Post by Sylver Morrigan on Nov 21, 2008 11:53:22 GMT -6
First off, we have to come up with a better name than that. Something catchy. And I'm not too much of a 'ranty' type of person. I like to think of myself as 'informative'.
Now I know not all of you know me, or anything about me. So maybe a little history of who I am and where my rants might be coming from. I am originally a New Yorker, now living in Florida with my husband and three cats. I was raised Lutheran, even attending a Lutheran high school, and I officially converted to a broad Pagan religion in 1998, but had been studying and gathering information since 1993. So I have 15 years of studying alternative religions under my belt. While my husband is the same religion as I am, everyone else in my family is some kind of Christian, including some 'enthusiastic Christians', which is a fancy name for Born-again Christians. And, boy, can they be enthusiastic.
I have been married for just over four years, but started dating my husband in 1997. I have been out of the broom closet since 1998 with select family members, but my Pagan wedding kind of alerted everyone to our Pagan ways. Most people seem to be cool with it, but I'll let you in on a little secret: most Christians are NOT cool with it. They tend to ignore it, when you say 'Pagan' or any word relating to Witchcraft. So my feeling is they really don't like it, but keep their mouths shut cause they figure it's a phase. Luckily, my mother and brother are very supportive, and my father just doesn't ask.
Are there some of you asking, 'But what IS Pagansim, really?' I sure hope so, because that's what you're getting next. No point in my explaining how Pagans are treated as second class citizens if you don't know what we are, is there?
Paganism is a broad term, used to classify most religions that are polytheistic, worshipping more than one god. Most Pagans recognize a god and goddess, a lord and lady, whatever they call it. If any of you paid attention in world history classes in high school, you might remember that ancient Romans and Greeks had tons of gods: Zeus and Hera, Aphrodite, Neptune or Posieden, Mars. These gods are still worshipped today by people.
There are little branches of Neo-Paganism. Like Lutheran and Catholic are little branches off the Christian Tree, there are different types or traditions of Paganism. The most commonly known is Wicca. There are also numerous Wiccan traditions, like Stregha and Dianic Wicca and Gardnerian Wicca and Anglo-Saxon Wicca... quite a long list, actually. Which gods and goddesses you honor really has a lot to do with two things: your ancestry and your location. It is more common for neo-Pagans in America to worship gods based on ancestry or to choose a pantheon (group of gods, like Roman) based on which gods they feel an affinity to.
Here we'll get a little personal. When I have the need to name a god for whatever reason (ritual or spellcasting), I honor gods from the Celtic pantheon. Even my ICW name is in reference to my patron goddess, the Morrigan. The Morrigan is the Celtic goddess of war, feminine prowess, sometimes death... she has many aspects, and is often considered a triple goddess. Triple goddesses usually have one of two things: either actually three goddesses together (like the Muses: the Muse is referred to in the singular many times, but is actually comprised of three deities) or the triple goddess is a goddess that represents the three stages of life: maiden, mother, crone. Maiden is linking to the waxing moon, growing, learning, child-bearing; mother is nurturing, teaching but still learning, the full moon; crone is the old woman, wise and knowing, sharing her craft, the waning moon. Depending on the text you read, the Morrigan can fit into either of these categories.
To confuse you further, the Celtic gods and goddesses are different than any other pantheon of gods. Romans, Greeks, Egyptians: these gods and goddesses are like manifestations, the same way the Christian God is a manifestation, He was never actually a man. The Celtic gods are believed to have walked the earth in much eariler times. They are thought by many to have been flesh and blood man and woman, with supernatural powers and knowledge. This idea is quite plausible, seeming as how ancient stories and texts refer to the goddess Brighid being the daughter of Dagda, the god of the gods in Celtic lore (similar to Zeus). Brighid was the goddess of healers, poets, childbearing, and a goddess of fire and hearth. She appears in so many old Celtic stories, up to the middle ages, up to a time when Chrsitianity was being spread - forcefully - across the world. Catholics reading this may be familiar with Saint Brighid - she is one and the same.
There was a sacred fire in Kildare that was kept burning by 19 virgin daughters of the fire; pagan women who would circle round the eternal flame and chant to Brighid. As Chrsitianity spread across Ireland, and Goddess Brighid was sainted and became Saint Brighid (many feel that was done to help ease unsuspecting Pagans into Christianity, but more on that another day), nuns took over tending the sacred flame, and it became a shrine to a Catholic Saint. The fire was extinguished temporarily in the thirteenth century, but Henry VIII had it extinguished more permanently when he was attempting to supress the monastaries and nuns. Supposedly, and I have not documented this fully, the sacred flame was relit at Kildare in February of 1996. I have only found this notation in one reputable text, so I'm not 100% on it.
So, aside from a little bit of history, this rant can easily take the shape of me hating Christianity. I don't. It's just not for me. I don't like the way Christianity has historically used 'God' as a reason to kill people and spread their religion. I don't like the way that Christianity seems to give some people an excuse to hate other people. I don't like the way some Christians feel the need to save other people and proselytize. But, really, I don't like the way people have tried to turn America into a Christian country. And don't give me the whole 'the founding fathers were Christians' thing. The founding fathers were smart enough to realize the importance of the separation of church and state. Enough said. There is no reason to have the Ten Commandments on a courthouse; there is no reason to have prayer in any public school; there is no reason for Blue Laws. These things are offensive to non-Christians, and not just Neo-Pagans. Blue Laws, which basically shut entire towns down on Sundays, are really tied into the fact that Christians have church on Sundays. In my opinion, this should be incredibly offensive to the Jewish population, since their holy day or sabbat is Saturday. Mostly because it's pretty offensive to me. But I'm terribly sensitive. I like to think it's part of my charm.
Now, I'm not sure how into politics or religion you all want me to get ('you all' read: Wolf, since he's probably the only person reading this lol), since those are the two most inflammatory topics I can talk about. I'm open to suggestion. After this brief lesson on Paganism and a little rant on Christianity in government, let me know what you want to hear me bitch about next. I'm always riled up for certain topics, like comparitive religions, politics, civil rights/liberties, shit like that. And I'm also open to comments and counterpoints, of course.
Brightest Blessings!
Steph 'Morrigan'
Now I know not all of you know me, or anything about me. So maybe a little history of who I am and where my rants might be coming from. I am originally a New Yorker, now living in Florida with my husband and three cats. I was raised Lutheran, even attending a Lutheran high school, and I officially converted to a broad Pagan religion in 1998, but had been studying and gathering information since 1993. So I have 15 years of studying alternative religions under my belt. While my husband is the same religion as I am, everyone else in my family is some kind of Christian, including some 'enthusiastic Christians', which is a fancy name for Born-again Christians. And, boy, can they be enthusiastic.
I have been married for just over four years, but started dating my husband in 1997. I have been out of the broom closet since 1998 with select family members, but my Pagan wedding kind of alerted everyone to our Pagan ways. Most people seem to be cool with it, but I'll let you in on a little secret: most Christians are NOT cool with it. They tend to ignore it, when you say 'Pagan' or any word relating to Witchcraft. So my feeling is they really don't like it, but keep their mouths shut cause they figure it's a phase. Luckily, my mother and brother are very supportive, and my father just doesn't ask.
Are there some of you asking, 'But what IS Pagansim, really?' I sure hope so, because that's what you're getting next. No point in my explaining how Pagans are treated as second class citizens if you don't know what we are, is there?
Paganism is a broad term, used to classify most religions that are polytheistic, worshipping more than one god. Most Pagans recognize a god and goddess, a lord and lady, whatever they call it. If any of you paid attention in world history classes in high school, you might remember that ancient Romans and Greeks had tons of gods: Zeus and Hera, Aphrodite, Neptune or Posieden, Mars. These gods are still worshipped today by people.
There are little branches of Neo-Paganism. Like Lutheran and Catholic are little branches off the Christian Tree, there are different types or traditions of Paganism. The most commonly known is Wicca. There are also numerous Wiccan traditions, like Stregha and Dianic Wicca and Gardnerian Wicca and Anglo-Saxon Wicca... quite a long list, actually. Which gods and goddesses you honor really has a lot to do with two things: your ancestry and your location. It is more common for neo-Pagans in America to worship gods based on ancestry or to choose a pantheon (group of gods, like Roman) based on which gods they feel an affinity to.
Here we'll get a little personal. When I have the need to name a god for whatever reason (ritual or spellcasting), I honor gods from the Celtic pantheon. Even my ICW name is in reference to my patron goddess, the Morrigan. The Morrigan is the Celtic goddess of war, feminine prowess, sometimes death... she has many aspects, and is often considered a triple goddess. Triple goddesses usually have one of two things: either actually three goddesses together (like the Muses: the Muse is referred to in the singular many times, but is actually comprised of three deities) or the triple goddess is a goddess that represents the three stages of life: maiden, mother, crone. Maiden is linking to the waxing moon, growing, learning, child-bearing; mother is nurturing, teaching but still learning, the full moon; crone is the old woman, wise and knowing, sharing her craft, the waning moon. Depending on the text you read, the Morrigan can fit into either of these categories.
To confuse you further, the Celtic gods and goddesses are different than any other pantheon of gods. Romans, Greeks, Egyptians: these gods and goddesses are like manifestations, the same way the Christian God is a manifestation, He was never actually a man. The Celtic gods are believed to have walked the earth in much eariler times. They are thought by many to have been flesh and blood man and woman, with supernatural powers and knowledge. This idea is quite plausible, seeming as how ancient stories and texts refer to the goddess Brighid being the daughter of Dagda, the god of the gods in Celtic lore (similar to Zeus). Brighid was the goddess of healers, poets, childbearing, and a goddess of fire and hearth. She appears in so many old Celtic stories, up to the middle ages, up to a time when Chrsitianity was being spread - forcefully - across the world. Catholics reading this may be familiar with Saint Brighid - she is one and the same.
There was a sacred fire in Kildare that was kept burning by 19 virgin daughters of the fire; pagan women who would circle round the eternal flame and chant to Brighid. As Chrsitianity spread across Ireland, and Goddess Brighid was sainted and became Saint Brighid (many feel that was done to help ease unsuspecting Pagans into Christianity, but more on that another day), nuns took over tending the sacred flame, and it became a shrine to a Catholic Saint. The fire was extinguished temporarily in the thirteenth century, but Henry VIII had it extinguished more permanently when he was attempting to supress the monastaries and nuns. Supposedly, and I have not documented this fully, the sacred flame was relit at Kildare in February of 1996. I have only found this notation in one reputable text, so I'm not 100% on it.
So, aside from a little bit of history, this rant can easily take the shape of me hating Christianity. I don't. It's just not for me. I don't like the way Christianity has historically used 'God' as a reason to kill people and spread their religion. I don't like the way that Christianity seems to give some people an excuse to hate other people. I don't like the way some Christians feel the need to save other people and proselytize. But, really, I don't like the way people have tried to turn America into a Christian country. And don't give me the whole 'the founding fathers were Christians' thing. The founding fathers were smart enough to realize the importance of the separation of church and state. Enough said. There is no reason to have the Ten Commandments on a courthouse; there is no reason to have prayer in any public school; there is no reason for Blue Laws. These things are offensive to non-Christians, and not just Neo-Pagans. Blue Laws, which basically shut entire towns down on Sundays, are really tied into the fact that Christians have church on Sundays. In my opinion, this should be incredibly offensive to the Jewish population, since their holy day or sabbat is Saturday. Mostly because it's pretty offensive to me. But I'm terribly sensitive. I like to think it's part of my charm.
Now, I'm not sure how into politics or religion you all want me to get ('you all' read: Wolf, since he's probably the only person reading this lol), since those are the two most inflammatory topics I can talk about. I'm open to suggestion. After this brief lesson on Paganism and a little rant on Christianity in government, let me know what you want to hear me bitch about next. I'm always riled up for certain topics, like comparitive religions, politics, civil rights/liberties, shit like that. And I'm also open to comments and counterpoints, of course.
Brightest Blessings!
Steph 'Morrigan'