Once again I will state the obvious...

I woke this morning from dreams of conversations half heard and arguments stirred on by vague opinions. It disturbed me mostly due to it's stark reality of what I have witnessed in the past during actual gatherings of people who are to be said 'of liked minds'. As I awoke, what was on my mind, and slipped from my lips was this;" It is rude to discuss religion or politics in mixed company, simply because you don't know who your'e going to piss off!"

I made my morning coffee and decided to do some reading and research on the current going's on of the Pagan world, and true to form, there is a lot of hub bub going on. We Pagans are so diverse, we can't seem to even agree within our own 'traditions' for the most part, and there is good reason for it. (I'll get to this later.) And when we do agree, it is usually to do so while, or because, we are attacking another religion or Pagan tradition, and these mini-truse's seem to last only as long as we focus on our subject(s). Then it occurred to me, that this is generally accepted as not only the norm, but approved of by the majority of Pagans. It still didn't shock me, it stirred me on!

The phrase I am so used to hearing is;"Self - proclaimed Witches or Pagans". I truly believe that this is supposed to be an insult or a belittling of one's belief. Guess what? It is a statement of FACT! Here is my take on it...
I am a 'self-proclaimed' Druid, and I am a 'self-proclaimed Wiccan Priest'. Almost all of us Pagans are 'self-proclaimed' something or other within our beliefs. Some, or maybe most of the more vocal, are not only 'self-proclaimed', but are also 'papered' by some recognized organization or another within those boundaries of that belief system, AND licensed by a 'legal' entity such as a State or by Federal recognition of the government. Still, we are 'self-proclaimed'. I proclaimed to the world my belief. I state that I am a practitioner, Priest, and believer of my faith and religion. So the title is true; 'Self-Proclaimed'.

Like many others, I took the time to honor my religion by studying under various mentors and training systems to better understand the philosophies, histories and symbolism of my religion. I researched every aspect of my belief through science, literature, and mysticism known to me or taught to me by others. My mentors went to great pains to teach me their understandings so that I was exposed to other concepts of belief. Even before I became a 'legally recognized clergy memebr' of my religion, I was publicly recognized and personally proclaimed as not only a practitioner, but as a honorable Priest of my faith. Not the faith nor belief of my mentors, but my faith.
"Let no man dictate your religion, it rests between you and your creator."
This was the truest statement I have ever heard. It has never left my understanding, nor has been removed from my teachings. Yes, I teach what was taught to me, discovered by me, and interpreted and understood by me. However, my students are taught to 'think for themselvs' and encouraged to learn from ALL sources of information, for and against, literal and scientific, historical and myth, about the religions and cultures that birthed them to us. Ours is NOT the Old Way, it is our belief that is Old, our practice is New.
Yes, we carry many of the 'old sciences' along with us, so that the Old Way, like Herb lore, is not lost to the new science of pharmacology. We continue to follow the 'old' teachings of astrology, and we hold to the psychology and metaphysical understandings of practices long debunked by 'modern' science. Bit these are only a part of our belief. Mighth as well accuse us of 'idolatry' and 'false deity' worship! That too is true! It is because it is OUR RELIGIOUS BELIEF(S).

I do not always agree with others in my religious belief, and rightly so. You and I see things from 'single points of perspective'. We can either agree, disagree or compromise in those individual points of view. And as a group we tend to rationalize the majority or most accepted concepts as the 'truth' or approved view. Yet, we remain true to ourselves and our Gods in our belief. Pagans, today, seem to think that; a) we should all be able to get along, or b) that we are within our rights to act barbaric and uncivilized in our disagreements. Both concepts are of course backed by statements of historic or mythological record of 'right and propper' action.
I absolutely HATE followers! If you or anyone you know within the Pagan community are followers of some Priest/Priestess, then you are not thinkers. Everyone in any Pagan religion, or ANY religion for that matter, needs no Priest, Revrend, or Minister/Clergy, to commune with Nature or the Gods.
Here is a clue, of all the Pagan cultures that I have studied in my 25 years, only a hand-full EVER fought over a religious point or practice!The 'great religious wars' didn't even come about until the Judao-Christian faith and the Muslim faith locked horns. In Egypt, there was several minor militant-religious wars, but that was about the time of the Hebrew captivity. There is plenty of research available on this, please feel free to study up on it.

Secondly, Pagans are not as 'fluffy' as some would believe, and rightly so due to the religious teachings of their faith(s). Although I try my best to diffuse conflict and avoid physical confrontation, I am a warrior, and have no qualms when defending myself, or my belief. I am Celt! Descendant of a culture that conquered most of the known world, including Egypt and Rome! Yes, they also fell, as all Great Nations do. But the blood remembers. ( Ask any Native American!)

As a Pagan, we do not have to 'get along' on things we do not agree on. However in this country, the USA that is, we had best decide to defend one another's rights to believe in our faith(s) and honor that if nothing else. Why? Because the religious movement in america had not lessened, only grown more secretive and selective in its activities. Our government had again allowed for 'questioning' of our 'guarenteed' rights as set by the Constitution, and in so doing are opening up an opportunity for those faiths that are organized and are co-supportive, to be able to help rewrite these amendments and secure those freedoms and rights away from us. don't think it can happen? Look to the first breaking of the Catholic Church, they didn't think that either!

So, get over yourselves! Quit accusing each other of 'self-proclaimed' this or that. (BTW: most books out there on the market not only approve on 'self dedication and solitary study/practice, they teach one how to accomplish it.) Doing so only weakens us as Pagans and adds not only ammunition to non-Pagan assultants, but injures our honor, our Rights and faith(s).
Follow YOUR religion, hold to Your beliefs and remain true to YOUR Faith, and quit trying to interpret mine and tell me how wrong I am or anyone else is because you have found something different. It is our differences that not only make us unique, but strengthens us in our understanding of our religion. It is our similarities that allow us to communicate and celebrate our history, our ancestors and our Gods together.

Seasonal Decorations...or so it seems.

After reading one blog, then a few other blogs and articles, I decided to add this one in, on the subject of 'alters' and tools or items upon them. I have been reading, practicing an teaching Pagan religious practices since 1993, and have come across many different alters and many unique tools within the practice and among the practitioners, both of religious and ceremonial in Pagan and Arcane lore. (No, I am not talking D&D, LARP or any other 'roll playing game') I am talking the varied traditions and practices of Nature worshiping religions and magical practice in 'true' form.

Shown here is a 'teaching alter' used in my classes on Pagan traditions. It is almost fully covered to show many items and prove a few points, as symmetry, balance of energy, flow of energy and representations of elements and Gods. This is obviously NOT a 'working' alter as it is too cluttered, but the layout carries the information of why we need to have balance in our works.



At home, our living room alter seems to be the place to focus a lot of our time and thoughts, and rightly so. It is a modest table that has acquired the various items of our beliefs and through out the year, subtle changes are made to it, almost unconsciously. We have noticed this, but only after friends have pointed out the changes that they have observed. Our Alter changes as the seasons declare, with items added and removed as the Sabbats come and go. Our home alter isn't one we actively 'work magic'  at, yet it is used by us to reflect the days work, meditate in front of about the goings on in our lives and commune with our Gods.

Currently, this is what is on our living room alter. Being after Lugnasadh and before Mabon, the transition is slowly showing the changes in types of energy and the direction of masculine to feminism in flow. Mind you that in our household, there are Druids, one Egyptian practitioner and an eclectic Pagan with Wiccan (Celtic and Norse) influences. So our living room alter reflects all these aspects, and we all share in it's decor.
  Each of us have certain Deity and or Pantheon that we serve and worship. So there is more than a few statues and imagery that symbolize those  for us. Also there are the collections that are sacred to us in our practice, gargoyles, dragons, fairy kind, and not to exclude our books, both ours we have written and those purchased to glean knowledge from. Actually, above the living room alter is the Fae Alter, dedicated to the wee folk that interact in our day to day living.

There we find peace in the fae, the elements revealed to us and our 'grandmotherly Fae Queen' looking about the room. She also represents one of our 'crones' in our lives and we address her often for insight and advise.
(And yes, we provide dish service to the tea set for them) Here is another simple alter that we find common among Pagan households, it appears more to be a simple shelf of collective items, but the is always more that the eye see's when it comes to Pagans in general. Through out the house, one will find staves in the corner along with a besom upstairs and one downstairs. All of our 'ritual' wear we keep hung up in the closets and separated from our mundane wear. There are items of antiquity and magic all about in our home, blending in with the bookshelves, the the cabinets and counters and along with the furniture, yet, even to our non-Pagan friends and family, it isn't overly Pagan nor sinister in appearance nor 'feel'. You are greeted at our house by more than a dog, or the slinking black cat, you are greeted by the whole house.

There are many things that we 'require' in our magical works, and on our sacred alters while preforming rituals, but many of us have these little home alters that we seldom see listed along side of those circle alters, shrines and magical or sacred spaces. I wanted to share that with you, and encourage you to think about the one(s) you might have set up, and regard them in the same manner of our grander or more public sacred spaces set aside for our Gods.

Well, I must go for now, animals to tend too and fae kind too. May the Gods look upon you with blessings, and may they keep you safe, as we keep their memories alive.