As seen on Tumblr: Concerning the Mind

This was a text heavy post over on Tumblr that's gotten no traction. In an effort to engage the community in some serious discussion about the role of mental illness and similar conditions in our spirituality, I've decided to cross post it to my blogs. Below is the original post with all it's typos and such.

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Concerning the Mind

“Thoughts of the mind neither pass away, nor vanish into air. For every thought is a builder in the subtle world that lies about you. Thoughts of beauty and of things of the Spirit refine and purify the soul, making them fair to look upon and graceful in their movements, uniting them with the universal music of eternity and gathering about them the servants of the angels. But harsh thoughts harden the soul; coarse thoughts coarsen the soul; thoughts bound only to material things load the soul with heavy chains.” - Teachings of the Daughter: The Thoughts of the Mind: verses 1 - 5, The Clear Recital, CDV

My friends, this lesson has been rattling around in my thoughts ever since I first read it in the AAV. There are minor differences in the two regarding the language. But the message is the same, regardless of which version of The Clear Recital you pick up. That message is in three parts:

1. You are responsible for your thoughts.

2. If you think about the correct things, you will draw closer to Déa.

3. If you think about the incorrect things, you will move farther from Déa.

This is generally all well and good for neurotypical people. But what of people who lack the ability to have the degree of control over their thoughts to prevent the incorrect thought patterns from emerging persistently, be it via immaturity (i.e. children), via a medical condition (i.e. dementia), or some other reason that can not be resolved at the time of the incorrect thought (i.e. distressful situations). I suppose the child could be taught and trained in mental discipline, this perhaps removes them from the list of persons unable to control their thoughts.

But what of persons like myself who suffer from an illness that impairs their ability to control their thoughts on a regular basis. With great willpower, we attempt to control our thoughts so that the undesired ones do not occur but it is not possible to eradicate them or mitigate the frequency of them. No matter what I do, what medication I am on, or how formidable my will might be, I can not help the anger and harshness that comes when I am in a mixed episode nor can I help the thoughts of suicide in a depressive episode. My brain just isn’t wired right, it’s got the wrong amounts of neurochemicals despite the best treatment.

I have given this a lot of thought while I have been in a range of mental states over the last few years. I’ve cycled through all of my mood states and this question of how does Déa regard my inability to control my mind keeps coming up. If we accept the premise that Déa is a merciful Mother and understands our failings, I think we must also accept the idea that Déa extends forgiveness to us when we can not meet a standard that is set. I think that we must accept the idea that Déa views us in our impaired state and sees that we are trying our best.

Thus, through Déa’s grace, even though we may struggle to think the correct thoughts, when we fail because we are unable to do otherwise, we are not moving farther from Déa. The thoughts we have when we are impaired or injured do not disfigure the soul, do harm to the subtle body that is referenced in this teaching of Our Lady, or prove something that makes us fundamentally repellant on all levels. I think that Déa sees my struggle and allows grace and mercy as long as I try my best.

Your thoughts, friends?

ETA: typo corrections because I haven't had enough coffee yet today. LOL

The Children of Déa Version of the Clear Recital: Editorial Notes.

 Dear Reader,

I did keep a log of editorial notes as my team and I were working on The Clear Recital: The Children of Déa Version. Most of them pertained to grammatical concerns and related matters. There are some things, however, that you will find missing from this version of The Clear Recital as compared to others. (Given that there is an established precedent of doing so with respect to the community that The Clear Recital is being contemplated by, I was surprised to see the consternation that arose from this. That, however, is a post for another day.)

In my last post, I explained the linguistic changes. There is some content changes that have been made to reflect the needs of today's communities. The Madrian version of The Clear Recital addressed the needs of the collective households of the Madrian faith communities. They were structured quite differently from the households of today. The collective communities of the Aristasian faith communities were structured quite similarly to the Madrian faith communities. There were a collection of people living under the rule of a Lady of the Household who made executive decisions about how things operated. In some cases, families were living in these units. The section of how to live a harmonious life included in the Madrian and Aristasian versions of The Clear Recital had elements that were problematic for today's households.

Generally, we are not living in collective communities under the rule of a Lady of the Household. We are rather far flung and nuclear households. The instructions for how to live a harmonious life needed to be adapted to the needs of these more isolated households and different community structures. It was with great care and effort that the team and I tended to prune back the language focused upon a communal household structure as seen in the Madrian and Aristasian communities. 

Additionally, we removed a controversial element that involved corporal discipline. The 'willow rod' is a tool of violence. We agreed as a collective team that violence to discipline an errant believer is barbaric. All to often in other faith practices, the codified encouragement of the use of corporal discipline has been used to justify abusive practices. This was removed because it is the team's collective belief that Déa does not use abusive practices to discipline us and it would be breaking with the celestial harmony to use abusive practices to discipline errant members of the community.

How, one may ask, would one discipline an errant member of the community? Well, that's a relatively simple question to answer. Through instruction as to how they have erred and guidance on how to do better. A punitive system does not reform behavior but rather suppresses it. A system that is based on teaching one how to avoid error and guiding them through problematic situations (as demonstrated in the wisdom teachings where Our Lady gently explains to the parent the error of keeping their child from her presence and then proceed to explain the correct way to approach the situation) leads to reform and personal growth.

These two things are the major changes made to the wisdom texts aside from updating language and correcting grammatical challenges that made the document inaccessible to someone with a child's reading level. Aside from these two changes, the wisdom texts remain functionally the same. It is the belief of myself and the team I worked with that these changes were necessary to open up the faith to all believers regardless of household social construction and to promote a more harmonious way of handling problems within the community.

Practical Witchery: Air Elementals

 Dear Reader,

This is by no means a comprehensive guide to the Air Elementals. Each tradition has their own associated directions and attributes for each Element. I aim to provide a gentle introduction to working with Air Elementals and an overview of what manner of things fall under their purview. This is a Wicca focused post because in my work with the Elementals, it is based in my training as a Wiccan priestess. Different faiths and traditions of magical practice have different modes of interaction with these spiritual beings.

Air Elementals have been known by many names. They have been associated with many different spiritual beings. Within the tradition that I was trained, the Air Elementals are slyphs. (The Wikipedia article that I have linked actually has a pretty good set of sources for this entry.) Slyphs look like the diminutive fairies of Victoriana artwork. They are winged and dressed in fanciful things such as cobweb gowns and dew drop jewelry. Slyphs hold reign over the action of Air. 

They are typically benevolently inclined towards humanity, though their mischievous streak is legendary. The slyphs are a class of faery that is considered to be less powerful than other faeries¹.  This argument, however, fails to consider the fact that they are the Guardians of the Elemental Force of Air. They have the ability to influence weather and to influence intellect and communication (which are both considered in the Wiccan tradition I was trained in to be under the influence of Air). Most of the time. slyphs are insubstantial like the wind and their presence can only be felt by those who are psychically sensitive. 

In the case of a ritual where one invokes the power of Air, slyphs will come to the circle and give counsel and advice. They will also act as guardians of holy spaces from spiritual beings that attempt to assail the person who is engaged in magical work. It is not entirely effective against physical beings. (Alexander Pope's famous poem The Rape of the Lock demonstrates this.) Though slyphs seem to be less than impressive, they have the capacity to wreck havoc when angered. Some of the activity attributed to poltergeists is actually the action of slyphs against people who have offended them (i.e. random items going missing and then reappearing in strange places, unexpected gusts of wind that cause mild chaos with one's plans, etc.).

To appease angered slyphs, the old practice of putting out milk, bread, and honey as an offering is highly effective. The use of this sort of offering to gain the good will of slyphs has a long standing history of success. Home made bread is a favorite but store bought works just as well. It is the intention that is important. The offering should be placed outdoors at a secluded spot where it can be consumed by nature. If it is not possible to place the offering outdoors in such a location, it should be left upon the altar for a period of 24 hours to allow the Elementals time to enjoy it and then disposed of in a ritual fashion. (I have a compost bin that I put such offerings into and then return them to the earth once they have broken down.)

Building alliances with slyphs is a good idea for someone who is working with academics or subject matter that requires a good deal of hard thought. It is also helpful for someone who is seeking to get good with weather magic. Through regular offerings and time spent communing with them via meditation and divination, one can build a strong relationship with the Air Elementals and be able to call upon them at any time for assistance, not just when in the ritual circle.

Scripture Study: Cry Marya v. 7-10

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7. The Awakened seeth not things, but seeth only the spirit My Mother, for no thing is outside Her, and all things are nothing save She.

8. The unawakened is she who seeth but fragments: who seeth the waves, but not the sea; who heareth the voice, but not the word; who seeth the light, but not the sun.

9. These fragments, contradictory, impossible, these are the severed substances of the world. How should the Awakened see these?

Gospel of Our Mother God; The Filianic Sutras:
Cry Marya Verses 7 - 9

Some of the language here is difficult. The use of the false archaic 'seeth' in place of 'sees' makes today's verses difficult to read. This can be seen in the use of 'heareth' as well. If we replace the with 'sees' and 'hears', these verses read much easier. Also, the femme-centric language is a little difficult for the masculine children of Déa, but let us put aside these problematic bits of language and look at the message behind them.

The verses speak of the "Awakened" and the "unawakened". Who are these persons? The "Awakened" person is they who perceive Déa in all places for their awareness is only of Her reflected in all places and things of the world. The "unawakened" are ignorant of this connection to Déa that is constant and ever present.

The unawakened sees the world but fails to see the spiritual connection between all things in the tapestry of existence. They are aware of Déa but in a partially blind way for the matters of the world cover as a veil the connection to Déa. Thus, one may see the waves upon the metaphorical sea and be unaware of the far larger body of water for their vision is limited.

The wash of seemingly contradictory and impossible to connect elements of the world can overwhelm us. It is possible to become so confused and overwhelmed by them that all seems chaos. For the Awakened, this chaos can interrupt their vision. Verse ten gives us the course of action the Awakened and unawakened should take to live with this confusion and chaos.

10. Cry: Mother, I know that I am one with Thee and all things are one in Thee.

Gospel of Our Mother God; Filianic Sutras:
Cry Marya, Verse 10

We are exhorted to cry out to Déa in our time of confusion and darkness. We are encouraged to reach out to Her and remember despite our difficulties seeing it that we are one with our Celestial Mother, as is the whole of existence. Let us take hope in these times from this fact. The world seems to be set upon a path unwholesome and dangerous. It is a dark wood that we travel through, but we are not alone for we are one with our Mother and she will guide us to clarity and our souls' true home.

Incoming rant.

Dear Reader,

I'm honestly not sure where to begin. I've been busy with family stuff, book stuff, and I'm sick with the flu. I haven't had much time over the last several days to do much online. So you can imagine my surprise, irritation, and anger to discover that Facebook and Tumblr are implementing policy changes that are going to make the lives of many people more difficult. I could go through an entire list of why these 'family friendly' policy changes are bad, but I'm too sick to fully cogitate that list beyond the fact that I know they are going to be implemented against marginalized people such as my transgender, LGBTQ+, and kinky brethren. I'm too angry to really put into words how disgusted I am with the fact that these platforms have decided that courting the favor of the ultra-conservative community is acceptable.

My ire is not limited to this situation. There is also someone attempting to incite a version of the Satanic Panic of the 80s and 90s in the direction of the Lokean community. I would have just let that go except for the fact that this seems to be a thing that is slowly gaining traction. As the Lokean community just exists, we have had detractors from just about day one. Now we have to deal with these people saying that we're some how responsible for that reprobate who happens to be president of the United States and attempting to bring about ragnarok. Listen, if we had the capacity to bring about the end of days, do you think we'd do it? All our stuff is here.

More seriously, the continued and ongoing slander of Lokeans is really making me angry. It's like a sucker punch from the back when it comes out of the heathen oriented community who theoretically worship the same gods that we do. Last I checked, Loki was part of the same pantheon. Last I checked, Loki was ODIN'S BLOOD BROTHER. Almost all of the treasures of the Aseir are a result of Loki's doings.

I used to laugh at the norse crisis flow chart. Then I got annoyed with it. Now I'm ready to light the thing on fire and use it to light some other shit on fire. Why? Because Donald-fucking-Trump is not Loki's fault. If you want to sit there and point fingers at some religious group for political fuckery, take those fingers and point at the 'moral majority' known as the 'religious right' aka the dominionist christians. They've been working on this and planning this, just waiting for the right pasty to put into place if they couldn't get their own guy in first for the last sixty years. Ronald Regan was their test run.

You want to know who your 'enemy' is? It's them. And people like me have been saying so for at least thirty years now as everyone else said 'but they're so NICE'. You know what, there's plenty of people who are nice to your face and stick a knife in your back. They're usually pretty good about hiding the fact that they're utter bastards from everyone except for their target. That's how it works. Trust me, I know a thing or two about those kinds of relationships on multiple scales.

While I'm up on my soapbox and ranting, I'm going to draw a line here. I honestly don't care if I lose readership, sales, or standing in the community. Transgender exclusion has no place in Filianism or Déanism. Full stop. TERFs shouldn't be tolerated, welcomed, or given the time of day. They ARE tyrants. The official scripture of Déanism and Filianism says we should not tolerate tyrants, nor partake of the fruit of their labors except in necessity (and at that time offer them up to Dea so that we might not be contaminated with the miasma of their tyranny). Of all people, the Filianic and Déanic communities should embrace the transgender persons with the deepest of empathy, especially the orthodox communities. For the idea that a femme soul could incarnate into a masculine body is a doctrine that is held in many of the orthodox communities. This should be celebrated as evidence of your theology being accurate.

As someone who has struggled with their gender identification due to varying factors in their life, I have absolutely zero tolerance for someone who is going to tell anyone that they're gender is invalid. I'm sorry, but you have no idea what that person's life is like or who they are beyond what they tell you. And you have no business asking about what is in their pants. As a woman with a vocal range that drops down into low tenor, I've had people threaten my safety because I answered their girlfriend's phone. And I am very clearly female in appearance and genome. Transgender women are women, full stop. As soon as you start saying that you have to have certain traits to be a woman (ie breasts and a vagina plus functional reproductive organs) you prove that you are an asshole. Transgender women are women. They're as much women as the woman who is unable to bear children due to medical complications. They're as much women as the woman who lost her breasts to cancer.

They're as much women as the countless women who are murdered and assaulted every day just for being women. As a matter of fact, they're more likely to be murdered and have their murderer get away with it because they 'panicked'. I'm sorry, but I have a panic disorder and I don't murder people. Countless people have panic disorders and they don't murder people. Transgender women are women. You don't get to murder them, discriminate against them, or otherwise be a general bastard to them because you get squicked by the possibility that they may not fit your idea of what women are supposed to look like.

And while I'm on the topic of transgender people and religion, I've got something else to add. Transgender men are men. Full stop. You don't get to harass, murder, discriminate, or otherwise be a general bastard to them either. Why? Not because transgendered people are a special class. Nope, it's because in civil society, you don't get to harass, murder, discriminate, or otherwise be a general bastard to people. I've gotten an earful on this topic from various fronts.

I'm probably going to get some hate mail. That's why I moderate comments. I'm probably going to lose some readers. To Hel with 'em. If you think that this approach is vulgar, you haven't seen me when I'm really angry. I am not going to debate these points. These things are facts. These things are part of the hill I will die on. They're called principles. One of the things they boil down to is don't be a dick to everybody. The other thing that they boil down to is have some empathy and respect for the fact that everybody is fighting some kind of fight right now in their lives.




Postscript: I'm not "nice" to everybody. I am kind up until you give me a reason not to be. Then I return what's given to me in full force. Don't mistake my kindness for weakness either. There's a reason why I know so much about 'dark' magic. It is not a strictly academic knowledge base. And I don't forgive or forget.

Adoration of the Dark Mother.

Dear Reader,

Much has been written about adoration of the Bright Mother and her Daughter. The Dark Mother is equally worthy of adoration. Perhaps Deam Mysterium is not written about because she is mysterious and hard to describe. Perhaps the Absolute Deity is too intimidating to approach because of how vast she is. When one is in the ocean, one is surrounded by the ocean. This can be terrifying. And yet, the ocean remains surrounding the person regardless if they close their eyes to it or not.

It is not unnatural to be uneasy with that which surpasses us. It is a survival trait that has served humanity and the rest of life upon this planet quite well, hence why we still live. At the same time, as thinking beings, we have the capacity to transcend that discomfort and engage with the overwhelming things that surround us. If we did not, humanity would never have built boats to sail upon the ocean with, aircraft to soar the skies, or spacecraft to explore the stars.

Such daring can be brought to our love of Dea. Though the Dark Mother is the light that blinds us, we can still love in our blindness. A child within the womb is blind but surrounded by their mother's love regardless of the blindness. We can adore Deam Mysterium with the pure simplicity of a child's love. Through that love which the Dark Mother gives us in return, she is the darkness that reveals mysteries.

In all things, let us love Dea as she loves us. Unconditionally and simply.

The State of the Body

Filianic Sutras: The Clew of the Horse

Verses 47-49

Thou art not thy body, nor is it any portion of thee.

It is an estate thou hold'st for a time, and after a time shall pass from thee.

Therefore let thou have governance of thy body, nor let it be in anything thy ruler.

It is easy to assume that the body is our adversary. So much of what our culture teaches us is that the mind is superior to the body. Our culture teaches us to have shame in our body's apperance and functionality if it does not meet a narrow criteria for acceptance. Our culture teaches us that our bodies are what fails us when life gets hard and that illness is in some fashion a moral failing. Most of all, we are taught that we are our bodies.

We can not be condensed down to a fingernail or a hair clipping. We have limbs and organs but they do not make up the whole of what we are or who we are. If we were to lose one, or have one replaced, we remain unchanged except for what is gained from the experience. Still, social conventions teach us that the disabled and sick are their bodies through their disability and illness.

The Clew of the Horse passage I quoted above speaks of how we are not our bodies. It is something that can be quite hopeful when one is suffering from a chronic ailment. We are not our illness. We are not our weaknesses in body or inability to do something. We are more than this. It is the third line of the passage that is challenging when living with conditions where the body exerts heavy influence upon one's mind.

Governance of our bodies is an adominshment for moderation in how we treat our bodies. It is care and consideration for what we consume and put into our bodies. It is the exercise of restraint in cases where excess may lead to problems with our health and welfare. It is the careful regimine of exercise that we engage in to promote our greater health when we have the ability to do so.

This is not an exhortation to feel guilt because faulty biochemistry has given you an illness you can not control. This is not an admonishment of any sort for weaknesses that are associated with addictions of any sort. It is most definitely and in absolute certianty not an argument that we must be completely stoic about any and all challenges that come into our lives.

This passage is a lesson that we must be tender and careful in how we approach our bodies. It is a reminder that we are more than what our bodies show us to be. It is a gentle lesson that we must handle ourselves with care because our bodies are fragile and must be attended to well. As well as a lesson in self discipline in the face of temptations to not be as responsible in the care and feeding of our bodies.

Community Discussion: Theological considerations?

Dear Reader,

A post on one of the blogs I follow got me to thinking about a very good question. What is the source of our theology*? Let me narrow the scope of the question a little more. What influences our personal thinking about deity, the nature of the universe, and our relationships with both? The author of the blog post I linked to above presents a very good argument that Puritans are a very strong influence on the way people in the USA approach the concept of deity.

I would be inclined to argue that the over-culture of the region wherein we live has a strong influence on our theology. Furthermore, I would argue that this over-culture influences how we express ourselves with respect to all matters pertaining to religion. Deprogramming the unhelpful elements of that influence is difficult and it is especially challenging when you don't have a large community immediately around you to help in the process.

I think, however, the more we look at the earliest influences upon our consideration of matters of theology, the deeper it allows us to go into our relationship with the divine and the universe. And I think, like all other relationships, the more we head into the relationship, the more we can get out of it.

Just something to think about, I suppose.

♥

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* I use theology as a general term. This can be interchanged with 'theaology' for those who prefer this term. I'm just more comfortable with the term theology and can remember the proper spelling easily. At some point, I may get into the gendered language of deity. I don't have the energy for it today.

Scripture reading and a problem.

I have a side project that I've been working on for a few months now as I have the energy for it. I've been copying over the sacred scriptures of Filianism/Déanism into a hardbound notebook as a devotional practice and meditation. I am only partly through the Gospel of Our Mother God and one thing keeps standing out to me as I consider it all very carefully. That it does not address whom has any mantle of authority upon them by way of Dea's grace.

There are some who follow that if their ordination comes by way of an unbroken faith tradition (i.e. Christian, Buddhist, or Hindi) that it had the authority that would come from Dea as in antiquity (so claimed by scholars who have since been shown to be questionable sources). There are some who argue that their authority is given to them by way of divine grace and should be accepted upon the basis of their word. And then there are the more mercenary of those who would be clergy that argue that priesthood is recognized by humanity through pieces of paper and acquire ordination from unconventional but publicly recognized sources to support the ordination given by way of divine grace at an earlier time.

It is a question that I sit and try to make sense of on a regular basis. I look at myself in the mirror and ask how I can expect anyone to think I have the authority to speak on any of this? At the same time, I can not help but ask questions. Questions of myself and my own work as clergy, questions of the role of any clergy in society, and what exactly that relationship is. This has lead me to reading philosophical texts, instructional books, and the writings of many different faith systems (holy texts and those written by lay people of deep insight). In all of my reading, I have a general idea of how the concept of clergy is supposed to work for the Christian faith, for example, and the social contract that goes along with it. I struggle to suss out what that social contract is for clergy of other faiths, simply because they are not the dominant faith practiced in my region so it is harder to get information.

Three questions keep coming back. The first I just mentioned: how can we tell whom is clergy and has the mantle of authority upon the by way of Dea's grace? The second question is what are the responsibilities and duties of said clergy? And the third question is what is the scope of their authority? Are all clergy equal or is their a hierarchy we are not aware of? In many ways, the answers to the second question are parallel to those for when this question is applied to Christianity. But the first and third questions are far more fuzzy. It frustrates me because if one is clergy or somehow a vowed person (monk, nun, godspouse, spirit-spouse, child, etc.), the questions about how we relate to the rest of humanity is just as important as those about how we relate to deity.

Is there an abbey structure in place, for example, for nuns of Loki? Do they have a rule to follow and a Mother Superior to answer to? (From the pagan nuns I have been in contact with, there is not a Mother Superior and they instead have a council of sorts where decisions are made upon debate, discussion, and collective discernment of the will of deity. And these nuns are godspouses as well. Because I don't wish to have their arrangement be the model of what I am proposing, I will not elaborate on it.) And there are the people who would be like pagan anchorites in the world, living a life of solitude and meditation and communion with their gods. Who helps them? Because the Christian anchorites were supported by the faith community and under the direction of spiritual advisers who were trained in their faith's precepts to high degree (theoretically) and the needs they could not meet on their own were provided for them. (In antiquity, there were anchorites who lived in a walled chamber of a monastery with a small window whereby they could communicate with others and receive the necessities for life (such as food and drink) but otherwise were completely isolated from the world.)

These are important questions to find answers to. If we can not find answers, we must make them or happenstance and folly will make them for us. As a student of history, happenstance and folly are not the gentlest of teachers and can lead to utter ruin, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. So, I ask my friends who are clergy within the Filianic/Déanic community specifically, what are the answers to:

• What is the signs of spiritual authority? How do we recognize them?
• What are the responsibilities that come with spiritual authority? What are the duties required of clergy and they who are avowed to a devotional relationship with Dea?
• What are the things that are in this world they have authority over? What in the realm of spirit do they have authority over? Where are the limits of this authority?
• Are all clergy equal despite differing traditions/sects of worship? 

Thoughts and Ponderings.

Hello dear Reader,

I have been unwell. I'm actually going to be calling my physician in a little bit to make an appointment to deal with a possible sinus infection. Other aspects of my health are not very well at the moment either. It is making quite a few things challenging.

I woke up today with the hope that today would be the day things turned around. Instead, I found news reports about the massacre in Las Vegas and more details about transgender children being abused. Grief is a reasonable response to such things, especially when you do have a fundamental love for life. I am, however, numb. It is not a pleasant sense of ennui that has been romanticized by certain people.

It is the horrible numbness that comes when you are burned and for a brief moment you can't tell if you feel as though you are freezing or on fire. It is the numbness that comes when you have learned that someone you dearly love is dying and you are helpless to do anything to even bring them comfort. Or the numbness as you witness a tragedy so great it alters the lives of even the people who come in passing contact with it.

Some would have us say that we have seen evil and it lies in the hearts of humanity (some would say men specifically, I refuse to because all genders have this capacity). The faith of Filianism and Déanism tells us that evil is the fruit of that which is not of Dea. It tells us of the Dark Queen and her servants who function in much of the mythos as the Satan figure does within modern Christianity. We are told that we are fundamentally good, though flawed in our existence in this world because we are at some distance from Dea - who is the source of and the one who sustains all good.

When I take these things into my mind and contemplate the deeds of myself and others, I find myself troubled. The fundamental question as to the nature of evil gets more challenging when we move out of the rarified realms of pure philosophical thought. We find ourselves asking if the person who steals a loaf of bread is wrong? And if they continue to be wrong because they are doing so to feed themselves or another. The list of conditional modifiers that can be hung upon just one simple question makes the question of evil murky and hard to resolve, even when the simplest answer is that it is from that which is not of Dea.

I look to Loki, a much maligned god of the Norse pantheon who many would treat as the Asatrur version of the 'Devil'. His answer has always been that evil is only evil to they who are harmed by it. It is an answer that many would take great offense over. At one point, I did as well. Then I looked at the horrific things done for the sake of the equally nebulous concept of good. Murder is murder, regardless if it is done on the street over a pair of shoes or an imagined insult or upon the field of battle. When one kills another, it is murder. The value of the act comes from the context, which is more often than not defined by the mindset of the parties involved. (This is one of Loki's favorite arguments by the way that our perception of good and evil are relative.)

Thus, I find myself drawn to the mysteries of physics. Einstein had some fairly definite things to say about frames of reference and how they influenced everything. Such things could be applied to philosophical or theological questions. But, at what point do we find that we must say that the value judgments are meaningless because they have no direction they move in at the speed of light? It is a question that keeps coming to mind of late.

Is there good or evil? Well, yes. But they are only recognizable in context. That which is good to me may prove evil to you and entirely valueless to someone else. Thus, I question, is there some absolute value that good and evil can be calculated against. Some manner of spiritual equivalent to lumniferous aether or something else that we can gauge good and evil against. In my years of struggling with this question, I have no answer. It only brings up greater questions. And the biggest of them is why people do these horrible things.

The only answer I have been able to come up with is because they think it good and right and proper. And when considered from my frame of reference, they are insane. And the question about why the gods permit such things are even more difficult. It is, however, something to discuss on another day.

May there be healing for all who have been harmed this day.

Prayer with Intent.

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I previously discussed the intersection of prayer and our deeds. Looking back over my notes on that entry, I realized, I didn't do a very good job of explaining the role intention played in prayer, hence this evening's post.

Now, many people come to prayer and think of it as a time to as the Divine for things, to praise the Divine, or possibly confess their shortcomings. These modes of prayer are indeed all forms of prayer but they all come to the session with different forms of intention. In prayer, intent plays a much larger role than your words.[1]

When one sits down to pray, the come to the session with an objective in mind. That objective is the intention behind their prayer session. Perhaps the most common intention behind prayer is asking the Divine for help realizing things and making changes to situations. Sometimes the prayers come out when we don't consciously intend them to, but that deeper intention behind the sudden prayers is what moves it forward. (Anyone who has been stuck in a highway that resembled a parking lot more than a roadway has at least once or twice asked the Divine to move traffic along so we can get to where we're going. It may not be a conscious or a formalized prayer, but "Gods, please, just move will you?" is just as much of a prayer for Divine assistance as a long, stylized prayer intoned in the fashion of the ancestors. I suspect that it is also a lot more like what the ancestors prayed too.)

The act of prayer when it is done with thoughtlessness is something of a mixed bag of results. If the prayer being said is just something done off the cuff out of some sense of 'oh, I must do this and then dust the television.' is not going to have quite the same punch as one that is said with focused intent on the act of praying and what is the goal for the prayer session. This is because there is less mental focus behind it and less intention. When that unfocused prayer is given, it is much like a roulette wheel of results, left entirely up to the whim of the Divine.

Sometimes, however, a prayer said habitually has a strong effect. This is because the prayer moves from being a focused single unit of intention to being a vehicle for a larger focus of intention. An excellent example of this is the Rosary. The individual prayers are ones that can be said habitually with not a great deal of mental or emotional effort behind the respective prayers. Collected together, they become a tool where by one focuses their intent, their mental and emotional effort towards the larger goal of that prayer session. Thus, the individual prayers become like building blocks for the larger focus. It is the ritual of the collection of prayers said in that fashion that moves the magical/spiritual energy towards the Divine.

Prayer can be a very powerful thing. All that limits you is yourself and how much effort you put behind it. Also, remember, that the Divine is highly inclined to help those who help themselves and do some leg work to help manifest the prayer's results.

Hiatus & Equinox.

Hiatus is the time of non-time in the Filianic calendar. At this time, the holy Daughter, who was slain on Kala (the day before, and the final day of the month of Moura), hangs upon the pillar that passes through all worlds. It could be likened to the time of mourning that Christians observe in honor of the time that Jesus hung upon the cross and then was laid in the tomb before his resurrection. This traditionally in the Filianic and Déanic communities is a time of deep reflection and a moment when all things come to a brief halt to await the resurrection of the Daughter. (This year, it comes on the day after the Equinox. Other years, it is the day of the Equinox, but it always falls on the 21st of March in the Northern Hemisphere and on the 21st of September in the Southern Hemisphere.)

Thinking about the future and discussing future events is generally considered taboo in this religious tradition. As someone who practices a blended faith, I try to adhere to this taboo, but there are things that simply force me to break it. A fine example is the fact that I have mundane things such as doctor's appointments and bills that I need to address. This requires some future planning. So, I focus my efforts on attending to only matters that require my attention at this time, so if future planning is done it is only what is most essential. Like others of the Filianic faith tradition, I cover my icons of the Daughter with a veil. I use a dark blue cloth, as it is the color associated with Moura and mourning. Technically, this is a time for mourning the death of the Daughter. I also try to keep my clothing simple and I generally go with darker colors.

It is also the Equinox, which is celebrated in Wicca and much of the Norse/Germanic based faith traditions as Ostara. Rituals are done to honor Ostara, the goddess of Spring and fertility. It is also considered the time when Freyr returns to the lands of the living after having been slain at the time of the autumn harvest. From this perspective, today is an auspicious day. Though there is snow on the ground right now, the sap is running through the trees and I have heard robins out singing when I was taking a walk this morning.

I sit here pulled in two very different directions today. The blessing here is the fact that the celebration of Ostara is not tied to a specific date on the calendar and the astronomical equinox does not fall on the same date every year (because precession is a thing and such), so I am not bound by a hard and fast date to observe Ostara and the equinox. I am going to use this to my advantage this year. I am spending time today treating life as though seeds are germinating beneath the soil and I am in a sacred period of waiting. Tomorrow, when the Filianic celebration of Eastre comes, I will celebrate Ostara at the same time. I am going to give my children some sweets for the day. I got that ball started early today with some donuts. I will also be invoking blessings on my seeds and such.

Today, I am going to prepare my 'soil' and wait. I am going to do my best to focus on what I need right now and address that. While I had wanted to have a few projects done by today, I recognize that life chose otherwise. And today I must accept this. Tomorrow, things will begin anew. I will be renewed. So, today, I will tidy things up and do my best to be as focused on the present and my needs as I can be. This day is a day of necessity and addressing what I must let go to proceed forward into a healthy new year.

Regardless of what ever festivals you celebrate at this time, may your and yours be blessed with happiness and health.

♥

Amity Day: Love is Love is Love.

Today is commonly known as Valentine's Day. It is the feast day of the Catholic saint named Valentinus. The stories surrounding this saint all agree that his death was decidedly unpleasant (one variation included his being beaten with clubs and beheaded before getting dumped into a shallow grave before being disinterred and reinterred elsewhere by the Christian faithful). The general reasons for this man's death usually are cited as performing marriages for Roman soldiers who had been forbidden from marrying and his association with Christians. Precise details about this era are not as strong as one would like because there are multiple individuals known as Valentinus who died for approximately the same reasons. This is additionally confused with the very varied writings that made up medieval hagiography.

Within the Filianic/Déanic communities, February 14th (also known as Brighe 23rd according to the sacred calendar of these faiths) has become known as Amity day. This is the day where love is celebrated in its many splendid forms. Where as the secular over-culture that we are generally aware of focuses upon romantic love (of a very specific variety) on this day, the Filianic/Déanic communities have a broader perspective. Indeed, it is often found that a focus upon Platonic and familial love in these communities. It is not that romantic love is unimportant as much as Platonic and familial relationships more closely mirror the ideal relationship between worshipers and Dea.

There are many in the wider pagan community that honor this as the feast of Lupercalia. Lupercalia is an ancient fertility festival that is reckoned to have been celebrated at approximately the same time of the year. The festival is historically associated with wolves and the deity known as Faunus (who is considered a Roman cognate to the Hellenic deity Pan). The focus of this festival has historically been the celebration of fertility, the appeasement of unfriendly spirits, the increase of health and vitality in the community, and purification of the city. One would only presume that along with the focus upon purification of the city, there was perhaps a parallel focus upon purification within one's own home.

Today, the 14th of February is treated as a day of sanctioned debauchery along certain lines. The indulgence of people in extravagant purchases to display their affection, in having sweet treats, and physical displays of affection is so heavily entrenched in the over-culture of the United States that it seems some sort of strange irony considering how many people are judgmental of others for such indulgences at other times of the year. The ideas that there is a certain standard of behavior that is required to observe this day properly creates an incredible amount of stress and anxiety for many, many people.

There are people who are extremely upset that they do not have a lover to dote upon them. There are people who are extremely anxious that their displays of affection are not extravagant. The combination of the stereotypes of what a 'good Valentine's day' looks like and the general lack of reasonable allowances for people to express their affections in a manner that is most comfortable for them turns a day that could have been one for deep spiritual and emotional connection in to a day of anxiety, stress, and general misery for many people.

Thus, one is encouraged to focus more upon love as a concept at large rather than a specific manifestation, with the exception of how those manifestations enrich one's life. Taking time on amity day to focus upon acts of self care as healthy self love is just as valid as taking one's sweetheart out to dinner. Some would dare say that that moment of self care is even more important right now. Focus upon love as that all encompassing wonder that moves through the world.

Superstition and Religion (Part 1)

Superstition and religion have a symbiotic and complementary relationship within the context of modern American Witchcraft. There are many practices that can be upheld as similar between religion and superstition. The act of lighting a candle which one has dedicated for a specific intent is a fine example. How this act is viewed within the social setting determines if it is stated to be a superstitious or a religious one. Prior to the rise of modern American Witchcraft, the only setting where it would be viewed as a religious action is within a Christian church (and this would vary according to the denomination of Christianity espoused). The lighting and blowing out of the birthday cake candle(s) would be categorically a superstitious act, perhaps some vestige of an ancient rite within the cultural memory of the people.

The birthday cake’s wishing candle, and other superstitions within the United States (primarily) were frequently decried as things that the irrational manⁱ would believe in. Following the rise of the Industrial Revolution and the development of a more urban cultural identity within the United States, many of the folk practices and beliefs began to be held in contempt. As such, they were referred to as superstitions for the sake of denigrating their prominence in the culture and to make room for a new set of beliefs. As such, things such as the belief in ghosts and the minor vulgar rituals, such as turning the statue of St. Anthony to face the wall until a lost item is found, went underground and disappeared from the surface of the cultural identity of the United States. The main reason for this happening was that people did not want to appear out dated or foolish in the eyes of their peers.

Even now, one will find that an openly professed belief in ghosts (for example) is generally scorned and mocked by the majority. Rephrase this belief into the context of the colloquialⁱⁱ version of Christianity that’s ubiquitous and you find it is a belief in angels rather then ghosts, which is now more of a religious then superstitious belief. In the early 1960s, modern Witchcraft was introduced to the United States by Raymond Buckland. Initially, he disseminated information via word of mouth. At roughly the same time, Zusanna Budapest (more commonly known as Z. Budapest) began to disseminate information via word of mouth.

In roughly ten years, both of these individuals burst onto the cultural scene. Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft quickly became the cornerstone of the voluminous body of work surrounding modern American Witchcraft. Z. Budapest and her coven rocketed to something akin to stardom with their involvement in the Feminism movement. It was within the context of Witchcraft that the folk practices that had been decried as superstition began to take on a more legitimate appearance. (Russell, p.172) As the glamour and celebrity status of these and other Witch authors grew, the concept of Witchcraft as a religion grew.

Witchcraft as a religion, rather then a set of superstitions, provided a place where one could openly express the suppressed elements of the cultural identity of the United States. For this reason, it flourished and multiple elements from various sub-cultures began to become present as well. As a result, many different Traditionsⁱⁱⁱ were established and other occult practices and belief systems began to become apparent. Public works discussing practices such as Louisiana Voodoo and folk practices began to be produced targeted for the common man rather then academia. This broad spectrum of information quickly set the stage for Witchcraft to receive a minor degree of approval in the United States as a religion. Aside from the readily available information, individuals who had been engaged in covert practice of these marginalized belief systems and practices found it a safer environment to publicly express themselves on these topics.

If one looks at the seminal works of the entire modern Witchcraft movement, one finds that these early texts were of an academic tone. Many of the early modern Witchcraft authors worked to retain the apparent authenticity that came with academia. Using Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft as a representative of these early texts, one finds the book is organized much like a work book. The chapters are organized into a combination of lessons and exercises. In Buckland’s work, it is apparent that he drew a great deal of material from folk practices that he found about him, just as Gerald Gardner and others before him in England had.

These folk practices, such as not walking under a ladder, were part of the common knowledge of earlier generations and the efforts of authors such as Buckland to place them into a religious context served to legitimize the remaining inclinations towards ‘superstition’ present for many people. Within academia, much of this work was met with great excitement. These modern Witchcraft authors were drawing from anthropological studies and similar academic endeavors to recreate ancient beliefs upon the basis of vestigial elements of practices that linger in the superstitions and folk lore of the region. When these authors presented apparent evidence supporting the theories they referenced in their works, this strengthened the legitimacy of their claims in the eye of the common man.

As legitimacy was acquired from the academic connection, the number of adherents to the modern Witchcraft movement began to rise significantly. From this rise came a development of communication between many of the different groups. As a result, the community of modern Witchcraft began to diversify. With a boost in the number of people looking at the issues and bringing their unique perspectives to the discussion, the distinguishing line between superstition and religion within modern Witchcraft began to blur to some extent.

Given the highly individualistic nature and cellular organization of modern Witchcraft, as well as the lack of any formal hierarchy structure, a great deal of the question determining the difference between superstition and religion became quite difficult to ascertain. It quickly became apparent in the period of time between the 1970s and the 1980s that the practices of a single Witch were of equal validity as those of an entire Tradition. From this point, there was found not only a great deal of diversification but also the resurgence of superstition within the context of modern Witchcraft in the United States.

Among the ways that superstition and religion can be distinguished is the way the rituals and associated behaviors are explained. Superstition often gives little, if any, explanation for why the action is carried out. Generally, a superstitious action is reactionary to a situation and has little connection to the event it is used as a reaction to or the intended result. With a religious act, the explanation may seem insubstantial but there is an explanation which can be placed into the context of the cosmology and theology of the given religion. Sometimes a superstitious act can be confused with a religious one due to ritualism. Ritualism is an over emphasis upon a series of actions and the elements that form a ritual rather then the objective of the ritual. Ritualism can be described as a subset of superstition or an intermediate point between these two concepts which are often upheld as opposites.

Ritualism and superstition within modern Witchcraft became increasingly prevalent due to a sudden influx of Seekers and Neophytes into the subculture. These individuals, eager to discuss and explore their newfound belief system reached out to each other thru the different means of communication available to them. Volumes of information were made available during the publishing boom that occurred at the same time the Internet started to become a cultural force. The sudden proliferation of information about Witchcraft resulted in an increased awareness of this movement by the culture at large, as seen by the rise of more mainstream references to Witchcraft, generally in a negative sense as proscribed by the old cultural stereotypes which continued to echo in the more urbane modern society that Witchcraft was reemerging into.

This created a degree of tension between the established practitioners and individuals who were seeking to learn about modern Witchcraft. As a result, many of the Witches who had sufficient information to adequately teach others in the more ‘traditional’ method of taking a Seeker into the coven and educating them personally refused to do so. Fears of legal reprisal and persecution forced these Witches to become extremely selective of whom they taught. Unfortunately, the volume of people seeking information greatly outstripped the number of teachers who were made available.

As a direct result of this, the Seekers were looking at the various published and publicly shared information available and attempting to educate themselves. At this point in time, ritualism became increasingly apparent. Ritualism was an influence upon the introductory phase of the development of modern Witchcraft in America but it was largely confined to the Neophyte Witches of the covens. With the population boom of Seekers and Neophytes, many failed to understand the language of modern Witchcraft and how elements of Witchcraft such as magic worked in the worldview of the belief system.

With the increased ability for Witches to network and communicate with each other, there came a rapid dissemination of poorly understood ideas and poorly communicated concepts. This ushered in a new development within the relationship between the religion of modern Witchcraft and the superstitions surrounding it. Superstition had additionally come to incorporate the flawed understandings of the basic concepts of modern Witchcraft. A fine example of this is the supposed animated aspects of a Tarot deck. A Tarot deck is a pack of 72 illustrated cards used for the card game Triumphs and also as a divination tool. Within the community of modern Witches and occultists, Tarot decks are primarily used as divination tools. Many of the second generation Witches explain the Tarot deck’s effectiveness as a divination tool in terms of the deck’s personality and moods, ascribing to the cards a semi-sentient quality. In concurrence with this have arisen many minor rituals to appease the semi-sentient pack of cards and assure a favorable result in working with them. Unfavorable or confusing readings are ascribed to a displeased Tarot deck rather then potential difficulties upon the part of the diviner.

The idea that inanimate objects can have human personality qualities is one that perpetuates fairly widely across the pagan community online. It is the conflating of animism with superstition that results in the premise that a pack of cards is angry with a person for not using them more frequently and this is why they are giving an unfavorable result. Animism, the premise that all things that exist are endowed with a spirit of some sort, is an ancient belief system that has seen some resurgence in the West. It is confused with superstition that says that the Tarot deck that is stored on a low shelf is acquiring unfavorable aspects versus the one stored on a higher shelf. As a result, the person with the Tarot deck will say that the deck's spirit is angered with them for its placement on the shelf when in actuality the reader is coming to the session with their internal compass for reading set to anticipate unfavorable results due to where it is sitting when they come to collect it for use.

Disentangling superstition and animism is part of the process of freeing modern pagan practitioners from the paradigm of fear that tends to plague them. While many religions are build upon a basis of fear, which feeds into superstition, growth within faith comes from resolving the fears and acquiring knowledge of the deeper truths of the religion in question. An enormous mystic tradition can be found in faiths  all around the world that seeks to divorce superstition from belief. When superstition is carefully excised from faith practices and the associated thought forms of a given religion, the practitioner moves into a deeper, more intimate and more deliberate relationship with their faith.

In part two, I will cover additional material regarding the interplay between superstition and modern pagan belief systems.

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i I am using the term ‘man’ in the sense of referring to all of humanity in this sentence. I will be using this convention for the sake of clarity and convenience.

ii‘Colloquial Christianity’ is the vulgar form of Christianity as found in the mainstream culture of the United States. This secular form of Christianity is divorced of any theological teachings and holds only a few rudimentary vestiges of the religion it has bastardized. Among them being the celebration of the nativity of Jesus, the inclination against working on Sunday, and the pink and plastic amalgamation of the solemnity and celebratory aspects of Easter. Colloquial Christianity lacks any but the barest remote resemblance to the faith system it has grievously abused and repackaged into a commercial product. In light of this, however, one must recognize that colloquial Christianity is pervasive and often argued by many to be the state religion of the United States. It does have a dramatic impact upon the culture and deserves to be recognized as the culture shaping force it is.

iii The term ‘Tradition’ is used within the Witchcraft community and the Neo-pagan community as an alternative for the word ‘sect.’

Originally Published 2012 on Helium under the pen name Deb M.

Prayer Beads: Chaplet of the Janyati (Part 2)

In my last post, I talked a bit about the origins of this chaplet. I also pointed out the similarities between the chaplet and the rosary. The structure of the chaplet is smaller than that of a rosary. Where the five decade rosary most frequently used has sixty beads, the chaplet has thirty three. They are used in a similar fashion. Many of the prayers used for the rosary can be used for the chaplet.

The most basic prayers are:

• Statement of faith (some call this the creed)
• Glory to Dea
• The Daughter Prayer
• Our Mother
• Hail Marya
• Hail Holy Queen

The orthodox Filianic prayers can be found at A Chapel of Our Mother God.

My rendition of these prayers can be found starting on page 127 of my book Rose Petals: A Filianic Psalter. I will also present them below if you don't have a copy on hand or easily accessible to you. They are recited in a specific order that leads the person who is praying into a mild state of entrancement which facilitates a sense of connection with Dea and aids in our efforts to communicate with her. Words flow less from the head and more from the heart at this point.

When one is in the midst of learning to pray the rosary, it is good not to place expectations for high and mighty things to happen. In the beginnings of engaging in this form of discipline, it is good to allow yourself to make mistakes and focus upon learning the simple ritual of this style of prayer. As you move from being able to recite the prayers by rote and then find yourself able to engage in contemplation, then you may be able to start the practice of meditating upon various sacred mysteries. Until you have met these two milestones, it is sufficient that you put in an honest effort to learn the prayers and spend time mindfully in Dea's presence.

The first step in saying the rosary prayers or the chaplet using these basic prayers is to take the medallion in hand and declare your statement of faith. After this, you move to the next bead and recite the Glory to Dea and the Our Mother. If you are using a standard five decade rosary, there are three beads next. Upon these beads, recite the Hail Marya. After these three beads, there is the first Our Mother bead for the first decade. Here, you recite the Our Mother and declare the holy mystery you are meditating upon. With the chaplet, after the medallion (also known as the terminal) there is the single inviatory bead. Upon this bead, you would recite the Glory to Dea, the Our Mother, and Hail Marya.

The first Our Mother bead of the first group encountered, we then proceed to the Hail Marya beads. (On a Catholic Christian rosary, the Our Mother beads are known as the Paternoster beads and the Hail Marya beads as the Ave beads. Because the Paternoster beads derive their name from the Our Father prayer that is said upon them and the Ave beads derive their name from the Hail Mary prayers said upon them, which in Latin is Ave Maria.) For each of the ten beads in the decade, a Hail Marya is recited. On the chaplet, it would be upon each of the seven beads in the 'week.' When reaching the conclusion of the first grouping of beads, it is time to recite the Glory to Dea and the Daughter prayer. In many cases, these prayers are said holding the thread in the space between the Hail Marya beads and the Our Mother beads.

The next Mother bead starts the process of stating the Our Mother and then declare what mystery you are meditating on, if any. Proceed through the Hail beads in the same fashion as done for the first group. When you reach the end of the final group, you will recite the Glory to Dea and the Daughter prayer before moving to the medallion. On the medallion, you would pray the closing prayer. In most cases, if you are simply praying the basic rosary (be it upon the five decade rosary or the four week chaplet), that prayer would be Hail Holy Queen.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*    The Prayers *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

1. Statement of Faith
   I believe in Dea; the Mother Marya, the Daughter Anna, and Deam Mysterium, three who are One and have no equal. I believe that my soul was create in the beginning and that I turned from grace^[1]. I believe that the virgin Daughter, born of the virgin Mother, lived, suffered unto death, and rose again by virtue of Her Mother's love. I believe that the Daughter shall save all souls and lead them into Heaven. I believe in Dea.


2. Glory to Dea
   Glory to the Mother, the Daughter, and Deam Mysterium, three who are one. Glory be upon You, as it was in the beginning and shall be at the end of all worlds.
   
   
3. Daughter Prayer
   Oh My Lady, forgive us our errors, rescue us from the harsh winds of werde. Lead all souls into Heaven, especially those in most need of Your mercy.


4. Our Mother
   Our Mother, who is in Heaven, holy is Your name. Your realm come. Your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our errors as we forgive those who err against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.


5. Hail Marya
   Hail Marya, full of grace, blessed are You and blessed is your holy Daughter Anna. Holy Marya, Mother-God, stay with us now and at the hour of our death.


6. Hail Holy Queen
   Hail Holy Queen, Lady of Mercy. We call to You, poor lost children of Earth. To You we send our weeping, sighs, and laments in this world. Turn, most gracious Lady, Your eyes of mercy towards us and after our exile, show us into the garden of Your Mother's love. Most sweet, clement, and loving Anna, pray for us and make us worth of Your redemption.


7. Closing Prayer
   Oh Marya, whose virgin Daughter has by her life, death, and resurrection delivered us from eternal death, grant us, we beg, that by meditating upon the mysteries of the most holy rosary that we may imitate what they contain nad obtain that which they promise through Anna, our Lady.

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1. The turning from grace is a complex thing. In some Filianic/Déanic communities, it is something akin to the Christian doctrine of original sin. In others, it is an act in search of wisdom and greater knowledge. I ascribe to the second position. It is not a shameful thing as much as an act undertaken to learn more that had unforseen consequences. Errors made in ignorance and upon mistaken information are not shameful, which the turning from grace could be considered to be one. The exile that is referenced in many prayers to the Daughter is not one imposed by Dea but self-imposed by the soul that turned from grace.

Prayer Beads: Chaplet of the Janyati (part 1)

I have written a few previous posts about the Filianic/Déanic rosary. This is patterned after the Catholic rosary. Most practitioners pray the Filianic/Déanic rosary and meditate up on the Five Mysteries of the faith. From what I can tell, I appear to be the only one who also will pray an expanded version of this, focusing upon fifteen elements that comprise these Mysteries. This, however, is not the only version of prayer beads available to people who wish to pray in a fashion that encourages focus upon Dea.

In the latter portion of the 20^th century, another form of rosary was developed in the West. The Anglican chaplet (also known as the Anglican prayer beads or the Anglican rosary) came into practice in the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. It is a modification of the Catholic rosary and the Orthodox Christian prayer rope, wherein thirty three beads are divided up into five major groups. The first group is the terminal (which is a cross most often for the Anglican chaplet) and the inviatory bead. Upon these two beads, the opening prayers are recited. The next division encounter is the first cruciform bead and the first week, a group of seven beads. There are three other weeks with a cruciform bead dividing each group. The fourth week ends where it meets the first cruciform bead.

This style of prayer beads has become relatively popular through out the Protestant Christian communities that are inclined towards this style of worship. Where the Catholic rosary focuses upon the mysteries associated with the events of the life of Jesus and his mother, the Anglican chaplet is used as a tool for counting prayers. There has, not yet, arisen a liturgical structure to focus contemplation and meditation beyond this point. Individual focus whilst engaged in this exercise varies widely.

The Anglican chaplet style beads is also well suited for a devotee of Dea's use. The division of the seven beads in each 'week' of the chaplet lends itself naturally for contemplation of the seven Janyati. The cruciform beads not only connect to the Fora but also to the four regular seasons of the Filianic/Déanic calendar. The fifth season, Moura, can be counted on the inviatory bead or upon the first cruciform bead when it is reached again after the fourth week of beads is counted.

The most basic prayers of devotion¹ for this are identical to those of the rosary. On the terminal bead, for example, a declaration of one's creed would be made, followed by a recitation of the Our Mother prayer and the Gloria prayer. The cruciform beads would have similar prayers to the beads that divide the decades on the rosary. The week beads would have similar prayers to those said on the individual beads of each decade. Upon the conclusion of the final week, the prayers said at the conclusion of the rosary could be said as a way to finish the prayer session.

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1. The rosary prayers of Filianism/Déanism do have some variants between each sect. I will be posting my interpretation of the major prayers in another post soon. If you examine the prayers presented by A Chapel of Our Mother God, you will see the most basic format used.

Silence.

We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.
~ Elie Wiesel (1928 - 2016)

One may question why I am opening my post this evening with a quote from the late Elie Wiesel. It is timely for many reasons. Obviously there is a lot going on in politics and, unfortunately, you can not make the wall between politics and faith absolutely impenetrable. It seems that a great deal of trouble comes from the mingling of those two systems. I try to avoid that by doing my best to keep my posts here free from political overtones.

I, however, can not maintain my silence any longer. I am not speaking on political topics for the sake of gaining readership or swaying anyone to my personal political positions. There is not some ulterior motive to advance any one person's political race here. I make this preface for the rest of this post for one very simple reason, I want to be completely clear that what I present below is a complete position in its entirety and it is not some form of subterfuge or manipulation to win at some kind of political game here.

I am sure that you, gentle Reader, have observed the rising tide of xenophobia here in the US. I wish I could say that this was a new phenomenon and that it will pass away as quickly as the whims of fashion declared the mullet to be hideous. It sadly is something that has a long history in this nation and in the many nations of the world. You can not go to a single country and find a place completely free of this form of tribalism. Similar forms of tribalism, such as racism, are equally widespread. It is an unfortunate fact of human social structures and has been present for pretty much as long as humans have congregated together in any form of social structure. (Anyone who would argue that familial units do not engage in tribalism, I invite you to consider the iconic case of the Hatfields and McCoys here in the US or Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.)

While it is tempting to say that the xenophobic commentary that is about us is just people speaking from irrational emotion, this is a false argument because it decries emotion as some how inferior and is also a particularly insidious form of gas-lighting. As someone who believes that emotions are valid and that gas-lighting is one of the most abhorrent forms of psychological abuse, I adamantly reject this rather lazy false argument. And, to be honest, it is a lazy man's argument because it glosses over the complex things that give rise to these kinds of things.

Prominent members of the community have come out and said things that are xenophobic. I can not stand beside their messages. There are notable members of the community that have said things that are racist. I can not support their messages. And there are people who have been upheld as leaders or would be upheld as leaders who have said similarly reprehensible things. It is particularly problematic when people who are respected within the community, within ANY community, come out and state things that run contrary to what they would have us believe they are seeking.

When someone is demanding tolerance for their beliefs, their racial profile, or their practices, it is at best nonsensical and counter-productive for them to reject said tolerance for others upon the basis of these things as general statements. One who insists that their worship practices should be respected as sacred and protected from persecution, for example, should not call for the persecution of others on the basis of their worship practices. Yes, oppose the practices that you have reason to believe threatens the welfare of the common good. But do so in a manner that is not going to make you a hypocrite. Provide logical arguments that illustrate the actual threat that these practices present. And make sure that this threat is something more than the displeasure of your specific deity of choice, because that is the same as saying that someone in a restaurant can't have that slice of cake for dessert because you are on a diet.

The health and welfare of your spirit is not based in the relationship that someone else has with your deity. To argue this is the case robs you of your agency and slights your deity, maligning them as incapable of handling individuals on their own. I believe the ancient Greek term for that insult to deity is hubris and virtually all faiths of the world agree that this is an unwise thing to engage in. Indeed, I would suggest that you, dear Reader, should consider the things you would say on the behalf of your deity with great care because it does have an impact upon your relationship with your deity.

Now, thus far, my commentary here can pretty much be applied for everything. It is all somewhat general and, while timely, does not address the specific reason why I am posting this evening. I am unsure how to proceed, to be completely honest. Part of my uncertainty comes out of the fact that I look at the situation and see just how complex it is. I have watched it develop and I have hesitated to say anything before now because of the complexity that is rooted in the fact that I can not fully understand what motivates another person, that a great deal of emotion is involved here by all parties (myself included), and these matters are not as simple as words make them sound. Still, I can not maintain my silence any longer.

I am a lover of Loki. Loki is known as the Lie-Smith. He is also known as the Speaker of Unpleasant Truth. Loki is greatly maligned and disliked by many for the former and found himself tortured in horrific ways for the latter, if you go by the generally accepted lore. As much as people who despise UPG are going to protest what I'm about to say, Loki's made it pretty clear to me that he's got a lot at stake right now in the state of the world. Odin isn't the only one who plots and plans, y'all.

I am going to put my neck on the proverbial chopping block and say it as eloquently as I can:

Islamophobia is wrong. It is as much a case of spitting in the face of the Gods as pissing on their icons. Racism, xenophobia, misandry, misogyny, and the 'hate crusade' against LGBT+ people is as well. There is no 'love the sinner, hate the sin.' Especially in the Norse/Germanic faiths. It is literally a foreign concept.

Tribalism by itself is not necessarily a bad thing. It can lead to great good. It encourages us to work together and be better humans. But the manifestation that leads to the abhorrent things I mentioned above, it must be rooted out and crushed beneath our collective heel. Because these things are a rejection of one of the most basic tenets of the Norse/Germanic faiths. We are called to be Hospitable to they who come to us.

Hospitality is not telling that man with the skin of a different color than yours that he deserves to die for it. Hospitality is not telling people of a different faith that they are a blight upon the Earth on the basis of the actions of a small, radicalized sect. It is not working to deprive people of their rights on the basis of the fact that you are uncomfortable with how they identify, dress, or what they do in their bedroom.

Now, one may ask, how do I know that these things are violating the tenet of Hospitality?

We wouldn't do them if the Gods showed up on our doorstep. If we knew that that man with the olive colored skin and the Arabic features was Oðinn, we would not scorn him on the basis of those features. If we knew that the person who is of a gender presentation that didn't lend itself to immediate and comfortable classification within the overculture's system was Freyr, we would not scorn him. If we were to engage in such behavior, we are committing hubris.

How? We are saying that the Gods appear to the world in a manner that we are comfortable with and is in accordance with our personal preferences. I may be a bit mad. I will concede that point. I, however, am not so mad as to say that I have a direct line on how the Gods present to the world nor that my sense of comfort and aesthetics has even the remotest influence upon what They do. I am sensible enough to know that I don't begin to know a damn thing about what the Gods do and that my efforts to influence Their will is about as powerful as Cnut's command that the sea does not make his feet wet when he sits at the shoreline.

If the Gods walk the worlds, it is possible that any person you encounter is one of them in disguise. There is a reason why in the Hávamál, one is advised to be respectful and cautious in their dealings towards all people. One is that the Gods may be before you in the flesh and one is that any you meet may be a friend or a foe after but a few words. If the All-Father thought it necessary to advise us to be cautious in our dealings and our words, what folly do we commit when we are rash?

I understand that a great deal of fear and anger motivates the negative aspects of tribalism. I understand that it is an exceptionally difficult thing to battle these emotions. As someone who struggles with Bipolar, I engage in this struggle on a personal level just about every day. I truly do comprehend how these feelings can spur us to rash speech. I have made errors based upon the clouded thinking that comes from the grip of these emotions. I also recognize that when I have made these errors, I must attempt to resolve the problems created and take responsibility for my actions because that is the honorable way to conduct myself.

I ask you, gentle Reader, to do your best to resist the temptation to succumb to fear and anger. Do not let them rule your speech and deed because you will be like a horse that is running in darkness over uncertain ground. At some point, you will stumble and things will go horribly wrong, perhaps in an irrevocable fashion. If you must voice your fear and anger, do it somewhere that no ill will come of it. I keep a paper journal and I write in it for just this reason. If I feel that the work I have written is important, I come back to it when I am calmer and can view things from a more reasoned perspective. And I will ask those around me to look at it and consider if I am presenting things in a manner that is conducive to the world I seek to create.

Words have power. Use them wisely. In this age of the internet and instant communication, words are becoming a more powerful facet of our deeds. May it be that our deeds are honorable.

Now that I have done the work that my love Loki has set me to, let me close with the words of his brother.

Cattle die, kinsmen die,
thyself too soon must die,
one thing never, I ween, will die
fair fame of one who has earned.
Hávamál, Vs.75

Atrocity, Evil, and the Gods.

It is easy to believe in the goodness of the Gods when you are safe, comfortable, and operating under the assumption that you are secure in your position. When all is well, it is very, very easy to believe that humanity in inherently good and that all the spirits of the worlds are benevolent. It is a pleasant deception. For many, it is a deception that they operate under for a very long time. It is a kind of ignorance that people mistakenly believe is innocence. Thus, when they talk about a loss of innocence, they are talking about when this state of ignorance is rather abruptly ended.

Sometimes, it ends with a death of a beloved pet. Sometimes, it is the experience of having a taste of the exquisite cruelty that humanity can muster in your life. Or, perhaps, it is witnessing an atrocity of some sort. Humans are very good at tricking themselves into believing that the horrors that happen in the world are all things that can not happen to them because they happen 'far away' or to 'other people.' We can muddle along with that false assumption for a while but something will invariably come along and rip that blindfold off and force us to look at the uglier side of existence.

In theology and metaphysics, the question as to what is the nature of the world brings us to a place where we must define what is 'good' and what is 'evil.' The most basic definition of evil that can be found is suffering. Some may add modifiers to that definition and say that it is conditional suffering wherein it serves no purpose for the person suffering and can not be avoided. Others may add the modifier that it is suffering that is inflicted upon another person for no purpose. The additional things that get defined as 'evil' all are attached somehow to this root concept that it is unwanted, purposeless suffering that we can not avoid.

When we consider things like the causal cruelty of bigotry, it is quite possible to declare it is a form of evil. Looking at that which deprives others of life and well being, it is almost universally agreed that it is a form of evil. Great tragedy that brings grief, pain, and deprivation into the lives of they who are afflicted can be called evil in many cases. The question arises, however, what of those events that are not enacted by human hands? We can look at mass murder and most any person you would discuss this with would agree it is evil. When a large body of people die from disease, malnutrition due to famine, or some form of natural disaster, we find ourselves confronted with the question of "Are the Gods evil for allowing this to happen?" It is a question that comes up even when we consider the acts of atrocity committed by humanity.

The question of 'Why did the Gods allow this to happen?' is not an easy one to answer. I don't pretend to have the answers, only theories. And I acknowledge that my theories are incomplete and lack a great deal of information. To explore this question, though, we need to take a step back and look at what we are questioning. The assumption that is made when we ask why the Gods allowed something to happen is that the Gods have an influence over the event. From this belief, we find ourselves faced with a question: are the Gods omnipotent and do they have the ability to prevent these events from happening? If the answer is yes, the question arises as to why they allowed it. If the answer is no, then we are left to question what the extent of their ability to influence events may be.

These two positions are mutually exclusive, in some respects. Marcus Aurelius wrestles with this problem in his writings. So too did Buddha and many, many other ancient philosophers and spiritual teachers. Judeo-Christian thought argues that God is omnipotent, omniscent, and benevolent. From this argument, the question of evil demands that there is some sort of anti-God being that is the source of these deeds, hence the rise of the figure of the Devil.[1] Alternatively, it is possible to argue that the Gods are not omnipotent, omniscent, and/or benevolent. Many polytheist faiths present the Gods as having some sort of 'flaw' that limits their abilities in some fashion. From their limitations, the existence of evil arises as a confluence of failures, limitations, and deliberate choices by the Gods.

All of this is before you factor in the question of human free will. And this does not even begin to touch the question of predetermination, which is a rather squirrely subset to the free will question. For example, is the rise and fall of nations due to the will of the Gods or the ultimately chaotic, self-centered will of humanity.[2] Much of these questions are going to form the core of any religious worldview. It is good to examine them and consider them. I am beginning to wander away from the general purpose of this discussion, so I'm going to let that bit lie as it is.

No matter where you look, atrocity happens in the world. No matter where you look, there are tragedies unfolding that are both the fruit of human hands and natural forces. In some cases, the tragedies are especially horrific because it is a confluence of both factors. (Starvation in Latin America and the Caribbean is a good example of this, in my opinion. The problems with Zika and Malaria in South America are also good examples of how this comes together.) It is tempting to cast all of the responsibility for these things at the feet of the Gods or spirits of the worlds. Many people do, after all there is a reason why the Devil is a reviled figure. There is a problem with this approach, in my opinion, and that is we can not wash the blood off of our own hands in that fashion.

Far more evil is done by human hands than by the Gods or spirits in my opinion. The man who walked in to the Pulse in Orlando, FL and opened fire committed an act of evil. It is possible that this was done due to factors that he had no control over, I will allow for that. I suspect, however, the likelihood is far higher that he deliberately chose this deed. A person who kills because of a deliberate decision to do so that is made while of relatively sound mind is, in my opinion, far more morally culpable than the one who does so whilst laboring under some form of delusion.

When people ask 'where were the Gods?' and 'why didn't the Gods do anything?' it is my opinion that the Gods witnessed the act of mass murder and aided the people who kept a cool head and did what they could to keep others safe. It is my belief that the Gods enabled people to do the best they could in that situation. It is also my belief that the Gods are not responsible for resolving human cruelty and human evil. Nor are the spirits of the world. It is something that rests entirely within human hands and responsibility. It is easy to blame the Gods for evil deeds done by humanity. No one wants to admit that humans have the capacity for this monstrous behavior.

Until we can acknowledge this capacity for monstrosity, we will continue to blind ourselves to the stressors that create situations that encourage these behaviors. We will deny that the murderer did not act in a vacuum, because it is painful and distressing to see how one person's act of evil can arise within the supposedly civilized context of our own culture (in the case of what happened in Orlando). We will deny that such things are happening about us on a regular basis because we feel safer when we think it can not happen to us. The slaughter in Orlando is the responsibility of the man who pulled the trigger. He did commit an egregious act of evil. The Gods did not push him into this, though.

Is it possible that he was mislead by an 'evil God'? All things are possible, thus I must confess it may be the case. I do not think, however, that is the case. The accounts from those who knew this man all point to him having a history of violence and animosity towards the people he killed. It presents a picture of someone who decided to act on these feelings and in accordance with previous behaviors. It is my belief that most cases of evil deeds are done for this sort of reason.

It leads us to honestly question if humanity is indeed good at the root of their being or not. In watching children and learning something of how they think between my formal education and just observing them, I think that humanity is, at their core, morally neutral. I think we are socialized to behaviors that are considered good and civilized. I think we are taught how to do these things and behave in this fashion. It is my belief that the Gods are our teachers in as many respects as they are ones whom we depend on for the existence of reality, for our very selves. I think that civilization and the concept of 'good' is something they taught us. I also think that they are continuing to refine these concepts and helping us to hone our understanding of them.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

1. The concept of an anti-deity figure can be tracked through the history of monotheism to Zoroastrianism.

2. Humans are, from what I have noticed, generally self-centered, except for when they're not. They're chaotic and hard to predict, often choosing to act in a manner that, from a third party perspective, goes against their apparent well being and long term goals, except for when they're not. Human morality is hard to pin down and is influenced by such a vast number of factors, I honestly can not do the discussion any justice.