Appollon (Apollo) is one of the twelve Olympian Gods. He is best known as the God of Prophecy who spoke through the Oracles at Delphi, the center of the world. His other attributes include plague and disease as well as healing; music, song and poetry; archery and the protection of young children. He is a handsome God often depicted with long hair with any combination of a myriad of accoutrements such as a wreath or a branch of laurel, a bow and quiver, a raven or a lyre.
The tale of his birth begins with his Mother, Leto, beloved of Zeus, being pursued relentlessly by Hera from the moment she discovered Leto was with child. Leto was driven from land to land to prevent her from giving birth. There was no rest for her during the entire length of her pregnancy. Hera declared that no land shall grant her refuge, and so the floating Island of Delos, which was not fixed land, offered a safe place for Leto to rest and bear her children, for she gave birth to twins, Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt and patron of young women and Apollon, youthful God of prophecy, music and healing.
There are many tales of Apollon performing great feats, such as the slaying of the Python that guarded the oracular shrine at Delphi and Tityos, the giant who attempted to steal his mother, Leto, but some of the most beautiful stories of love and music are found in the lore surrounding the young God. He fell in love with Hyakinthos, and when he was killed by a discus throw, the God transformed him inot a flower, the hyacinth. The Nymph, Daphne, was counted among his loves, but when she left him, she was transformed into a laurel tree. He fell madly in love with Koronis, but she was slain by Artemis for infidelity. During the Trojan War, he even brought a plague to the Greeks and helped Paris to slay Akhilleus.
There are many tales that illustrate the great bardic prowess of the God. In the Iliad (i. 603), he entertained the mortals with his playing on the phorminx during their banquet. The Homeric Bards were said to have derived their art of song from Apollon and the Muses. But the most revealing tale to the bard is the story of his music contest with the Satyr, Marsyas. Marsyas of Phyrgia was a flautist. The flute was invented by Athene, but she became disgusted with it when she saw in a reflective pond the bloating of her cheeks as she played. As luck would have it, Marsyas was nearby when she discarded the instrument and immediately picked it up. The flute, having been blessed with the breath of a Goddess, emitted a beautiful sound upon first blow. Over time, Marsyas became quite skilled, and in his hubris, he challenged Apollon to a music contest. Apollon inquired of the conditions, and Marsyas, assuming he would win, declared that the victor shall do what he pleased with the loser and even asked the Muses, who were known to be loyal to Apollon, to sit as judges for the affair. Marsyas held his own in the first round, he on his flute and Apollon on the lyre. In the second round, however, when Apollon added his voice to the beautiful music, the Nymphs swooned, the trees swayed and the flowers turned their faces toward the voice of the shining God. After Apollon was declared the winner, he had Marsyas bound to a tree and flayed alive. His blood flowed out and became a river, which Apollon named after him (Strabo, Geography 12. 8. 15).
In many ways, the modern-day bard is a reflection of the God, Apollon, who entertained, competed and was revered for his skill. For this, among many other reasons, we call out to him as a source of Inspiration as we prepare to greet the Gods round our fires.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Sometimes, there is no doubt to be found.
I recently took a trip to Eight Winds Festival in Truckee, California, not too far from Lake Tahoe. It was quite lovely, and I was honored to travel the two-thousand miles with my guitar to perform live for many folks I've only known in spirit upt to now.
When you take your guitar on a plane, it is very important that you loosen the string lest the loss of pressure in the baggage compartment cause the bridge to be ripped from the body of the instrument. I was shocked at the prospect before my flight to Cali, and checked and double-checked it four times before I let them take it out of my hands at the airport.
On the way home, I was nestled into my seat, exhausted from a lack of sleep due to excessive desire to be awake with the people around me, and when the captain announced that we had reached a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet, my hands literally went to my face as I realized that I had not loosened the string for the return flight.
Calmly, I said to myself, "Missy, you are a Druid, and you have honored the Gods far more than you have asked for anything in return. Just ask for help." So, I called to Freyja, asking her to protect my guitar, break the strings if she has to!, but please, let it be playable when I got home to Columbus.
Twice during my layover in Houston, I was reminded of my folly, but both times, I reminded myself that I asked for Freyja to help, and she has never let me down. When the plane began to accelerate on the runway one final time, I placed my trust in Freyja to keep my guitar safe throughout this last leg of the trip--and on through the "moderate" turbulence about an hour out from Columbus that sent the flight attendants to their seats!
When we arrived at the baggage claim area, with bated breath, I watched for my guitar to come through. It was unscathed from the outside, which sent a thank you from my heart to the Continental employees who obviously handled it well during transport. As I picked it up, my heart was racing in my ears, and I could hear or see nothing around me. Slowly, I opened my guitar case and revealed: a perfectly whole guitar! A few quick strums on the strings showed that it was not only intact, but still in tune.
This is why I believe the Gods are real. Because they show me in tangible ways. What doubt is there to be found? Hail Freyja! I hope she enjoyed her "thank you" wine.
When you take your guitar on a plane, it is very important that you loosen the string lest the loss of pressure in the baggage compartment cause the bridge to be ripped from the body of the instrument. I was shocked at the prospect before my flight to Cali, and checked and double-checked it four times before I let them take it out of my hands at the airport.
On the way home, I was nestled into my seat, exhausted from a lack of sleep due to excessive desire to be awake with the people around me, and when the captain announced that we had reached a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet, my hands literally went to my face as I realized that I had not loosened the string for the return flight.
Calmly, I said to myself, "Missy, you are a Druid, and you have honored the Gods far more than you have asked for anything in return. Just ask for help." So, I called to Freyja, asking her to protect my guitar, break the strings if she has to!, but please, let it be playable when I got home to Columbus.
Twice during my layover in Houston, I was reminded of my folly, but both times, I reminded myself that I asked for Freyja to help, and she has never let me down. When the plane began to accelerate on the runway one final time, I placed my trust in Freyja to keep my guitar safe throughout this last leg of the trip--and on through the "moderate" turbulence about an hour out from Columbus that sent the flight attendants to their seats!
When we arrived at the baggage claim area, with bated breath, I watched for my guitar to come through. It was unscathed from the outside, which sent a thank you from my heart to the Continental employees who obviously handled it well during transport. As I picked it up, my heart was racing in my ears, and I could hear or see nothing around me. Slowly, I opened my guitar case and revealed: a perfectly whole guitar! A few quick strums on the strings showed that it was not only intact, but still in tune.
This is why I believe the Gods are real. Because they show me in tangible ways. What doubt is there to be found? Hail Freyja! I hope she enjoyed her "thank you" wine.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
The Bard in Ritual Space
Many of us in the Bardic Guild, particularly those of us who serve in Grove or other local venues, know that there is more to the role of a Bard than merely a strong voice to lead the folk, though it is a good start.
The work of the Bard begins well before the ritual starts in the writing phases, when the season, audience, pantheon and even location of the liturgy must be considered carefully. The Bard begins with the insertion of works such as poems, stories and songs to tie together the various pieces of the rite and maintain the focus of the work at hand.
Just before the rite begins, the Bard rallies the folk with songs and engages them in the music and the words to begin the transformation from existence in mundane time and space to the dissociative state we know as liminal space, that space outside of space and time. As the rite progresses, further songs are sung to maintain the momentum and the energy that has been built, and further works are performed to explain and to give the folk a means to better recall the lessons and lore of the work at hand when their mind returns from this other time.
On the hinge of the rite, it is not uncommon for the Bard to interact with the Priest in sending the final sacrifice to the Kindred through the fire, and then as the energy is harnessed upon its return to be given to the folk in the form of Blessings from the Kindred, the Bard is called to perform yet again to buoy that energy as it falls, stretch it out and make it last through to the working where the magic of Our Druidry will happen in our rite.
And even when the rite is complete, the Bard has yet one final piece of work to do, that of returning the folk to their mundane mindset while leaving them with a final gift of music to seal the day’s work into their hearts and minds.
Being a Bard is about more than writing. It is about more than reciting or singing or speaking. Being a Bard has a magical element that is easily taken for granted. The work of the Order of Bardic Magic is to teach you, the Bards of ADF, how to do all of this and more with ease and professionalism. Being a Bard is the first step. Becoming a Bardic Magician is the ultimate goal of our work.
The work of the Bard begins well before the ritual starts in the writing phases, when the season, audience, pantheon and even location of the liturgy must be considered carefully. The Bard begins with the insertion of works such as poems, stories and songs to tie together the various pieces of the rite and maintain the focus of the work at hand.
Just before the rite begins, the Bard rallies the folk with songs and engages them in the music and the words to begin the transformation from existence in mundane time and space to the dissociative state we know as liminal space, that space outside of space and time. As the rite progresses, further songs are sung to maintain the momentum and the energy that has been built, and further works are performed to explain and to give the folk a means to better recall the lessons and lore of the work at hand when their mind returns from this other time.
On the hinge of the rite, it is not uncommon for the Bard to interact with the Priest in sending the final sacrifice to the Kindred through the fire, and then as the energy is harnessed upon its return to be given to the folk in the form of Blessings from the Kindred, the Bard is called to perform yet again to buoy that energy as it falls, stretch it out and make it last through to the working where the magic of Our Druidry will happen in our rite.
And even when the rite is complete, the Bard has yet one final piece of work to do, that of returning the folk to their mundane mindset while leaving them with a final gift of music to seal the day’s work into their hearts and minds.
Being a Bard is about more than writing. It is about more than reciting or singing or speaking. Being a Bard has a magical element that is easily taken for granted. The work of the Order of Bardic Magic is to teach you, the Bards of ADF, how to do all of this and more with ease and professionalism. Being a Bard is the first step. Becoming a Bardic Magician is the ultimate goal of our work.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Bardic Two Powers Meditation
The first working that the Order of Bardic Alchemy has created is a blending of many of the symbols we hold dear to us from our various Indo-European hearth cultures with one of our most consistent and effective magical traditions within ADF: the working of the Two Powers. This piece is designed to tie the members together through a common magical act that is rich in Bardic symbology and not specific to any particular hearth and is included in the outline as part of the Order Devotional.
Breathe deeply, Children of Earth, and allow your body to relax as you exhale.
Focus on your breath, blowing out concern and care for the world around you, breathing in the fresh and magical air from the Other worlds as it begins to swirl around you, lifting you into liminal space.
Find yourself standing at the base of the White Cypress tree, whispers of nymphs and dryads heard on the leaves as the winds gently dance among them. As you fall away into the sights and sounds around you, feel your feet begin to sink into the Earth.
As the moist, cool soil covers your feet, send your roots down, down, down, deeper through the earth, past the roots of other plants, rocks and clay until you feel the waters flowing beneath the Earth caressing your tendrils. At their tingly touch, feel the waters begin to ascend, filling you with the Waters that are all waters, the waters from deep within the Well of Wisdom that carry the potential for all things in the chaotic pools below the worlds.
Breathe in, and as you exhale, feel these waters ascend into your feet, filling your legs and settling into Cauldron of Warming in your belly where your health and well-being lie. Feel these waters mingling their healing powers with your life blood, carrying away unneeded and unwanted matter found there.
When this Cauldron is full, breathe in once more, and as you exhale, feel the waters ascend further into the Cauldron of Motion in your heart. As this Cauldron fills, see the tools of poetic inspiration that are stored there begin to float and churn as the weight of the Waters turns the Cauldron upright, filling your heart with the joy of the Waters of Imbas.
When this Cauldron is full, breathe in, and as you exhale, feel the waters ascend, filling your throat with the Soma that carries you away and into the realm of the Divine, filling your head with the joy of human life and divine connection, touching the lips of the Cauldron of Wisdom and pressing up and up until the Cauldron tips and begins to fill with the Mead of Inspiration, drowning your sorrows and opening you to the highest of spiritual and artistic expressions.
Breathe in, and as you exhale, see this Cauldron in your head overflow, sending the Waters of the Underworld cascading down your entire body, bathing you in the powers and the tools of the Chaos of Potential. Feel the waters flow in you, through you and around you. Become one with the Powers as they well up from below and fall gracefully back to the Earth all around you.
Thusly filled with the Underworld Power, send your mind’s eye to the Heavens, beyond the trees, through the sky and into the realm of the stars. Among them, a single star begins to shine brighter and brighter, drawing your full attention to its beauty and power.
Breathe in, and as you exhale, draw down from this star a beam of light, the essence of the Power that lies in its Fire. Watch as this beam of light travels toward you, passing through and collecting the power of the Stars in its path to settle on your head as though Awen has rained down upon you, sending a pulse of power throughout your body as the waters begin to change.
Breathe in, and as you exhale, feel the power of these Fires stirring and transforming the potentials of the waters as they enter the Cauldron of Wisdom in your head, shaping them into song and art, phrases of beauty and wisdom and elegance, changing these waters into the third, magical, combined power, the Triessence, the power of the Waters and the Fires combined to make a third power, more potent than the initial powers as they unite and expand one another as waves colliding and merging in the sea to form larger and larger waves of combined magnitude.
Breath in, and as you exhale, feel the Fires move down into your breath, sending shimmering light all around you. Feel them move into your throat and settle into the Waters in the Cauldron of Motion in your heart. Feel them mingle and transform the Waters in your Heart until the Cauldron overflows with this Triessence and falls down into the Cauldron of Warming in your belly. Feel this power overflow from the Cauldron, slide down your legs and disappear into the deep, dark waters below you.
Breathe in, and as you exhale, feel the combined powers within you moving your mind and your heart, connecting you to the powers below and above and filling you with the Creative Power, the Triessence, The Potential Energy that will charge and move everything it touches.
Hold your hands before you as though to cradle a cup. Breathe in, and exhale into your hands, feeling the powers from below and above you as they are drawn into your throat, carrying the bounty of your knowledge, wisdom and poetic power and fill your hands with a sphere of concentrated Triessent Power.
Focus your intent to Create, to Write, to Perform, to be Inspired into this sphere, and when you are ready, press this sphere into your heart, open your eyes and be prepared to use this power in the work that lies ahead.
Breathe deeply, Children of Earth, and allow your body to relax as you exhale.
Focus on your breath, blowing out concern and care for the world around you, breathing in the fresh and magical air from the Other worlds as it begins to swirl around you, lifting you into liminal space.
Find yourself standing at the base of the White Cypress tree, whispers of nymphs and dryads heard on the leaves as the winds gently dance among them. As you fall away into the sights and sounds around you, feel your feet begin to sink into the Earth.
As the moist, cool soil covers your feet, send your roots down, down, down, deeper through the earth, past the roots of other plants, rocks and clay until you feel the waters flowing beneath the Earth caressing your tendrils. At their tingly touch, feel the waters begin to ascend, filling you with the Waters that are all waters, the waters from deep within the Well of Wisdom that carry the potential for all things in the chaotic pools below the worlds.
Breathe in, and as you exhale, feel these waters ascend into your feet, filling your legs and settling into Cauldron of Warming in your belly where your health and well-being lie. Feel these waters mingling their healing powers with your life blood, carrying away unneeded and unwanted matter found there.
When this Cauldron is full, breathe in once more, and as you exhale, feel the waters ascend further into the Cauldron of Motion in your heart. As this Cauldron fills, see the tools of poetic inspiration that are stored there begin to float and churn as the weight of the Waters turns the Cauldron upright, filling your heart with the joy of the Waters of Imbas.
When this Cauldron is full, breathe in, and as you exhale, feel the waters ascend, filling your throat with the Soma that carries you away and into the realm of the Divine, filling your head with the joy of human life and divine connection, touching the lips of the Cauldron of Wisdom and pressing up and up until the Cauldron tips and begins to fill with the Mead of Inspiration, drowning your sorrows and opening you to the highest of spiritual and artistic expressions.
Breathe in, and as you exhale, see this Cauldron in your head overflow, sending the Waters of the Underworld cascading down your entire body, bathing you in the powers and the tools of the Chaos of Potential. Feel the waters flow in you, through you and around you. Become one with the Powers as they well up from below and fall gracefully back to the Earth all around you.
Thusly filled with the Underworld Power, send your mind’s eye to the Heavens, beyond the trees, through the sky and into the realm of the stars. Among them, a single star begins to shine brighter and brighter, drawing your full attention to its beauty and power.
Breathe in, and as you exhale, draw down from this star a beam of light, the essence of the Power that lies in its Fire. Watch as this beam of light travels toward you, passing through and collecting the power of the Stars in its path to settle on your head as though Awen has rained down upon you, sending a pulse of power throughout your body as the waters begin to change.
Breathe in, and as you exhale, feel the power of these Fires stirring and transforming the potentials of the waters as they enter the Cauldron of Wisdom in your head, shaping them into song and art, phrases of beauty and wisdom and elegance, changing these waters into the third, magical, combined power, the Triessence, the power of the Waters and the Fires combined to make a third power, more potent than the initial powers as they unite and expand one another as waves colliding and merging in the sea to form larger and larger waves of combined magnitude.
Breath in, and as you exhale, feel the Fires move down into your breath, sending shimmering light all around you. Feel them move into your throat and settle into the Waters in the Cauldron of Motion in your heart. Feel them mingle and transform the Waters in your Heart until the Cauldron overflows with this Triessence and falls down into the Cauldron of Warming in your belly. Feel this power overflow from the Cauldron, slide down your legs and disappear into the deep, dark waters below you.
Breathe in, and as you exhale, feel the combined powers within you moving your mind and your heart, connecting you to the powers below and above and filling you with the Creative Power, the Triessence, The Potential Energy that will charge and move everything it touches.
Hold your hands before you as though to cradle a cup. Breathe in, and exhale into your hands, feeling the powers from below and above you as they are drawn into your throat, carrying the bounty of your knowledge, wisdom and poetic power and fill your hands with a sphere of concentrated Triessent Power.
Focus your intent to Create, to Write, to Perform, to be Inspired into this sphere, and when you are ready, press this sphere into your heart, open your eyes and be prepared to use this power in the work that lies ahead.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Hestia's Oath--a short ritual play
Scene opens with Zeus sitting upon the high seat at Olympus. He holds the aegis across his lap.
Hestia, Goddess of Fire enters and walks toward Zeus.
Hestia: Greetings, Brother Zeus, Lord of all Olympians!
Zeus stands to greet her.
Zeus: Greetings, dear Hestia, First and last born among us. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit this day?
Hestia: Long have I tended the Flame of the Olympians.
Zeus: (nods head) Aye, you have done wonderful work for us.
Hestia: Thank you. As I am sure you know, Poseidon and Apollon have both asked my hand in marriage.
Zeus: So I hear! (Places his hands on her shoulders) You must be so happy. Either of them is lucky to have you, should you bless them with your love.
Hestia: And therein lies my trouble. You see, my heart already belongs to another.
Zeus: Ha! (Claps hands) Well, tell me then, dear sister, who has won your love?
Hestia: Brother, I wish not to wed Mighty Poseidon nor Wise Apollon, because my heart belongs among the men and women of Earth.
Zeus: Is it a mortal whose love you seek?
Hestia: (Shakes head) No, Brother. I wish never to marry and to remain a maiden all my days.
Zeus: You know what you ask me...
Hestia: Yes, Zeus. I know, and I am prepared.
Zeus: So be it. (Zeus holds out the aegis and Hestia places her hand over the head.)
Hestia: So by the River Styx do I swear:
Henceforth shall I remain maiden-fair,
Untouched and pure as the Fire I embody,
Unscathed by the torment of love,
Unhindered by lust and desire.
My love shall be the Fire.
My life shall be the Fire.
My soul shall be the Fire.
Esto!
Zeus: Esto. (They embrace. He keeps one hand upon her shoulder as he speaks definitively.) Hestia, you have served well among us, freely and with love. If you will not allow a God to love you, then I shall make it so that all beings will love you, Fire Maiden of Olympus. Your domain shall be the hearth fires of all temples, all sacred shrines and all fires among mankind. All first offerings shall go to you, and you shall be Chief of the Goddesses in the hearts of mortals. No offering shall come to us that does not pass through your Flame or travel upon the smoke of your Fire, for all fires shall be your fires. The richest portions shall go to you, and the essence shall be sent to the Us. Do you accept this charge?
Hestia: (Smiles broadly) ‘Tis a gift, not a charge. May I serve well the houses of Gods and Men. Thank you, Zeus, Mightiest of the Olympians.
Zeus: So be it!
Fin.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Polytheism and Faith Questionnaire, Part 3
Have you had experiences that confirmed for you that the Gods and Goddesses are real- that they exist and want us to know Them?
I’ve actually had many and continue to have them all the time. I have always known there were beings other than us out there. I have been “filled with the Holy Spirit,” “drawn down the moon” and “channeled” my fair share of them. The striking thing about asking the Gods and Goddesses to show you they are real is that they all will do this if you ask them. The problem is not that they don’t want to know us or won’t reveal themselves to us. All too often, the problem is we are not able to hear them when they call.
Since you probably want something anecdotal, I will tell you a bit about my first encounter with Persephone. It was not long after I had decided to create a home shrine of sorts for doing habitual work. I had been calling out to the Gods in general and asking if there was any among them who were interested in a more personal relationship, a patron relationship. I got out my tarot cards, because I have always been a bad listener, and waited. I sang for a few moments, and then I felt that familiar heaviness that always comes just before a Deity enters. As the room grew thick and still, my candle flames even shrinking in the weight, I reached out as if in slow motion and pulled three cards, the Two of Swords, the blank card, and the Hermit. The imagery of this particular deck portrays Persephone in her Underworld guise, cut off from the Upperworld. I immediately was drawn to tears, and I knew her to be with me and wanting to relate with me. I realize that not everyone will find this to be proof that Persephone exists, nor that she wants to have a relationship with the likes of me, but this is about what I hold to be true, where my beliefs lie and in what I put my faith. I have faith that Persephone is my patron and that she cares about me, helps me and guides me as I walk the mortal realm.
How would you describe your relationship(s) with your Goddesses/Gods?
Most of them are very similar to the relationships other folks have with their Deities. I meet them in prayer with reverence and respect, and they meet me in like fashion at my hearth or wherever I happen to be when I call to them. Our relationships are defined by *ghosti, a reconstructed Proto-Indo-European word that embodies the guest-host relationship. The spirit of *ghosti, the word from which the English words “guest” and “host” have both evolved, is one of reciprocity. We give offerings, whether tangible ones such as incense, poured libations or oils, or non-material, such as honor and praise, song, poetry, etc., fully expecting those gifts to be returned to us in the form of blessings in our lives. I fully believe this to be true and approach the Kindred with the expectation that I will be met with the same love and devotion that I give to them manifest as wisdom and blessings in my life. So far, I have yet to be disappointed!
Are there any questions about polytheism that you personally grapple with?
We all have our own doubts that plague us along our paths. Mine revolve around whether or not I am heard. Why would a God or Goddess want to interact with me? What makes me significant enough to obtain their attention? What could I possibly offer in return? My best answer is fragility. Just as a tiny baby or a precious artifact is delicate and fragile and must be handled with care, so, too, do humans appear to the Gods. We are fragile and because of this, we are more precious. The fact that we are vulnerable to the world in which we live and yet survive so brilliantly is potentially an impressive feat to one who may have grown to take the longevity of their existence for granted. But, I digress. I may not know the why’s, but I do not that for whatever reason, it is real and it works.
I’ve actually had many and continue to have them all the time. I have always known there were beings other than us out there. I have been “filled with the Holy Spirit,” “drawn down the moon” and “channeled” my fair share of them. The striking thing about asking the Gods and Goddesses to show you they are real is that they all will do this if you ask them. The problem is not that they don’t want to know us or won’t reveal themselves to us. All too often, the problem is we are not able to hear them when they call.
Since you probably want something anecdotal, I will tell you a bit about my first encounter with Persephone. It was not long after I had decided to create a home shrine of sorts for doing habitual work. I had been calling out to the Gods in general and asking if there was any among them who were interested in a more personal relationship, a patron relationship. I got out my tarot cards, because I have always been a bad listener, and waited. I sang for a few moments, and then I felt that familiar heaviness that always comes just before a Deity enters. As the room grew thick and still, my candle flames even shrinking in the weight, I reached out as if in slow motion and pulled three cards, the Two of Swords, the blank card, and the Hermit. The imagery of this particular deck portrays Persephone in her Underworld guise, cut off from the Upperworld. I immediately was drawn to tears, and I knew her to be with me and wanting to relate with me. I realize that not everyone will find this to be proof that Persephone exists, nor that she wants to have a relationship with the likes of me, but this is about what I hold to be true, where my beliefs lie and in what I put my faith. I have faith that Persephone is my patron and that she cares about me, helps me and guides me as I walk the mortal realm.
How would you describe your relationship(s) with your Goddesses/Gods?
Most of them are very similar to the relationships other folks have with their Deities. I meet them in prayer with reverence and respect, and they meet me in like fashion at my hearth or wherever I happen to be when I call to them. Our relationships are defined by *ghosti, a reconstructed Proto-Indo-European word that embodies the guest-host relationship. The spirit of *ghosti, the word from which the English words “guest” and “host” have both evolved, is one of reciprocity. We give offerings, whether tangible ones such as incense, poured libations or oils, or non-material, such as honor and praise, song, poetry, etc., fully expecting those gifts to be returned to us in the form of blessings in our lives. I fully believe this to be true and approach the Kindred with the expectation that I will be met with the same love and devotion that I give to them manifest as wisdom and blessings in my life. So far, I have yet to be disappointed!
Are there any questions about polytheism that you personally grapple with?
We all have our own doubts that plague us along our paths. Mine revolve around whether or not I am heard. Why would a God or Goddess want to interact with me? What makes me significant enough to obtain their attention? What could I possibly offer in return? My best answer is fragility. Just as a tiny baby or a precious artifact is delicate and fragile and must be handled with care, so, too, do humans appear to the Gods. We are fragile and because of this, we are more precious. The fact that we are vulnerable to the world in which we live and yet survive so brilliantly is potentially an impressive feat to one who may have grown to take the longevity of their existence for granted. But, I digress. I may not know the why’s, but I do not that for whatever reason, it is real and it works.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Polytheism and Faith Questionnaire, Part 2
How did you first come to know the Goddesses/Gods as separate and distinct deities?
It was a long time coming for me. I grew up in a relatively Christian household. My father was more agnostic than Christian and held the Native American spirituality in high esteem, though this was not something he discussed with me until I was an adult. My mother did what she was taught to do, had us baptized, let us explore and answered our questions to the best of her abilities, but religion/spirituality was never very important to them. It was, however, important to me, and I began the quest for my religious affiliation at fourteen.
I started with the various Christian churches in my hometown, and eventually, I ended up converting to Catholicism at sixteen by personal choice and much to the chagrin of my father. It was infective, and I brought half of my family, including my mother, my grandmother, my aunt and all three of my cousins with me. I was a part of a highly charismatic church group, known for speaking in tongues, ecstatic trance and long worship sessions with a full worship band. The music was the main focus of my time with this group. I would stand up and sing for hours while worshippers literally prostrated themselves, wept, danced, sang and otherwise channeled the power of the Holy Spirit. This was when I knew the Gods to be real as well as when the Gods began becoming distinctly separate entities.
Over time, I began to forge a strong relationship with Mary, Mary Magdalene, Hagia Sophia (as the Greeks called the Holy Spirit, “Holy Wisdom”) and a myriad of Saints. None of this was questioned until I began separating the Father and the Son into separate entities, for that was how I experienced them. I had several lengthy discussions with the Priests, who had even called in other Priests to try to dissuade me from this line of thinking. “There is only one God!” they would cry.
I would counter, “But I know them and they are not. And what of Mary? And Mary the Magdelene? Are they not Divine?”
“No, they are Blessed. Only God is Divine,” they would answer.
“But what of the Holy Spirit,” I would ask. “Surely she is Divine in her own right?”
“The Holy Spirit is the breath of God,” they would say. “And the Holy Spirit is not a ‘she,’ though you may think of this as the feminine aspect of our one true God.”
“But what of this line in the bible that says, ‘Thou shalt not have any other Gods before me.’ Doesn’t that prove that there is more than one God?” I would ask, usually to be met with shaking heads and even an exasperated “hands in the air” gesture as though all was lost. I did many, many “Hail Mary’s” and “Our Father’s” to atone for my line of thinking, but the more they made me pray, the more contact I had with each separate Deity, the more I knew them as separate, distinct beings.
Finally, I decided one day while doing yet another set of “Hail Mary’s” to just ask her. I mean, she of all people would know. So, I did just that, “Holy Mary, Mother of God, I come to your feet to seek knowledge that you, in your wisdom, may hold. Will you tell me, are the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit as one?” I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit surrounding me, for I had come to recognize her presence quite readily. I felt the distinct presence of Jesus beside me as I had come to know him, beginning and ending all things in His name, calling to Him as a messenger Deity, and agent between me and the Father. And when I felt the Father above me, I knew. There was no need for words. I was surrounded by three distinct beings, and I knew there would never be a way to convince me otherwise.
Once I had my confirmation, my proof, I stopped arguing with the Priests. I knew they believed they were right, and perhaps that is how they know their God, as one distinct Being. Over time, as I learned all that I could from the Catholic Pantheon, for that was what it became for me, I slowly began to walk away, to find a place where others were who saw the same things that I did in the world around us. It was with a heavy heart that I left the Catholic Church, because I had loved the Gods so much; however, one doesn’t spend years in the arms of the Holy Spirit without learning how to hope.
How did you first come to polytheism as a religious path?
After I left the Catholic Church, I floated for a while, not sure what to do with myself. I still had a strong spiritual life, and I had proof that there was a World full of Gods out there; however, I didn’t know how to go about meeting them. I mean, one doesn’t walk into a bar and say, “So, I left the Catholic Church and am looking for some new Gods to worship. Know any you could introduce me to?”
My roommate in college was a non-Christian, much to my Catholic dismay. I went to school at a small, all-women’s Catholic school and was very surprised to find that my roommate was not Christian, let alone not Catholic! Needless to say, she and I butted heads quite a bit! She used to read tarot cards while I read the bible. I secretly think she did it to irritate me, but she’ll never admit it. Over time, I even let her read the cards for me. She was the one who planted the seeds of “organized polytheism” in my head, because a few years later when I left the Church, I kept thinking of her.
It wasn’t until I met a woman who passed through Columbus just long enough to change my entire life that I fully accepted polytheism as a definitive path for me. She was very Wiccan, Dianic, to be exact, in that she believed there to be a Goddess with a male consort God, emphasis on the Goddess as superior. I attended an Imbolc rite with her in honor of Brighid, the Celtic Goddess of the Hearth, Healing, and the Arts, and I can use no other words to describe than life-altering. Not only was I introduced to a format for interacting with the Gods I knew to exist, I was also introduced to a number of other people, real live people with jobs and families, who were serious about their spiritual life and had a world view similar to mine. It was almost like permission to experiment, and the rest is history. That was in February of 2002.
It was a long time coming for me. I grew up in a relatively Christian household. My father was more agnostic than Christian and held the Native American spirituality in high esteem, though this was not something he discussed with me until I was an adult. My mother did what she was taught to do, had us baptized, let us explore and answered our questions to the best of her abilities, but religion/spirituality was never very important to them. It was, however, important to me, and I began the quest for my religious affiliation at fourteen.
I started with the various Christian churches in my hometown, and eventually, I ended up converting to Catholicism at sixteen by personal choice and much to the chagrin of my father. It was infective, and I brought half of my family, including my mother, my grandmother, my aunt and all three of my cousins with me. I was a part of a highly charismatic church group, known for speaking in tongues, ecstatic trance and long worship sessions with a full worship band. The music was the main focus of my time with this group. I would stand up and sing for hours while worshippers literally prostrated themselves, wept, danced, sang and otherwise channeled the power of the Holy Spirit. This was when I knew the Gods to be real as well as when the Gods began becoming distinctly separate entities.
Over time, I began to forge a strong relationship with Mary, Mary Magdalene, Hagia Sophia (as the Greeks called the Holy Spirit, “Holy Wisdom”) and a myriad of Saints. None of this was questioned until I began separating the Father and the Son into separate entities, for that was how I experienced them. I had several lengthy discussions with the Priests, who had even called in other Priests to try to dissuade me from this line of thinking. “There is only one God!” they would cry.
I would counter, “But I know them and they are not. And what of Mary? And Mary the Magdelene? Are they not Divine?”
“No, they are Blessed. Only God is Divine,” they would answer.
“But what of the Holy Spirit,” I would ask. “Surely she is Divine in her own right?”
“The Holy Spirit is the breath of God,” they would say. “And the Holy Spirit is not a ‘she,’ though you may think of this as the feminine aspect of our one true God.”
“But what of this line in the bible that says, ‘Thou shalt not have any other Gods before me.’ Doesn’t that prove that there is more than one God?” I would ask, usually to be met with shaking heads and even an exasperated “hands in the air” gesture as though all was lost. I did many, many “Hail Mary’s” and “Our Father’s” to atone for my line of thinking, but the more they made me pray, the more contact I had with each separate Deity, the more I knew them as separate, distinct beings.
Finally, I decided one day while doing yet another set of “Hail Mary’s” to just ask her. I mean, she of all people would know. So, I did just that, “Holy Mary, Mother of God, I come to your feet to seek knowledge that you, in your wisdom, may hold. Will you tell me, are the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit as one?” I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit surrounding me, for I had come to recognize her presence quite readily. I felt the distinct presence of Jesus beside me as I had come to know him, beginning and ending all things in His name, calling to Him as a messenger Deity, and agent between me and the Father. And when I felt the Father above me, I knew. There was no need for words. I was surrounded by three distinct beings, and I knew there would never be a way to convince me otherwise.
Once I had my confirmation, my proof, I stopped arguing with the Priests. I knew they believed they were right, and perhaps that is how they know their God, as one distinct Being. Over time, as I learned all that I could from the Catholic Pantheon, for that was what it became for me, I slowly began to walk away, to find a place where others were who saw the same things that I did in the world around us. It was with a heavy heart that I left the Catholic Church, because I had loved the Gods so much; however, one doesn’t spend years in the arms of the Holy Spirit without learning how to hope.
How did you first come to polytheism as a religious path?
After I left the Catholic Church, I floated for a while, not sure what to do with myself. I still had a strong spiritual life, and I had proof that there was a World full of Gods out there; however, I didn’t know how to go about meeting them. I mean, one doesn’t walk into a bar and say, “So, I left the Catholic Church and am looking for some new Gods to worship. Know any you could introduce me to?”
My roommate in college was a non-Christian, much to my Catholic dismay. I went to school at a small, all-women’s Catholic school and was very surprised to find that my roommate was not Christian, let alone not Catholic! Needless to say, she and I butted heads quite a bit! She used to read tarot cards while I read the bible. I secretly think she did it to irritate me, but she’ll never admit it. Over time, I even let her read the cards for me. She was the one who planted the seeds of “organized polytheism” in my head, because a few years later when I left the Church, I kept thinking of her.
It wasn’t until I met a woman who passed through Columbus just long enough to change my entire life that I fully accepted polytheism as a definitive path for me. She was very Wiccan, Dianic, to be exact, in that she believed there to be a Goddess with a male consort God, emphasis on the Goddess as superior. I attended an Imbolc rite with her in honor of Brighid, the Celtic Goddess of the Hearth, Healing, and the Arts, and I can use no other words to describe than life-altering. Not only was I introduced to a format for interacting with the Gods I knew to exist, I was also introduced to a number of other people, real live people with jobs and families, who were serious about their spiritual life and had a world view similar to mine. It was almost like permission to experiment, and the rest is history. That was in February of 2002.
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