Paganicon 2016 Recap- Friday

I had a fabulous time at Paganicon 2016. Northern Roots Grove and several other Druid groves & orgs hosted a party suite and decked it out to look like a forest. The others were Whispering Spirits Protogrove, ADF in Appleton, Wisconsin, Dancing Waters Protogrove, ADF in Onamia, Minnesota, and the Oakdale Grove of the Reformed Druids of North America, and Rev. Amy Castner, the ADF Upper Midwest Regional Druid was there too, along with Rev. Melissa Hill of Cedarsong Grove.

On Friday I went to a long workshop put on by Shauna Aura Knight about Designing Intensive Rituals. I’d gone to two of her workshops last year and was impressed- I highly recommend her workshops, rituals, books and artwork!  She was trained in Diana’s Grove Mystery School and also has worked with Reclaiming. Ecstatic rituals with multi-layered chanting that leads people into trance is very much her style.

Then I hung with various people, finding the folks I met the previous couple years that I know from the Cauldron Forum- Vieva, Veggiewolf, the Kemetic from Little Canada whose name I can’t remember sorry! and Jenett Silver.

Then I went to Vieva’s presentation- Ramifications of Pantheism. If everything is sacred or divine, what implications does this have? How do we live our lives as co-creators of the universe? Vieva has her own pantheistic philosophy, FlameKeeping, but this was more broad in focus to get people thinking about what it means to hold a pantheistic worldview. One idea I took away from it is that in pantheism, there is no Us vs. Them.

 

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Blog Changes and To-Do Lists

A coupla blogs I follow have changed web addresses

Just thought I’d make note so even if you haven’t been following blogs, it’s little chance to signal boost them.

Nature is Sacred can now be found at NaturalPantheist.com– Matt is a naturalistic pantheist member of ADF who follows an Anglo-Saxon hearth culture. If you’re wondering “what’s that mean, and how does that work?” well then, go check out his blog!

Maple Tree Druidry also has moved to its own domain (or should I say her domain?) Carol Whitehead is a professional tarot & tea leaf reader in the London, Ontario, Canada area so if you’re in her neck of the woods, look her up.

As for my own blog-and Real Life… I keep trying to steer myself away from just being the obsessive information collector & hoarder and actually do spiritual practice…even the ADF dedicant path (imagine, me finishing a project!) Well tomorrow I am going up to Onamia, MN to attend ritual with others from my As Yet Unnamed Druid grove, to our friends at Dancing Waters Protogrove, ADF. So there ya go, actual ADF High Day ritual.

Aside from that, I have a bunch of book reviews I need to do for Moon Books, as well as ones I’ve simply read on my own.

Personal care spirituality in practice for Way of the Sacred Fool

I also have promised bloggy goodness to the Bisexual Organizing Project folks and this would be a good time, as this next week..hell I’ll just say month is Bisexual Awareness/Celebrate Bisexuality Day/Week/Month etc.

‘Nuff Polytheist Street Cred?

Last spring I went along with members of my Unitarian church to visit the Hindu Temple of Minnesota. It’s actually the largest Hindu temple in the United States! It’s a beautiful building, and I was very honored and grateful for the opportunity to see it. I just wish I’d had more time to explore, because the tour guide spent way too much time (in my opinion) explaining Hinduism, after we had already learned the basics- from another member of the temple who teaches classes there. He kept emphasizing, and wanted to make sure we all understood before we entered the sanctuary filled with shrines of gods, that Hindus are really monotheists. It seemed as if he were desperately trying to convince us of this, and essentially apologizing for his religion’s polytheistic veneer. That he was worried that Unitarians, who rejected the Trinity and affirmed the Unity of God, would pass judgment on Hinduism. Obviously, he doesn’t know us very well.

However, I have gotten the impression that Hindus, in general aren’t especially concerned with whether they are “really” polytheists or monotheists.

As for Neo-Pagans, at one point we were just polytheists worshipping different gods, but then one day it became a big deal who believed the gods were “real” individuals and who saw them as aspects of a whole. And then we had to get into a perpetual debate over who was a real, bona fide polytheist. Not one of those fake fluffy Neo-Wiccans.

There is a difference between viewing the Gods as psychological Jungian archetypes vs. different aspects of the Divine or the Consciousness of the Universe, or something. “Hard” polytheists often claim all “softies” are proponents of the former. Soft polytheists are also said to not view the Gods as “real”. My inclination is to ritually treat the gods as separate beings, and to take an agnostic position about whether they are ultimately One, because in the truest sense of agnostic, its on such a distant level from human comprehension.

We can’t claim to be any better than monotheists in this regard. They’ve spent thousands of years arguing how separate the persons of the Trinity are, how divine Jesus is, or whether honoring Mary, saints and angels is idolatry. In the end they could call Trinitarian Christians “soft monotheists” and Jews, Muslims, Unitarian Christians and Bahai’is “hard monotheists”. But does it really matter? Don’t they all worship the same God? And sorry Hindu assimilationist apologists, and Great Mother Goddess worshippers– but most of these monotheists do not see you as part of their fold.

I think what matters, as far as as figuring out who has what in common with me, and who I might want to include in my community, or be a part of theirs- is functional polytheism. Of the aforementioned Hindus, some  focus on meditating on the Oneness of the Universe (Brahman) and others more on puja devotions towards particular deities. You could say that these folks are functional polytheists.

So call yourself a polytheist. Or don’t. But don’t go out of your way to claim that your gods are all really One in some way that doesn’t really reflect your religion. Practice intellectual honesty. And tolerance, respect- don’t make absolutist statements that ridicule or condescend towards other peoples’ beliefs. Above all, be true to yourself, your gods and your communit(ies) and culture.

Who Are My Followers?

I get a notice every time someone chooses to follow my blog, or likes a post, then I usually check out theirs. Since I write about a wide variety of topics, I seem to attract an interesting range of people. So I thought I would reciprocate and highlight what they’re writing about.

Aine Orga calls herself a pantheistic, naturalistic pagan. She has some insightful posts about her developing path of spiritual connection to the earth. I can certainly identify with her desire to remain spiritual while questioning the existence or nature of the Divine. Her post- Choosing Metaphors: Theistic Language in Non-Theistic Ritual would be quite useful to my fellow Unitarians. as well.

I recently noticed a link to my Mental Illness post from Ehsha Apple’s essay, “Pagan Psychopath?” Excellent research and explanation of important issues! I myself have encountered sociopathic behavior among Pagans, it is definitely something we should all educate ourselves about. She is an eclectic Witch who draws on a variety of American folk traditions, which I am intrigued by. Along these lines, also check out Ozark Pagan Mama, she has a lot of neat ritual ideas.

Moving over from the Ozarks to the Appalachians, here’s a witch- BlueStar Black Snake (connection to the Blue Star Tradition of Wicca?) I was amused by the spiritual theory about Sasquatch but hey you never know- if you can accept the existence of spirits, why not Sasquatch? and speaking of wild creatures that live in the woods.. Anne over here honors the Spirit of the Bear Mother- totemic kinda thing. I myself have felt drawn towards arctolatry- bear worship.

Heather Roberts is a writer of short stories, poetry and essays. Check out her take on existentialism, a topic I’ve trouble wrapping my mind around, but she explains pretty well!

There’s a lot more people/blogs I could review here, but that’s all for now!

Humanism Can Include Theism

I am a skeptic, a freethinker, and a humanist. I don’t believe these labels exclude theists of various kinds, yet that is how they are often used, at least by implication.  Perhaps if I use them in lowercase, it makes it a little clearer that I am using them more broadly. A skeptic is one that does not accept claims without carefully scrutinizing them, and a freethinker is one who thinks for themselves, rather than rigidly following the dogmas of authority figures without question. (Said authorities can be religious, secular or political)

Humanist, on the other hand is a little trickier to define. In general, it is a philosophy of human dignity & independence from dogma, and reliance on reason and science.  I don’t think that conflicts with a belief in some sort of divine being(s) While I am probably not 100% sure of the existence of God(s), I have a sense of the sacred,  the power of ritual & community, and I seek the Divine, or more simply a connection to nature, the universe, my inner self, and others.

Here are some of my beliefs & ideas that I consider humanist:

• Humans are intrinsically morally neutral, not born sinful without commiting any wrong. Or as the Unitarians put it: “We affirm the inherent dignity and worth of every person”.
• The human body, and sexuality (if practiced between consenting adults) are beautiful, valuable, and we should be proud of our bodies and our sexual nature. There is nothing dirty or shameful about them.
• We can and should be moral & ethical, regardless of whether we are religious. We do not need the pressure of God(s) and/or clergy to spur us to ethical behavior. In fact, the idea that one only acts morally due to divine commands and/or rewards in the afterlife is in of itself immoral.
• It is important to focus on this life, and living it to the fullest, rather than an afterlife which may or may not exist.
• Humans can, and should try to make the world a better place, both for each other, and for the natural world as a whole.
• The scientific method is a good way of learning about the universe. Science does not conflict with religion, rather it complements it.
• We should all be allowed think and speak for ourselves, and engage in civil debate in public and private with others who disagree.
• God(s) may or may not exist, be if he/she/they do, humans reserve the right to not worship them without fear of punishment. Honoring and worshipping a divine entity should be done out of love and reverence, not out of fear.