Fate, Revisited

A few years back I wrote a bit about fate, the future, and foresight. It's a topic I've been revisiting a lot lately, after discussing the idea of fate and predestination with someone.

My basic thoughts on the subject have not changed, but the discussion did provide with some interesting insight. This was a person who did believe in predestination to some extent. That fate was a thing, we all had one, and there was no escaping it. Coincidences were not a thing, everything happens for a reason. Again, not my personal belief, but I get that it's a belief that's been around for a long, long time.

What was interesting to me, though, is they said if I didn't believe in such things, why would I be practicing a religion with rituals or doing spells, or anything else? Because if nothing is fated, or meant to be, what's the point?

See, to me, I feel the exact opposite way. I can't wrap my head around the idea of believing in predestination and doing spells, because what would the point be? Why do a healing work? Either someone would be fated to get better, or not. Why do a prosperity spell? Either the extra money will come your way, or it won't, and so on.

On the other hand, if you don't believe in fate, if you believe that there's freewill, that the future is malleable, it sure makes sense that people would be interesting in doing spells to gain favorable outcomes.

I do realize it's not all one or the other, that one can believe that only a few events in life are fated to be. It's this grey area I've been wondering about lately, thinking about how it may fit into my beliefs, if, truly, it fits in at all. At this point, I'm not sure that it does...

Hypocrisy In Spellcraft

Today the subject of banishing came up in a community I belong to. For some reason, people seem to think that banishing has to be this awful, negative, harmful thing. It really does not have to be. (You all know you don't have to banish someone to the deepest pits of hell, right...?)

But what bothered me, is they said there's always an alternative, like if you have an awful neighbor, you should pray for them to get an out of state job, or whatever. You wouldn't want to be banishing them, because that would be influencing their situation. That was their direct reasoning for not wanting to banish, because it would influence that person.

Here's the thing. Banishing someone sure is influencing them - but so is praying for them to change jobs.

I get that a lot of witches aren't into causing harm, or working on magic on someone without consent, and fine, whatever works for you. But come on. If you're going to follow that (and often while insisting others do, too), shouldn't you be following it all the way? If you're against influencing people, you have to understand that even "positive" things are still influences. Also, just because you might think something is positive, doesn't necessarily mean the recipient thinks so.

The Muses, Part 1

I've been writing these short little blurbs on various deities for a Facebook group I belong to, and figured I might share some of them here, as well.

Polymnia, or Polyhymnia, whose name means many praises/hymns, is a Greek goddess, youngest of the nine Mousai, or Muses. Her sphere of influence is that of hymns, prayers, and sacred poetry and song. She also has ties to agriculture. Her symbols were a veil, scroll, and grapes.

Ouranie, or Urania, whose name means heavenly or celestial, is a Greek goddess, eldest of the nine Mousai, or Muses. Her sphere of influence is that of astronomy, and she also enjoys philosophy. Her symbols are a globe and stylus. Renaissance artists would often depict her with a crown of stars, and interestingly, it was also during the renaissance that she became a muse to Christian poets.

Kleio, or Clio, whose name means "to make famous," or "to celebrate," is a Greek goddess, one of the nine Mousai, or Muses. Her sphere of influence is that of history. Her symbols are scrolls, books, a laurel wreath, and the cornet, a brass instrument. She was perhaps given the title of "the Proclaimer."

Wands and/or Knives (Athames)

(Disclaimer, I am not Wiccan, most of the people I have been discussing this with are not Wiccan, so take that into consideration for this post.)

I've seen a lot of interesting comments going around the last few days. A few people who have never used a ritual knife, a few people who used them but stopped (generally in favor of wands), and then even one guy who said he couldn't imagine why anyone would need a ritual knife unless they were going to preform an animal sacrifice. Really.

I think it's quite interesting that so many people seem to favor the wand over the knife, when for me I've found the opposite to be true. I have no wand, no need for a wand, no desire for one. When I see a lot of people making the decision of one over the other, it usually comes down to the tool's ability to direct energy. What feels "nicer" and, well, "less scary" is sometimes the term used. In this aspect, I have always preferred the knife. Perhaps because it feels more precise to me.

But the real reason I continue to have a knife is, well, I need to cut and carve things. I know that's often a no-no in Wicca, but I am surprised how many non-Wiccans don't seem to take this function into account, or just don't need it. I use my knife to gather herbs, twigs, carve symbols, cut cord, and so on.

Beyond that, because I often hold my workings outside, sometimes far from home, I try to keep the number of things I need to a minimum, and I try to choose tools and items that can preform more than one function. So, for me, the knife wins out over a wand. It not only does the ceremonial functions, but it also does the more mundane things one would expect a knife to do. Which, anyone who has existed in the world for any length of time, knows that knives can do a lot of things that aren't animal sacrifice.

"But you can't just stroll around with a knife to a ritual site!"
Well, actually, I live in New Hampshire so I can do exactly that. Thanks New Hampshire for basically having no knife laws.

Now another concern I've seen makes a bit more sense to me - Fae are said to dislike iron (and so, also steel). I don't really use a lot of tools when honoring and working with the nature spirits, so this hasn't yet been an issue for me. Some also feel the wand better resonates with their deity. For me, and the deities I work with, knife again tends to make more sense.

I have also encountered the idea that metal isn't natural. Won't even wear jewelry during a ritual because it's not natural. I am not sure where these people think things like iron, gold, copper, etc, come from...

I realize it's all quite personal, and I'm not writing this to get people to "convert" to using a knife or anything, these are just the reasons why the knife is a much better fit for my practice, and why the wand was left behind with Wicca, way back when.

The Traveler and Fortune

I haven't had much time to write a proper post the last few days, but I thought I'd share one of Aesop's fables I came across the other day. Lately I have been seeing so many people think that every last little thing is fate in some way, so it was interesting I came across this rather unexpectedly. Maybe it was... fate? 

The Traveler and Fortune
A traveler wearied from a long journey lay down, overcome with fatigue, on the very brink of a deep well. Just as he was about to fall into the water, Dame Fortune, it is said, appeared to him and waking him from his slumber thus addressed him: "Good Sir, pray wake up: for if you fall into the well, the blame will be thrown on me, and I shall get an ill name among mortals; for I find that men are sure to impute their calamities to me, however much by their own folly they have really brought them on themselves."

Everyone is more or less master of his own fate.

Crossroads

With the end of the lunar month rapidly approaching, I realized I really needed to make a decision on where to place Hekate's shrine - the bridge crossroads, or the triple crossroads further in the woods.

My usual daily walk takes me over this bridge. I cannot tell you how many times I have walked by this path, looked out over this same view, and never been hit with the realization of what I saw today.

It is easy to see one crossroad in this picture, right in the middle. (It's even more obvious in the summer, when the paths cut through bunches of wildflowers.) It's your standard dirt crossroads, right?

But, the trail leading off the bottom of the picture? That leads under a bridge I took this picture from. A crossroads of upper and lower, the bridge crossroads mentioned earlier. And the trail leading away, into the woods there? A small foot bridge over a stream, forming a 'crossroads' over water.

Three different sorts of crossroad areas, all in a row. I mean, from under the bridge through the middle over the far bridge... it's not even a five minute walk, it's nothing. It's no wonder I keep feeling pulled back to this area, over and over again. Even though none of these are the triple split crossroads that are more closely associated to Hekate, three in a row like this can't be overlooked. Definitely going to go out tomorrow and begin forming the shrine - which will probably not be more than a pile of large rocks from the area, but it makes a definitive space to return to each month.

More Snakes

Numerous snake dreams, and today, first thing I do is go for a walk, and first thing I encounter on my walk is this little guy right here.

Now snakes aren't unusual to see in the spring, especially on a nice warm day like today, but usually they're quick to get away from anything coming at them. Not this snake though, he had no problems hanging out while I got up close to him for pictures.

I even prodded him a little (with my finger) to get him off the trail and into a safer area, and he just lay they looking at me, like, hey, why are you doing that? He was fine, he did eventually move off to the side a bit, just took his time getting there.

Month of blogging goal...

So back in Feb I decided to challenge myself to blog every day in March, with a focus on my day to day practices. I didn't quite hit every day, but I'm proud that I made an effort, and that I'm writing again. I do forget how beneficial it is to write when I'm not doing it. Even if some of what I'm writing get scrapped, or set aside for later, it's really nice to be able to work through my thoughts on various issues.

I also wanted to write more on my day to day practices, but about half way through that had to take a bit of a back seat, because I started working on something that I don't know that I should be writing about - at least not yet. When it's done, maybe. For the record, there's only been one other working that I absolutely refuse to write about at this point in time, because it was a very private issue involving someone else. So it's not like there are many things I will not write about - which, you know, of course it would be something that happens during the month I'm trying to write about my practices, heh.

On a somewhat different topic, I keep having interesting dreams involving snakes, and being bitten by snakes. The snake bites are never painful. This morning I woke up from such a dream, and still half asleep I had the thought that, oh, Hekate's trying to get my attention. I have been feeling her presence more and more lately. (The project I can't write about yet, it also involves her.) I have worshiped Hekate for a few years now, but I have never done any truly deep work with her, and I am very interested (and a little nervous) in seeing where this all might go.

Mugwort

Today I learned that some witches are afraid of mugwort tea. They seem to be under the impression that a cup of mugwort tea will cause all sorts of health issues if you have any medical problems, or that a cup of mugwort tea will get you high.

So let's talk about mugwort for a second. Mugwort has been a commonly used herb through the centuries. People have been making mugwort tea, and using mugwort for culinary purposes for a very, very long time. Most people are not going to drop dead from using a little mugwort.

The idea that mugwort is a hallucinogen... Look, mugwort contains thujone, that's true, but it's my understanding that it contains less (or about the same?) thujone than rosemary or sage, two other very commonly used herbs in cuisine and witchcraft. No one is running around warning about the dangers of those herbs, so why has mugwort drawn such negative attention to it? It's very odd to me.

Of course it is absolutely true that you really need to do your research, consider your health problems, what medications you're on, if you're pregnant, etc, before you start up drinking and strange herbs or whatever. I'm not at all going to discount that. Mugwort in particular is not something pregnant people should be consuming, since it can induce periods. That said, the idea that anyone who has any mental health issues, is taking any sort of medication, has heart problems, that those people need to stay away form mugwort completely? It's just not true. They need to watch how much they ingest, yes, of course - too much mugwort isn't good for anyone. (But remember, too much nutmeg is toxic, as well...)

Full disclosure here, I have high blood pressure. I have struggled with anxiety and depression most of my life. I am on medications for both. But I've been using mugwort in tea, mead, and in incense incense in honor of Artemis for quite a while, and have never had an issue. A mug of mugwort tea has no effect on my blood pressure, it does not interact with the type of medication I take to help manage my blood pressure, it does not affect me mentally. I just do not use it in the quantity needed to reach any sort of high. I doubt most people making the occasional cup of tea from the herb ever will. I did my research first, very carefully, and I recommend anyone else do the same - don't take my word for any of this, go research for yourself when it comes to your own health - but at the same time, don't be completely scared off because some exaggerate the possible dangers. If you're interested in mugwort, go read about it, check out it's long use in history, and make your own informed decision.

Pagans - what we DON'T have in common.

I think this post could easily be summarized by saying "not all pagans/witches are Wiccan," but I think what that really means can sometimes use some clarification.

The (Triple) Goddess and The (Horned) God
Not all pagans/witches work with/worship/acknowledge this pair of deities. Beyond that, not all pagans/witches see it necessarily to work with a male/female deity pair at all. Some work with a single deity, a few deities, maybe a few goddesses and a god, a a few gods and a goddess, whatever. Deities don't always show up in neat little male/female pairings, and it is not something emphasized in a ton of traditions. (And no, not following a male/female pairing doesn't mean that person is unbalanced, doing it wrong, or whatever else.) Heck, not all pagans and witches are even theists...

Sun=Male, Moon=Female
There are a lot of moon gods and sun goddesses who might feel differently. Some moon gods include: Khonsu, Iah, Thoth, Baal-hamon, Mani, Ay Ata, and Tsukuyomi. Some sun goddesses include Isis (her lunar associations were Greek in origin, not Egyptian), Sekhmet, Hathor, Saule, Ekhi, Etain, Sol/Sunna, Arinna, and Amaterasu.
On a similar note, I notice a lot of pagans putting a lot of emphasis on fitting everything into a male/female or masculine/feminine box, and well, again, not something everyone's going to be doing... but that's probably a whole different post for later.

Ritual Tools/Altars
Athames, chalices, pentacles, and wands... nope, not all pagans/witches use these. And since not all pagans use these, it goes without saying that not all pagans place these on their altars. And as mentioned above, since not all pagans work with the Goddess and God, of course not all pagans have representations of them on their altars. Different pagan traditions (and individuals) have totally different ritual tools, altar needs, altar layouts, and so on.

Holidays
Pretty much all pagans are familiar with the Sabbats of the Wheel of the Year: Yule, Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Litha, Lammas, Mabon, and Samhain. These are hugely popular holidays. Many also know that sometimes these are known by different names... Lammas/Lughnasadh, Imbolc/Candlemas, Litha/Midsummer, and other variations.

What it seems some do not realize however (and you've probably guessed where this is going), is that not all pagans/witches celebrate this same set of holidays. In particular, reconstructionist pagans (be they Greek, Roman, Egyptian, or other) tend to have their own calendars, but other traditions of paganism/witchcraft may not incorporate the Wheel.

Also, among those pagans/witches who do follow the Sabbats, not all follow the Wiccan God/Goddess mythos. There are many ways to celebrate the Wheel.

Ethics
It should go without saying that not all pagans/witches follow the Wiccan Rede. Heck, it's not even all that emphasized in some Wiccan traditions. The Law of Three is another Wiccan thing. Karma is not a universal belief.

Afterlife Beliefs
No, we don't all believe in the Summerland. No, not everyone believes in reincarnation.

Ritual Structure
No, not all pagans and witches cast circles, call quarters, etc...

Gems, Crystals, Tarot, Runes, Pendulums, Auras, Reiki, Astrology...
Yeah. All those things aren't a part of every pagan's path. Not all pagans believe in astrology. Etc...

I could probably go on, but I think the point is made. Whatever one aspect you look at, it's not going to be universal among all pagans and witches. Except for like, breathing. All pagans and witches breathe. Probably. I don't know. There's probably one pagan out there who thinks breathing is for peasants and refuses to do it.