Friday, April 29, 2005

Blog-a-thon Question #2 from Ed

2. How did you get into Paganism?

This doesn't bother me to be asked, Ed, so no worries! In fact, you might be sorry you asked.

I was raised in a very New Age way. My mother had issues with organized religion (and later so did I for my own reasons)and she taught me more about choices and natural laws and forces of nature. I was always confused about my spiritual path and I think Mom was too. We never had a name or definition for it. We didn't understand it ourselves. I looked into different religions for answers and found I objected to them all. I began to think I was atheist, but I still had some sense that there was a higher power. EH was raised in a very Christian family and I tried to commit to Christianity for him. I went through bible study and found myself disagreeing with almost everything. I was apalled. I was pissed off the day I sat through a sermon holding a friend's hand while the pastor preached about how an adulterous husband made a sinner of his wife too (her husband had just left her.) Our daugher was christened and for me, that was the final straw. The pastor held my darling baby girl up in front of the congregation and spoke of how she was born in sin and would be washed clean. My perfect, angelic child? How dare he. My mother almost walked out of the church.

I stopped going.

I had a few instinctive tendencies which made me consider paganism. I found Lady Bridget many years ago and we met at a bookstore cafe. I explained to her what felt right and wrong to me and she felt I should learn more about Wicca. Lady Bridget is a High Priestess of a local coven of "witches". I studied under Lady Bridget for about a year formally and she taught me many incredible things. Even more wonderful, the spiritual lessons she divulged fit with what I felt was right to me. I learned meditation, divination, history, rituals, spellwork and healing. I don't walk around wearing crystals, chanting and turning folks into toads, but I know my way around a pentagram and can make some herbal remedies that have cured friends' ailments. I prefer the term pagan to witch because witchcraft, or Wicca is too trendy today and I don't want to be a part of a "trend". I truly believe it is the most beautiful religion and you'd be shocked at how much of Christianity is based on the pagan religion. It is, after all, the oldest religion. Every Christian holiday is a remixed version of a Pagan holiday. That fact alone makes me question Christianity.

I have great respect for all religions. I firmly believe there is some truth in them all and that they inspire people to a better life. But for me, this is a fit.

I believe in a higher power that is both male/female and good/evil. There must be balance in everything. I do not worship the devil - the devil is a Christian concept. Where we recognize that you must have balance, Christians separated the good and bad and gave the bad a name - "devil".

I follow the paths of the moon. I find magic all around me. I have eased pain through meditation. I truly have amazed people by whipping up a brew that cured some awful pain they had, but I recently had a wicked experience with that and will probably hesitate before trying it again. (Story for another time, but let's just say the Witches Law of 3x3 is nothing to sneeze at.)

I prefer to practice solitary, as for me it is a very private and intimate thing. I do not interact with covens, although I do sometimes attend gatherings for Sabbats. There is a church in my area that is used by multiple organizations for different faiths and they host wonderful gatherings. My favorite is The Witches Ball held at Halloween, of course.

No matter what religion you follow, there is something there to be respectful of. For you, it might be the power of prayer, while for me it could be meditation and harnessing energies in nature. Either way, we know amazing things can happen. I've seen and learned things that confirm my beliefs more than any sermon ever could.

This is not to say I agree with everything Pagan either. I am not a dramatic witch. I do not usually reveal this fact to people until they have known me for a very long time. I do not believe I can fly on a broom. The faith I follow is not entirely different from the Shamanistic practices of the American Indians.

So, am I a good witch or a bad witch? (I would say a little of both!)

Posted by Red :: 11:27 PM :: | ---------------------------------------