div>Pagan Presencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156838635410194154noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339705567046356496.post-61066502684276660192011-09-11T17:54:00.000-07:002011-09-11T17:54:12.370-07:00Fitting Signs to Reflect the Spirit of America<span style="color: #cccccc;">It was inevitable that as this tenth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks drew near we would be surrounded by reminders, signs and reflections of this tragedy and also the ensuing herosim, but it crept into my morning in a rather unexpected and refreshingly optimistic way. . .</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">I began the day like always-- with a quiet moment at my alter, which also happens to be just the right spot where the sunrise enters the room and warms the hardwood floor where I sit. With the light of my God encasing my ritual, I laid herbs just-gathered, dipped my fingertips into a bowl of water, lit a purple candle and sparked to life the cedar incense of my choosing. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">I cast my circle of elements and took a deep breath to prepare for the rush of emotions that I knew were coming. As an empath I am no stranger to taking on the feelings of others and with the profound sense of remembrance and remorse in the air this day, it was no surprise that a wave of tears overtook me. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">I cried for lives lost, for memories missed, for the feeling of exposure and vulnerability that we were all left with on that fateful day as we watched the billowing clouds of smoke rise from New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. I didn't try to hold back the flood that washed over me-- just permitted it to flow as I sobbed into my hands.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.dragoart.com/tuts/pics/8/2443/popup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" height="315" nba="true" src="http://www.dragoart.com/tuts/pics/8/2443/popup.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Image by Drago Art</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <span style="color: #cccccc;">And in the silence that followed, just after the last hitch in my breath had ceased, I heard two soft "tink, tinks" as a pair of charms fell from the melting wax of my charm candle. I took a deep breath and glanced to my alter, curious to find what symbols I had been graced with on such a significant day. . .</span><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;">the castle and the wolf.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">I instanty smiled, closing my eyes and turning my face towards the warmth of the sun that poured through the sliding glass doors of the sitting room. Small signs bring simple blessings. And these two charms would prove to fill me then with a contented comfort. You see I knew that the castle, a symbol of home and shelter [where we feel safe and protected] represented this grand country that houses me. And that wolf [sitting on his haunches, snout raised high in molded howl], he displayed purely the spirit of man within the great castle-- free will, unity, loyalty, fortitude.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">What a perfect descriptive of the coming together of humanity in the wake of cruelty. And as I watched the last of my cedarwood smoke rise above, I understood that I was not the only soul sending such healing positivity into the skies today. No, we will certainly 'never forget' and in-fact have transformed an act of evil into a network of unified compassion. </span>Pagan Presencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156838635410194154noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339705567046356496.post-34615148010204043092011-08-25T06:40:00.000-07:002011-08-25T06:41:51.574-07:00Hiding My FaithDo you ever find yourself hiding your faith simply because it's just easier at times to avoid the glances, comments or conversations that it may spark? I'm quite shamed to admit my guilt in doing so. <br />
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I have identified as Pagan since my late teenage years and am wholly content with the religious path that I've chosen. Having said that, I do find that after a decade and a half of proudly defending this often unfairly mislabeled faith of mine, I've grown rather tired of the tireless tango toward tolerance. [Oh my! Alliteration overload!!]<br />
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The other day I took my children to visit a local farm that is funded and operated by a Christian foundation. Wonderful place! Not only free range, well cared for livestock, but also an establishment that employs adults with developmental disabilties as a means of both therapy and skill-building.<br />
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So, as we're heading in to pick up a map and kind, welcoming word from the managers of the Visitor's Center, I find myself tucking my much-beloved pentacle pendant into my shirt. As I was doing this I scolded myself and yet, even so, I couldn't muster up enough will power to pull it back out. Great Goddess in the Sky, how <em>dare</em> I?! What witches of the past have gone through in order to permit me the freedom to wear my silver symbol proudly!! How could I simply think "meh-- not worth the hassle" and drop my shoulders with deflection?<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA4OGESKBovlDj8GavYKqYz4Y72gwuYlO_8coVKNIr_5e7X0EkKAEHA2j2L_rAB4988ez6KN6Vl91Pv65G0aWqwTNAeFF8dONdbwcpCKpYpHiNG44rx16VV-KvZVcZ2CgYDTemoMEKqjcO/s1600/kickball2011+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA4OGESKBovlDj8GavYKqYz4Y72gwuYlO_8coVKNIr_5e7X0EkKAEHA2j2L_rAB4988ez6KN6Vl91Pv65G0aWqwTNAeFF8dONdbwcpCKpYpHiNG44rx16VV-KvZVcZ2CgYDTemoMEKqjcO/s320/kickball2011+005.JPG" width="213" /></a>Is it shamefully repulsive that I wanted to avoid yet another stereotypical comment, sideways glance or conversion attempt? Should I always be ready to galantly ride into action with my Witchy flags flying? Maybe. I suppose that would be the honorable thing to do. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>Still, I'm just a mom hoping to take her children for a visit with baby goats without the need to face significant stand-offs or righteous causes.<br />
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Perhaps it was cold and calculating of me to assume the worst of these Christian farmers. Maybe, just maybe, they would have intriguingly embraced, or at the very least accepted my different path. It's <em>possible</em>.<br />
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Are we as Pagans so beaten down by constant questioning and fearful or hateful reactions that we would form our own possibly inaccurate assumptions of others and in turn live by avoidance? <br />
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[ *holding up her palm with purpose and honor* ]: <em>"I, Em Graves, vow [going forward] to never secret away that which I am and to portray the world of love & light permeating the Pagan heart by living always as a manifestation of its beliefs."</em>Pagan Presencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156838635410194154noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339705567046356496.post-77108944565236629972011-08-21T14:14:00.000-07:002011-08-21T14:14:58.372-07:00INTERVIEW: Circle of Moms Top25 Faith Blogs<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I am very excited to share with you the interview [as recently posted at the <a href="http://www.circleofmoms.com/article/top-25-faith-blogs-moms-5-8-01082">Circle of Moms</a> site] highlighting Pagan Presence as the number 15 slot in the Faith Blogs Contest. My very genuine thank you to those who voted and a very warm CONGRATULATIONS to all winners, including the well-loved Mrs. B [who quite rightfully took the number 1 position]!</div><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>Why I Started Blogging</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I have a very strong — sometimes irritating, always passionate — need to write. And while the desire is there, it most definitely does not come without struggle. I am easily (and on many occassions intentionally) distracted; suffering in addition the teasing, fickle 'inexplicability' of Writer's Block. Pagan Presence is a way to combat that which might otherwise keep the creative writing hidden from my impatient fingertips. Like most talents & skills, writing flows most freely when practiced routinely. The faith blog acts to keep my "flood gates" open. <br />
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The blog is also an excellent source for connecting with others who share my love for this Pagan path I walk. Paganism is often very personal, and while there are covens, groups and churches in existence, many who identify as Pagan do so in solitary fashion. Faith blogs have been an amazing avenue for permitting such Pagans to connect with one another. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>How Faith Inspires How I Raise My Children</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://imagelib.circleofmoms.com/live_photo16285992" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" qaa="true" src="http://imagelib.circleofmoms.com/live_photo16285992" width="132" /></a>When I first learned that I was Expecting and allowed the many lessons I would instill in my child to run through my mind, there was one subject in particular that unnerved me — Religion. The fear was not the result of a household conflicted by many faiths — my husband afterall is, on rainy days, Atheist and on most others, Agnostic. I'd be able to raise my child on the spiritual path of my choosing. And yet, in doing so, I still would never be able to spare him from the intolerances of the world. Would it not be simpler to just skip over this controversial subject all-together?</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">No. Easy is not always best. Though it is likely my children will face the judgements of others, it is far more important that they experience the fulfillment of Divinity than to forfeit such a connection merely to spare them from challenges.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Since the births of my boys, I take every opportunity to shower them with the purity, joy and wonder that my faith bestows upon me. They learn routinely about the special light that each of them holds within and why such a light makes them a beautiful part of the connected whole. They welcome each day with open hearts and open minds, and it is my deepest will that they grow to always see the world through compassionate eyes, no matter the intolerance they may both come to face.<strong><br />
</strong></div>Pagan Presencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156838635410194154noreply@blogger.com2