Tag Archives: blogging challenge

Paganism, Personal Development, Religion, Spiritual Development, Witchcraft

#ChangingPathsChallenge2024: My Path

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Some days, i really wonder if I have a spiritual path. This is in part because I often feel like I don’t do much. I’m not a huge ritualist. I don’t spend a lot of time doing fancy rites, complicated offerings, or grand magical workings.

I take some heart when I read Gerald Gardner’s books. He wrote that the witches he met practiced a simple craft and that it often seemed more kike children’s games them some fancy ritual or complicated process. That seems to match my own spirituality, in many ways. I often say that for me, witchcraft is more a matter of perspective. I feel I see and think about the world in certain ways that I consider “witchy.” And most days, that seems good enough for me.

Another thing I often wonder, though, is whether things would be easier if I followed a particular tradition or joined a particular group. I often feel like I’m blazing my own trail. While I often like that and the way it enables me not to get wrapped up in things that don’t really make sense to me, it also leaves me wondering how well I actually know what I’m doing. I often find myself wondering if I could accomplish more under following the tried and true methods of a tradition as imparted to me by a teacher.

And I suppose if I ever found the right teacher at the right time, I might go that route. But until then, I find myself on a certain path of my own making. So for now, I’ll continue to wend m way through things based on my own reasoning and intuition and the occasional insights offered by my deities and any other allies I might come across. Because as much as I might wonder about other paths, a huge part of me still wants to see where this path I’m on will take me.

(This post is part of #ChangingPathsChallenge2024. For more information about this event and a list of topics, please see this post by Yvonne Aburrow.)

Paganism, Religion, Witchcraft

#ChangingPathsChallenge2024: Roots and Wings

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Years ago, a coven member asked me a question. She knew that my own witchcraft practice tended to be shamanistic in nature and she was starting to explore those practices herself. She inquired as to why it seems that most shamanic and shamanistic practices start the newcomer of with exploring the underworld. I considered this for a moment before giving her my opinion:

The underworld is often associated with the ancestors and the ancestors typically reside there. We owe our lives and our very beings to our ancestors, as they are the ones who both made us who we are and shaped the world into what we see now. To move forward, we need to grapple with this understanding and learn the wisdom of those who came before us.

Years later, I think that answer still fits, though I think it’s also incomplete. Our ancestors were imperfect. They made mistakes. We need to learn not only the wisdom of their successes, but the wisdom they learned from their mistakes. And perhaps we might learn lessons from their mistakes that they themselves still missed.

Once we are rooted in the past and understand the lessons we can learn, we are ready to soar beyond that past. We now understand the territory beneath and behind us, giving us a framework as we take flight and explore the world anew. In this way, we add to the wisdom of our ancestors, once more reshaping the world and trying to do a slightly better job than those who came before us.

And someday, we too shall pass into the underworld. We will become the ancestors who provide wisdom and roots for future generations preparing to spread their wings and take flight themselves.

(This post is part of #ChangingPathsChallenge2024. For more information about the challenge and a list of topics, check out this post by Yvonne Aburrow.)

Music, Paganism, Religion

#ChangingPathsChallenge2024: Songs

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Most of my life, I’ve had a tentative relationship with music. I did not listen to the radio or collect a lot of albums from my favorite musicians growing up. When we traveled in the car, if we weren’t listening to the radio (usually tuned to one of the Christian radio stations that dominate the twin tiers region), we listened to one of three tapes that my family collectively owned.

  • My mother’s “Best of the Statler Brothers” collection.
  • My sister’s “Beat the System” tape by Petra.
  • My “Ghostbusters” tape.

In fact, the only music that remained in my life were hymns at church and the songs we’d sing at Sunday school. Some of those are still implanted in my memory even though I haven’t sung them since 1998 (for the most part). Especially the Sunday school songs. I swear that the fastest way to trigger a former Sunday school teacher from an evangelical church is to start singing “Father Abraham.” (Warning: The link is neither for the feint of heart nor for those particularly susceptible to earworms.)

In college, I got introduced to the kind of worship songs put out by groups like Maranatha Music. I came to like these simple tunes as they were easy sing and fairly easy to remember. At lest the choruses were. I’d never remember all the words to even the first verse of “A Mighty Fortress is Our God,” but I could always remember how to sing “As The Deer.”

When I started exploring Paganism, I thought it would be nice to find music that reflected my new spiritual home. I had heard there were many Pagan chants used in ritual, but there weren’t any groups in my area that used them. (I did get introduced to a couple while attending Pagan conferences in Ontario province in the early 2000s.) I started looking at music that was not explicitly religious and found artists like Loreena McKennitt1 and Clannad, while not explicitly Pagan, had songs that at least seemed to hint at Pagan ideas.

While spending time with various Pagans in Ontario, I also discovered the music of a Pagan folk singer who went by the name Castalia.2 I instantly fell in love with her music and I’d consider her songs some of my favorite Pagan songs. Not that I know a lot of others, mind you. As I said, music has never been a huge part of my life.

I’d still love to learn some simple tunes or chants for ritual purposes, though.

(This post is part of #ChangingPathsBlogChallenge2024. See Yvonne Aburrow’s post announcing the challenge for more details and a list of topics.)

Footnotes

  1. The particularly observant reader might note that I seem to gravitate towards Canadian artists. I see it too, though I have no idea why that is! Maybe it’s because I basically live right on the border? ↩︎
  2. I was also fortunate enough to meet the artist herself at a couple of those Pagan conferences I mentioned and even have a couple brief conversations with her. ↩︎
Animals, Paganism, Religion

#ChangingPathsChallenge2024: Animals and Birds

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Image taken from the Amazon page for the book.

I’ve always felt drawn to black bears. I’ve always felt I’ve been able to identify with them in many ways and that they had lessons to teach me. But my feelings about them were often different from how most Neo-Pagans (especially the men) who claim bears as their spirit animal1 view them.

I’m not someone who perceives myself as a fierce warrior. To me, I look at the bear and do not see the legendary rage of Viking berserkers, but the nurturing love of a mother bear. And sure, there’s nothing more fierce than a mama bear protecting her cubs from a real or perceived danger. But that’s not her “default mode of operation.”

Several years ago, i ran across a book called Among the Bears by Benjamin Kilham, pictured at the beginning of this post. Kilham was the first person to successfully rehabilitate orphaned black bear cubs and return them to the wild when they were older. In the book, he describes his experiences doing so, the lessons he learned, and the things he discovered about black bears along the way.

One of the things that Kilham learned while working with the first cubs he rehabilitated — a brother-sister pair who had been abandoned by their mother — was that black bears tend to be quite altruistic. By that, Kilham explains that he means that a black bear will put themselves in danger to help another living being, including one that belonged to a different species. i found myself fascinated by his recollection of the events that led up to this discovery. Furthermore, I realized that this was a man who had an understanding of bears that more closely matched my own.

I will note that part of the difference between myself and other people who feel attracted to bears is that I suspect most of them envision grizzly bears rather than black bears. However, I also wonder how many other Neo-Pagans and members of other modern religious movements take the time to learn to learn about the various animals they feel drawn to through sources outside of books on spirituality, such as what animal conservationists and biologists might have to say about them. I think that it’s well worth it to do so, as there’s so much more to learn.

(This post is part of #ChangingPathsBlogChallenge2024. See Yvonne Aburrow’s post announcing the challenge for more details.)

Footnotes

  1. I think it’s also important to note that the way many Neo-Pagans and other non-indigenous have glommed onto the term “spirit animal” is typically appropriative and otherwise problematic, so I prefer to avoid the use of that term. ↩︎
Religion, Spiritual Development

#ChangingPathsChallenge2024: Drama

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One year, my old coven signed up to organize and lead the public Yule ritual at our local witch shop. One of our members found a delightful short play for the season that we decided to act out as part of the ritual. It was beautifully written and delightful, as it brought home the themes of the festival in engaging ways. Many members of the community who participated in the rite thanked us and expressed how much they enjoyed it.

Such ritual drama can be an important part of of any religious observance. it allows us to embody themes and ideas within ourselves and identify with them in a visceral way. This often moves us from a more academic or cerebral acceptance of concepts to an experience of mystery.

(This post is part of #ChangingPathsChallenge2024. For more information on this challenge, be sure to check out Yvonne Aburrow’s post announcing it.)

Personal Development, Religion, Spiritual Development, Witchcraft

#ChangingPathsChallenge2024: Dreams

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Change starts with a dream. Some notion. Some fleeting idea of something we’d like to see. Something that inspires us and draws our interest.

Over time, that dream starts to take a more concrete shape. We add more details. We flesh it out. In time, that dream because a vision we can pour our will into.

We then take that vision and begin to determine how to make it a reality. We start laying out the steps that we can take to bring it about. We look for collaborators and co-conspirators. We transform our vision into a plan.

We then execute that plan. We take the planned actions, re-calibrating and modifying both the plan and our actions as needed. Eventually, our plan and our execution of it leads us to the realization of that dream. We have altered reality itself and built something we can be proud of.

But it all started from that dream. Without dreams, nothing would change. Without dreams, would we even be truly alive?

(This post is part of the #ChangingPathsChallenge2024. See Yvonne Aburrow’s post for more information about the challenge.)

Paganism, Personal Development, Religion, Spiritual Development

#changingpathschallenge2024: Change

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I have a complicated relationship with Odin. When I started looking to build a relationship with various Norse gods, I had planned on avoiding Odin altogether. I thought Thor seemed like a much friendlier and jovial sort. And Thor was indeed friendly to me. But one night, he told me he couldn’t stay to talk with me because someone else wanted a word.

And after a beautiful moment of being transformed into a falcon1 by Freyja and an exhilarating flight over a gorgeous canyon, I found myself in the throne room of the Al.father himself, who accused me of avoiding him.. I had been caught red handed and called out. Odin and I had a brief conversation in which he explained to me why i needed the gifts and lessons he wanted to teach me. I saw the wisdom in his arguments and agreed — albeit somewhat reluctantly — to work with him.

Odin has never been a huge part of my life. But he comes around every now and then. And the thing is, life gets interesting whenever he does. Because in my experience Odin usually brings change with him. There got to be a point in my life where I would sense his presence anew in my life and would immediate want to scream, “What now, fucker?!”2

Change is never easy, nor is it comfortable. I recall reading somewhere that all change is stressful and even traumatic, even positive change. And while the changes that Odin brought and asked me to undergo were always a net benefit for me, I didn’t always like going through the process of change.

That’s normal, and sometimes the only way to endure it is to remember that change is vital to life. One of the defining characteristics of living things is that they grow, and growth always means change. I’ve also heard it suggested that if you are not growing, you’re dying (which is typically a much less pleasant form of change in its own right) or already dead.

As someone who wants to go on living — and hopefully living well — I’ve come to accept change. Even with all its discomfort and messiness. So after I’ve sighed and groused about Odin coming around with more change, I usually let out a breath and say, “Okay, bring it on, fucker. Let’s do this.”

(This post is a part of the #changingpathschallenge2024. See Yvonne Aburrow’s post for more information on the challenge and a list of keywords/prompts for it.)

Footnotes

  1. If it’s not obvious, I’m talking about things that I envisioned/experienced while in an altered state of conscience. I’m not claiming that I literally shape-shifted. ↩︎
  2. Yes, I occasionally swear at my deities. We have that kind of relationship. ↩︎
Religion, Society, Spiritual Development

#changingpathschallenge2024: Reconnecting

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Most days, it feels like our modern society is designed to disconnect us from everything.

  • It disconnects us from other people.
  • It disconnects us from our heritage.
  • It disconnects us from our own bodies.
  • It disconnects us from our emotions.
  • It disconnects us from the rest of the animal kingdom.

Is it any wonder we often feel lonely and isolated? We desperately need to get reconnected to these things. For me, my spirituality plays a significant role in that reconnecting process. I often say that my religion is a celebration of life, and reconnecting ourselves to these various things we’ve allowed ourselves to become unplugged from is a part of that celebration. It’s also an important part of maintaining and enhancing that life.

  • Reconnecting to other people and forming a community provides us with support.
  • Reconnecting to our heritage (in as much as is possible) allows us to better understand who we are and how we’ve become that person.
  • Reconnecting to our bodies enables us to live fuller lives rather than feeling like brains trapped in a meat suit.
  • Reconnecting to our emotions allows us to feel fully human again rather than unfeeling automatons.
  • Reconnecting to other living things helps us understand our place in the world over all and is an important step in connecting with the numinous.

That’s a lot of reconnecting to do. And I think the process of reconnecting to everything is a lifetime process. Maybe even a process that spans several lifetimes. But I also think doing so is well worth it.

(This blog post is part of the #changingpathschallenge2024. Be sure to read Yvonne Aburrow’s post to learn more details about the challenge.)

Paganism, Religion

#changingpathschallenge2024: Nature

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Image: A picture of the Genesee River from the Gorge Trail in Letchworth State Park. Taken during my birthday hike in 2015.

I’ve hiked off and on for much of my life. It’s an activity that I’ve gotten fairly serious about at some points while walking away from it at other points. The last time I got into hiking was from 2013 until about 2015. In fact, the above picture is probably from one of the last hikes I took.

I enjoy the sense of seclusion and isolation from the bustle of civilization that I experience with hiking. While on a good trail, it’s just me, whatever companions I’ve chosen to invite along, and the beautiful views. I’d often hike alone, with my own thoughts my only companions. Such an environment is practically a breeding ground for new perspectives on old ideas and new solutions for old problems.

And yet, while out in nature and being isolated from most of human civilization, I don’t feel quite alone. I’m surrounded by the sounds of wildlife and am often blessed with glimpses of the occasional animal. An encounter with a bird or a deer can remind me that I am not alone in the world and humans are not alone in this world either. It can also remind me that all life on the planet is connected.

These days, health issues and higher priority activities keeps me closer to home. To be honest, I don’t think I could hike the gorge trail pictured above any more.1 But I still try to keep the lessons I’ve learned from hiking in mind years later. And I try to remember that even in my suburban home, I am still a part of the greater community of the world. The community that is made up of more than just humans.

(This post is part of the #changingpathschallenge2024. See Yvonne Aburrow’s post for more details about the challenge.)

Footnotes

  1. Given that I usually had to take a day or two of serious rest after hiking that trail when I was at my peak physical health in 2015, I’d say I could barely hike it back then. ↩︎
Emotions, Love, Paganism, Personal Development, Religion

#changingpathschallenge2024: Love

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Jesus Loved Me. Freyja Taught Me to Love Myself.

That was my joking answer back in 2022 when Meghan Crozier1 asked her followers what they would title their own deconstruction memoirs. The statement has stuck with me ever since. It’s funny how sometimes what we say when joking turns out to be profound truths, even if only personally true or profound.

My understanding of love was somewhat limited when I was an evangelical Christian. This was due to the fact that in that religion, I was taught that love — or at least pure love — was something that was only given out by the perfect god of the religion, who poured his love out on the undeserving — that is, everyone else. Realizing that I was only receiving love because the Almighty was giving it to me despite myself ruined my sense of self-worth, something I’ve talked about multiple times.

So when I came to Paganism, I was confronted with a new in which I could see myself as inherently worthy of love. That changed so much about the way I saw both myself and love. In time, I’ve come to realize that love — whether for myself or others — is a natural reaction to recognizing the sacred nature — which I define as the inherent value — of the beloved. If I and other are sacred/inherently valuable, how can I do anything other than love them? This allowed me to pour out love2 — both for myself and for others — more freely.

(This post is part of the #changingpathschallenge2024. See Yvonne Aburrow’s post for more details on the challenge.)

Footnotes

  1. As an aside, Meghan co-hosts a wonderful deconstruction-themed podcast with Cortland Coffey called Thereafter. I highly recommend it. I’m their number one fan. (Pay no attention to the sledgehammer behind my back.) It also occurs to me that I should see if I can help get Yvonne Aburrow on their podcast. I think many people in their audience would appreciate Yvonne’s book(s). ↩︎
  2. I will note that as an evangelical Christian, I always found it other to be loving toward others than toward myself. Much of (white) evangelical Christianity is designed this way. After all, we are commanded to love others, but deny ourselves and do things like “put our sinful nature” — which is often conflated with “the flesh” — to death. Plus, I grew up learning that “Jesus, Others, then You” spelled J-O-Y, and that was the order you were supposed to prioritize people in. The reality was, I rarely got around to the Y part, so I had more JO than JOY. ↩︎