The oldest religion?

Earlier today, a discussion was started about what the oldest religion is. Interestingly, a few people said Buddhism was the oldest, but Buddhism came out of Hinduism. Hinduism was also a common answer, one some folks were very sure of, but Hinduism is only truly the oldest if you stop counting religions that fell out of practice. For example, the Egyptian pyramid texts are said to be the oldest religious texts in the world, so older than the Vedas, and yet we know that there were more religions that predated the pyramid texts.

Unfortunately, we'll likely never know what the actual oldest religion humans practiced was. All we can really do is speculate about what our most distant ancestors got up to, how their spirituality might have looked, perhaps it was shamanistic, animistic, but the truth is that information has been lost to time.

Home Again

Well, things have settled down a bit, and I'm back in my apartment, for a few days at least. My grandfather is finally up and about after his knee replacement, doing very well.

While at my grandparents' I was not only helping out with the household needs, but I was also swamped in work, and I came down with a head cold, so not too much time for other activities. But, I did manage to get the altar built!

It's not quite what I had in mind, but I figure I can always add to it as needed. It was quite the undertaking to haul the larger stones out to this spot. (It perhaps looks a bit taller than it is? It's meant to be knelt at.) There was a lot of sweat, some blood, and... well not tears, but germs, from coughing all over them. So, that's great.

I only finished assembling it last night, despite the stones sitting around for what, a week? But with it being the sixth of the lunar month, Artemis' day, and the Thargelia festival, I figured I must get it done.

Thargelia is a festival dedicated to Artemis and Apollon. In antiquity is was a festival to celebrate the new shoots of the spouting harvest, and a time to drive away all bad things, purify, and welcome in good things. The agricultural aspect of the festival doesn't fit in very well with life in New Hampshire, as farming wise, there's not going to be any planting for another week or two. But foraging, there are thing starting to come up, like fiddle-heads.

The purification aspect worked well with finally getting the altar built. I went out a bit after sunset, with the moon already high in the sky, and washed the altar down with blessed water. Next I took barley, and sprinkled it on the altar and the space around it. Finally, I burned a mixture of patchouli, mugwort, and rosemary and carried it around the ritual space, and fanned the smoke to the altar.

I dedicated the spot generally to all the Gods who bring good things, and then more specifically to Artemis, Hekate, and Selene, who will be seeing the majority of worship here. In fact, as I mentioned earlier, I'm only in my apartment for a short while, as I plan to go back to my grandparents' next weekend for the full moon, which brings the Rite of Her Sacred Fires for Hekate. (http://hekatecovenant.com/rite-of-her-sacred-fires/) I am not a member of the covenant, and have not done this rite in years past, but this year it seemed appropriate. There's just something about many people, from many traditions, coming together at the same time, to do the same ritual in honor of a deity they all feel called to.

Outside of the Maiden-Mother-Crone Triad

I'm sure many pagans are familiar with the Maiden-Mother-Crone goddess often found within Wicca and other modern forms of paganism. There seems to be a misunderstanding, however, that this was a widespread ancient Goddess. I am only aware of one example of a goddess, Hera, being worshiped as girl, wife, and widow in one of her ancient shrines - and she was not a moon goddess. Additionally, some take this to mean that all ancient Goddesses can, or should, be put into one of the three even when they, historically, would not fit into one. Hekate comes to mind first, often called a crone goddess, and yet she was very much a virgin-maiden to most of the ancient Greek world. I have no doubt she appears as crone to some, yet the Greeks saw her this way for a reason, and to completely overlook it misses out on understanding a big part of her character. (Really, the whole Artemis-Selene-Hekate thing is bound to be it's own post, soon enough.)

But really, it's not just goddesses, but women who try to fit into one of these three groups. For some women these are powerful archetypes to connect with - but there are many of us who just do not fit in. Some try to work around it by saying, well, if you create, or nurture, then you are a mother! But... I create art. Why do we lump artist in with mother? Why can't artist be it's own stand-alone archetype. Well, I mean it is, there are so many more archetypes for a woman to explore if one wants to do so.

I'm not a mother. I do not fit with that group, and I do not want to take away from the mothers by insisting that I somehow fit there, for doing other things that don't really have to do with motherhood. So does it make me a maiden, or crone?

Well, no. I am thirty years old. There are some aspects of maidenhood still within in me, for sure, but there is a lot that is no longer there. I am not a mother, as was said, and in fact the medical issues I had last year? They resulted in a hysterectomy - at my own choice. I have never wanted biological children, and I do not want children at all. I love kids, I really do, but I don't want to be a mom. So having had the hysterectomy, did I jump right into being a crone? Well, no. Again, thirty years old, not quite what I'd call a crone - even if I do notice some traits associated with crones starting to emerge.

Honestly, this is something I have seen a lot of women struggling with, especially those of us who have had early hysterectomies - and especially those who did not want them, but had no choice. They end up feeling left out, when that's not necessary at all! Where is the warrior, the queen, the poet-scribe, the artist, the muse, the hunter, the healer, the priestess?

Humans are complex creatures. I do not think there are many of us who fit totally into one nice neat archetype. A mother can be an artist. A maiden can be a healer. A crone can be a warrior. A woman can reject maiden-mother-crone and still find herself priestess-queen, or anything else. So often pagans love to reject labels, want to be outside the box and all that, so why are we limiting ourselves to these three archetypes as if that's how it's always been, or all there is?

Melpomene, whose name is derived from a Greek word meaning "to celebrate with song and dance," is a Greek goddess, and one of the nine Mousai, or Muses. Her sphere of influence is tragedy. Her symbols include a tragic mask, a sword or knife, a club, and kothornos, a style of ancient Greek boots, and one which was popular with Athenian tragic actors. Her high wasted outfit is also reminiscent of what tragic actors would often wear.

Thaleia, or Thalia, whose name is derived from a Greek word meaning to flourish/bloom, or festivity, is a Greek goddess, and one of the nine Mousai, or Muses. Her sphere of influence is comedy and idyllic poetry, which are poems descriptive of rustic countryside life. Her symbols are a comic mask, ivy wreath, and shepherd's crook. The vaudeville act of pulling someone of the stage with a hook is perhaps a reference to Thaleia's crook.

Terpsikhore, or Terpsichore, whose name means "delighting in dancing," is a Greek goddess, and one of the nine Mousai, or Muses. Her sphere of influence is choral song and dance. Her symbols are a lyre and a plectrum/pick. In some myths she is described as the mother of the Sirens, although in others her sister Melpomone is given this credit.

Building the Altar

I began my day by heading out to the clearing where I want to build an altar. As I suspected, when the moon hits it's peak in the sky it is perfectly visible from the clearing - even when it's higher or lower in the sky, it will still be well visible. Same for the sun.

Later in the day I went out with the rake and started cleaning the area up a bit. I also purchased some stones and blocks to build with. I was hoping they'd have some round paving stones, had an interesting potential design in mind for them, but no luck there. So right now there's just a very basic table design, and a few square stones to help mark the boundary - all to be assembled tomorrow, hopefully. Just in time to break it in with a Beltane ritual, if all goes well.

While I was there I also noticed some hooks, for hanging bird feeders or planters on, but they'd work well for holding little candle lanterns, too, which might make an interesting addition to the site. It will be fun to add to it over time.

THE PERFECT ALTAR SPOT

I know I've probably mentioned this in the past, but I spend a lot of time at my grandparents' house (where I was raised), about an hour away from my apartment. I'm here now as my grandfather just had his second knee replacement. He's doing fine and will make a quick recovery, but it does mean I'll be here for at least a week, probably longer, as no one else in the house can drive.

Now they live in a very rural area. I can go in the backyard and do rituals without a bunch of neighbors wondering what the heck is going on, and beyond the backyard is a ton of woods. (A much shorter trek than my usual spots at the apartment.) Usually I just sit under a big maple tree, or sometimes I use the fire pit they have.

But I was in the woods just near the backyard this evening with the puppy, and my gosh, the PERFECT spot is right out there. It's just right beyond the wood line, a circular clearing. I was standing there with the dog thinking it was a shame that a lot of trees had been cut down in the area few years ago... until I realized, that, you know, I now had a perfect view of sun, moon, and stars, through the trees. It's a completely private spot, not far from the house, amazing sky view... how could I not take advantage of this?

So tomorrow I'm going to check out a few hardware stores, see what they have for paving stones, garden rock supplies, that sort of thing. I'm thinking I can build a nice stone altar out there, flat surface to actually hold workings on. I also need to rake the cleaning out a bit, to give a nice area to build on. Perhaps partially outline the circle in smaller rocks from the backyard. A lot of ideas floating around right now.

I'm very excited to have found this spot that is so private, and yet, is also not a long hike through the woods. It means that I can actually build something that is more than just a small pile of stones, like the small shrines I've built in the woods around the apartment. I can finally have a large, permanent, outdoor working area. 

Mounykhia

On Saturday evening I celebrated a festival called Mounykhia. It is held in honor of Artemis in her roles of Lady of the Beasts, and as a moon goddess. This festival is, to my knowledge, the only festival held specifically for Artemis at the full moon - her sacred day was the sixth day of the lunar cycle, and so most of her festivals would fall then.





The traditional offering made to Artemis at this time would be round cakes, called amphiphontes, which means something similar to shining all around, which were decorated with little torches. It would seem these cakes were offered before the sun set, but after the moon had risen. Unfortunately, this wasn't possible in my location, as the moon wouldn't rise until well after sunset.

So I offered a cake and flowers in the woods at sunset. A honey almond cake, topped with walnuts, lemon zest, and sweet goat cheese. (Goats were also a traditional sacrifice at this time, so I wanted to include some sort of goat product.) As well as a libation of mead mixed with honey and olive oil. I spent some time meditation on Artemis' Orphic hymn.

Later in the night I poured out another offering of warm milk, honey, and cinnamon, and meditated on Artemis as goddess of the moon, and as light bringer in the dark. I also spent some time praying for others who had requested it.       

During both events, something interesting happened. I have never in my some seventeen odd years of practice considered myself a priestess. Either because I belonged to a specific tradition where being a priest held a particular meaning, or because as a solitary practitioner it seemed like an unnecessary thing to do. And yet on that night, for the first time, for some reason, I felt somewhat like a priestess. I do not particularity know what to make of that. What that actually means. It's something I'm sure I'll be turning over in my medtations for a good while.

Solstices, equinoxes, and sabbats, oh my...

Today I was going to write about my Mounykhia celebration, but I'm still processing it a bit, and there's something else at the front of my mind right now.

I've seen a lot of confusion about what a solstice is today. I've spent, well, honestly more time than I should have trying to clear up the confusion. Honest mistakes are one thing, we all make them now and then, but some people would rather eat their own faces than admit they might be wrong, apparently...

So yeah, let's start this talking about what a sabbat is. The term sabbat comes from Gerald Gardner and Wicca, although it's spread to many neo-pagan traditions these days. There are, to most who follow this system, eight sabbats in a year. Two solstices, two equinoxes, and four cross quarter days. (Esbats are another beast altogether, and these days usually refer to a full moon celebration, or other lunar celebrations.)

I think for some the confusion is simply mixing up the word sabbat and solstice. Truly though, there are only two solstices in the year - one in June, and one in December. In the northern hemisphere these days mark the astronomical beginning of summer and winter, and fall around the longest and shortest days. (In the southern hemisphere, this is reversed, with the June solstice being the winter solstice, and the December solstice summer.)

If you want to read a bit more about the two solstices, take a look at this webpage. You can see in the last section the mention of equinoxes. Again, there are two of these in the year, one in March, and one in September. The word equinox is derived from a word meaning equal-night. In other words, on these two days the length of day and night are both equal to each other, or close to it. (The actual day this happens in your area might not be on the day the astronomical equinox occurs, but it will be very close.

Now, these four days, the two equinoxes, and two solstices, are sometimes called the quarter days. If you draw a circle, then draw a line from north to south, and one from east to west, you'll see why. Each point where a line touches the circle can represent one of these days, and they seem to cut the year into fourths, or, in other words, they quarter the year.

So, if you then draw an X through the + in your circle, you can see how there are four more days that cross the quarters, or, in other words, the cross quarter days. These are the sabbats Imbolc, Beltane, Lammas, and Samhain. (Or by any other variant name/spelling one might use for these days.)

And here's what is probably the worst Wheel of the Year graphic out there, but hey, hopefully it gets the point across.

It's probably also obvious from this image why it's often referred to as the Wheel of the Year. Looks like a wheel, turns like a wheel, and like a wheel we always come back to the same spot eventually, the seasons just keep on turning.

Okay, now why does it matter? What's the problem if people want to call everything a solstice? Well, I mean, would you call an apple a cheeseburger? Would you call a bucket of ice cream a cheeseburger? What about a bowl of cereal? No, probably not, because that wouldn't make much sense. And if you did, people would probably get confused real fast. It is essentially like calling Halloween, Easter, and all other holidays Christmas. You might know what you're talking about, but other people are going to have no clue. So if you're, you know, online for the sole purpose of talking to people, that making sense bit is rather important.

Fun Fact!

If I have no idea who you are, you've never commented on my blog before, and you decided to leave a comment that's advertising something? Even if it's semi-pagan related? It's spam and it's getting deleted.

The Muses, Part Two

Kalliope, or Calliope, whose name means beautiful-voiced, is a Greek goddess and one of the nine Mousai, or Muses. Her sphere of influence is that of epic poetry (such as Homer's Iliad), and she was also said to bestow eloquence, especially on kings and princes. Her symbols are a tablet and stylus, a scroll, or a lyre.

Erato, whose name means something like "beloved" or "lovely," is a Greek goddess, one of the nine Mousai, or Muses. Her sphere of influence is that of love poetry and erotic poetry. Her symbols are the lyre, or a similar instrument, the cithara. Beginning during the Renaissance, she would often be shown wearing a wreath of myrtle and roses.

Euterpe, whose name means "well pleasing," or "(giver of) delight," is a Greek goddess and one of the nine Mousai, or Muses. Her sphere of influence is that of music, song, and lyric poetry, which is a form of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings. In Greece this type of poetry generally would have been sung, and accompanied by a lyre or other stringed instrument. Her symbols are the aulos (a type of flute), pan pipes, and a laurel wreath.