Polyamory Pagan

I am a Pagan and I'm Polyamorous.

For many these two things have nothing to do with each other but for me I find they are inter-connected.
My religious beliefs and personal faith allows me to be happy with my relationship choices.



A book I recommend is Pagan Polyamory: Becoming a Tribe of Hearts by Raven Kaldera. Kaldera states in his book (specifically when citing an article on polyamory by Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart) that the term polyamory came out of the pagan community and thus the two groups of people, polyamorists and pagans, are indeed connected at least in that way.

G is for Ganesh

I'm 5 days early as far as the Pagan Blog Project prompting is concerned but I'm in the middle of a big move so I'd rather be early than super late...

Ganesh (aka Ganesha or Ganesa, Ganapati, Vinayaka, Pillaiyar) is one of my Patron deities and is one I go to whenever I have a goal I want to achieve of a change that I desire in my life. He is known as the Lord of Beginnings or Lord of Obstacles.

Ganesh is the son of Shiva and Parvati. He is depicted as having the head of an elephant, which sets him apart from the other Hindu gods. How he obtained the elephant head is up for debate as it seems each story of his conception has a different way of explaining it. Some say he was born with it, some say he was born with a human head that disintegrated due to the evil eye or was cut off. Some stories and depictions even show him with multiple elephant heads. Either way, he obtained the elephant head and it, along with his big belly are very distinctive.
Ganesh is shown in many poses. Sometimes he is with his family, other times alone. He is shown standing, dancing, fighting demons, reclining, playing, sitting, elevated, holding a number of objects to show his many aspects, etc. So many depictions and views reflect the fact that Ganesh is one of the most recognizable and widely worshiped deities in the world.

I was first introduced to Ganesh by my dear friend Edward. He suggested I do a mantra to Ganesh 108 times a day for 108 days with a specific goal in mind. I did so and counted the days. To aid my mantra I used a string of rose beads I had bought at an antique store months before that had 110 beads exactly on it. These became my prayer beads.
108 days later of continuous mantras - my goal came through. Not only did it work automatically, Ganesh became an important symbol and figure in my life and I now go to him for any goal and new path I want to take.


I later had a dream of Ganesh. He was truly so large I could not comprehend him. His size was not all that was large about him, his very presence would bowl you over. It was one of the most intense and realistic dreams I ever had. He was golden in color and such a happy, mellow vibe came off of him. I'll remember the dream for as long as I live.


Ganesh Mantra Videos

Traditional Ganesh mantra with beautiful video by Sonu Nigam


Techno mantra (my favorite)

Celtic Symbols in Magic

If you follow a Celtic Pagan Tradition or are looking to get in touch with your Irish roots for St. Paddy's tomorrow, I thought I would share a list of Celtic Symbols and their meanings that can be used in magic. Most of these involve a braided knot work. If you've the skill to recreate these designs I consider you a very gifted person (because I cant >.<).

Celtic Oval: Throughout Ancient Europe, the oval symbolized eternity and unending love.

Celtic Heart: Traditional symbol of love, desire and courage.

Celtic Square: A Scottish design that is part of the traditional Celtic love knot.

Celtic Round: The outer circle symbolizes the sun while the knots represent the elements.

Celtic Four: Represents friendships or love between 2 people who are separate yet together.

Love Knot: Two entwined hearts that represent the eternal union of 2 souls.

Trinity: Power three-sided figure can represent Father, Son and Holy Ghost by Christian Tradition, Maiden Mother and Crone by Pagan, or simply body, mind and spirit.

My all time favorite Celtic symbol is the Claddagh, which represents a heart for love, hands for friendship and a crown for loyalty. When offering a claddagh ring to the one you love it was once customary to say, "I give you my heart, crowned with my love." My husband gave me a claddagh wedding band and we used that saying instead of "With this ring, I thee wed" at our wedding.

Experiment in Intention

I read in The Secret  Life of Plants about an experiment done by Marcel Vogel and Vivian Wiley that involved picking leaves off of plants (2 or 3) and ignoring 1 leave and every day willing the other to continue living. It worked. The ignored leaf withered up and died and the other not only stayed fresh and vibrant but he wound created on the stem upon picking healed!
I'm doing an experiment with the ivy growing in the house along the walls of the kitchen and dining area. I watered them today and charged the water with the intent to Grow and Thrive. I also meditated under the ivy pots with the same intent like a mantra. I will make this my experiment for the next week or so and see if there's any change in the ivy.

Give Thanks

Thanksgiving is this Thursday and I have a lot to be thankful for.

I have a loving husband who is my world. He has stood by me in all my struggles, encouraged me in every venture I've taken, and wiped away my tears when things have fallen apart. I can only hope that I can give him the same love, care and devotion he has given me these past four years.

My in-laws. They took me in when my own parents would not.

My friends who have been so helpful and fun and loving this past year.

My grandmother and her brothers and sisters. They have been so supportive of me and my husband this past year which was so difficult for us.

So much love in my life and I love that there is a Holiday set aside from all the days in the year to give thanks for it...and the food is if course great ^_^

31 Days of Samhain: an over view 11-18

Since I've missed 13 days of the 31 Days of Samhain fun posted by Salem Witch Child...I'll do an overview of some of the posts in the next few blog posts. I don't have kids, so I wont be doing the posts regarding them and I don't put my cat in costumes so I'm skipping Day 15 as well...
That leaves...

Day 11: What's your favorite recipe for Samhain Dinner?
Pumpkin pie of course but there are a few other pumpkin recipes I would like to try and share, most are from
www.PumpkinRecipes.org including
Pumpkin Curry
Pumpkin Stuffed with sausage - I would use a sweet and spicy sausage for this, preferably one that was apple smoked...mmm

And this recipe is not form that website: Pumpkin Risotto


Day 12: How do you celebrate Samhain/Halloween?

I normally go to a party or a club night thats local (there's usually one in Knoxville, TN that has a good goth crowd for Halloween). This year I'm hosting a birthday party for a friend of mine in Halloween style - a Witch's Tea Party ^_^ I'll also be making the cake

For the Samhain part of that, I celebrate alone. I normally set up a small altar, thank my ancestors, specifically my Aunt Venus and my great-grandmother Bertha and my grandfather Walter.
I ask for guidance form the Crone, my patron, and do some divination for the coming year.


Day 13: Favorite Halloween Movie

Oooo...thats tough as I am a major horror movie fan...
I suppose i would choose Nightmare on Elm Street (original), Pet Cemetery 2, Salem's Lot, Dracula...yea i can't pick one...sorry

Day 14: Favorite Costumes for Adults:

I will say I love group costumes

Day 17: What's your favorite scary monster?

Day 18: What God/dess do you invoke on Samhain?

The Crone. She is my patron deity and has been with me since birth. I dedicated my divination to her since i was 14, when she showed herself to me.

More to come in next post...

31 Days of Samhain: Day 8 (belated)

Day 8: What sorts of things do you put on your Samhain altar?

Sadly, my altars are usually pretty sparse and simple, so this post won't be all that elaborate.

For Samhain, I am usually alone in my celebration and will decorate either a blanket on the floor or a small table with black candles in candle holders, a small pumpkin, maybe some maple leaves, a pentacle, my athame, and a black bowl with water for scrying. Also available will be the ritual written out on parchment nearby for me to work off of.

Sorry for the simple and short post. In order to make this post a little more pleasing to read, I'll include some photos of beautiful Samhain altars I've found through a search engine.

Hunting and Magick

Its hunting season here in TN and my husband, as I type, is outside practicing shooting his bow. I was picking up a broken bow of the kitchen table earlier and thought, "This would make a decent wand." This led to many other ideas about how magick and hunting could easily be integrated.

A witch that hunts, or has loved ones that hunt, could do spells that vary from ensuring a kill to protecting the hunter to preventing bad weather.
While I haven't put that much thought into it, I did come up with what I feel are good ideas to integrate into hunting spells.

Use an arrow for a wand or athame.
Consider making camo print robes...could be cute if you go for that sort of thing, plus, they certainly call to the earthier side of magick.
Bless all the hunting clothes they will wear with both protection and health spells
Bless weapons with victory and protection (that they don't hit anyone else other than their intended target)
Blessing the kill after the hunt and giving thanks not only to the gods but also to the animal.

Gods and Goddesses of the Hunt that you can call upon in your spells include:

• Artemis or Diana (especially for bow hunting)
• Cernunnos (especially for deer hunting)
• Skadi (especially for winter hunts)
• Neith (Neit) (especially for bow hunting and Egyptian fans)
• Herne (especially for protection on the hunt or night hunts)
• Sarbanda (an assimilation of Ishtar)
• Horus is also said to be an Egyption God of the hunt

What are your ideas? Do you hunt? Do you use magick while hunting or preparing to hunt?

31 Days of Samhain: Day 5 (belated)

Day 5: A Short Biography of an Ancestor

My Aunt Venus aka Jodi was one of my favorite aunts. She was my grandfather's only sister and 1 of 8 children.
She never married and there have been many comments just in my lifetime about how she was called Jodi, rather than Venus, because she was not nearly as pretty as her namesake implied.
Though my aunt was not a beauty, she had a beautiful heart.

Aunt Jodi took care of my of her family from her grandparents to her brothers' grandbabies.
It was stated after she died that though she had no children of her own it seemed like she was the mother of many.

I am told I am very much like my aunt. We are both crafty women, making everything from our own jewelry to up-cycling clothes. We also shared a love of herbalism.
When I was sharing the recipe for the Essiac cure and speaking about Sheep's Sorrel, my mother commented on how Aunt Jodi would make the children go harvest sheep's sorrel for a cleansing tea.

I celebrated the life and blessed the after-life of my dearest aunt last Samhain, asking that she in turn bless me and my works as I follow in her footsteps of creation and healing. I will do so again this year.

BB
Dawn

31 Days of Samhain Day 3 (belated)

Day 3: What do I want to Teach people about Samhain?

That its not a commercialized party but a true religious holiday...

Remember in the movie, Hocus Pocus, where the boy was talking about how Halloween was created by the candy companies? Well, it seems that this is the accepted belief by many and is encouraged, sadly, by the chuches around me as they discourage people from going to parties and taking their children Trick or Treating. I hear most churches are doing "Harvest" celebrations at the church, which involve candy and food and a little bit of preaching for your immortal soul. It just makes me a lil sad.

And then theres this little anecdote:

I'm sitting at work earlier this week and learn that I get Monday off for Columbus Day...a day celebrating a person who did not do anything. He did not found the Americas, they were already found by Europeans, he did not even set food on American soil!.
I playfully asked, what were we supposed to do on this day, apologize to Native Americans?
Another pagan I work with asked if we got Halloween off.
Answer: No...we work overtime that Monday...
So we get off for a holiday celebrating someone who didn't really do anything to warrant celebration...but we don't get off for a holiday that is thousands of years old...has a religious background...and is actually celebrated?

I would like to teach people that Halloween isn't just some excuse to get candy, dress up and party. Its an actual religious celebration, the most important holiday for many.

Sorry for my rant, I try not to do many of those.

Pagan Prompts: Artwork (Body Art)

For the Pagan Prompt I thought I would do something a little different and share some Pagan Bodyart that I found appealing and inspiring:

I just love the coloring!

Very simple but beautiful

Gorgeous tree work

I just love this one, its like the YinYang gone Wiccan

I love the whimsy of this one, makes me want one similar to it

The Dalai Lama's Great Plan Part 1.m4v

See Part 2 here

Pagan Prompt: Wiccan Rede

When I was in high school, I was one of the few pagan students in the entired town I lived in as well as one of the most studied and experienced of the group (next to a young man who was raised in the Wiccan faith). There was a large push by the whole group for covenship and for me to take place as a sort of young High Priestess. I did not and, instead, removed myself from the group in many ways, though they were my friends. I was not ready for that sort of responsibility and now am glad that i made this decision.

My withdrawel from the pagan group at my school and in my town was viewed by many in two very different ways. One group saw this as an act of humility and modesty on my part, encouraged me and my work, and remained close friends to this day.
Another group felt I was being pompous, that my removal was in a way saying that I felt I was too good for them. One person in particular, though she acted as if she was my friend, began to perform certain spells, host certain rites and act in certain ways that were hurtful to myself and many of those around us.
In the end, I felt that if I did not do something to stop her someone was going to get hurt.

I did a simple, yet powerful bind spell on this person. I will not post the spell on here and it is listed in my BOS with words of precaution. After the binding I refused to speak to this young woman again. The binding was fairly thorough and this person found that not only could she not harm anyone but had a hard time performing any magical working. I heard from a mutal friend that her binding has lasted to this day and has caused her some problems in the magical and pagan community she has recently moved into (they will have nothing to do with her).
I did, however, set the spell so that she or someone of ability can break the binding if they do so in love, compassion and with the desire to not harm but help others (the opposite actions and emotions of why I performed the binding int he first place).

I tell this long story in order to say this.
ALL ACTIONS have an EQUAL REACTION! WHATEVER you send out WILL COME BACK! This can be viewed however you wish and be the basis of whatever lesson anyone would like to teach and set creed to: Golden Rule, 3-fold law, Wiccan Rede, Karma, etc. It is simply how the Universe works.

When I bound this person in high school, I did not consider that this act (which was done out of the desire to prevent harm, an it harm none) would eventually come back to me.
Almost a year later exactly, I began to have disturbances in my ability to perform any magical act or even meditate. It felt like my mind was in a fog any time I even thought about doing magic and when I meditated I felt literally bound up. At first I thought I had somehow picked up a leeching energy in astral travel, that recent stress had worn me thin, that I was somehow ill.
Finally, it struck me after a phone call from our mutual friend (the girl I had bound was getting married to another mutual friend). I realized that my binding spell had come back to me.

I worked through this ricochet magic slowly and with as much patience as I could muster. When I mentioned it to a local magical practitioner, she repremanded me not for binding another but for thinking I would be punished in some way for protecting myself.
I do not feel that I am being punished for trying to prevent harm. I don't think the Universe works that way. I think this was merely the Law of reaction. I did this, it was done to me. It is simple.

Pagan Prompt: The Rapture

What a topic! Though understandable after the "event" of Saturday...I had so many invites to hedonistic End of the World parties it was crazy.

Having been raised from childhood mostly by my Southern Baptist grandmother and a mom and aunt who rarely said anything about religion (but did let me miss church if I wanted to) I have had what you could call an immersion course in the Rapture Riot (as I like to call it).
Hearing enough about it, the Book of Revelations was the first book I read thoroughly (at age 8). I also asked a lot of questions because what I was being told didn't go hand in hand with what I was reading (what a shocker). In the end, I decided if the rapture happened before "The Tribulations" I didn't want to be a part of it. I wanted to see many of the things detailed in Revelations such as the dragon, the Lady clothed in the sun and crowned in stars, the angels and horsemen, etc.
Of course my desire to stay behind horrified my grandmother and after a stern talking to from her and her pastor, I never mentioend a word of it again...

14 years later...

After 2 years at a Christian college, where I studied the bible academically (and the New Testament in Greek), I am more apt to believe the Old Testament is more Kabbalistic wiht 127 different meanings for each verse, and the New Testament needs to be taken with a grain of...well...I won't go into all that.
I will say that now, Revelations still hold interest in me and more and more I am reminded of Aleister Crowley's books and teachings when I read this book.

The mysticism of a man, John, who had a vision and saw God and his thrones and all these magical things.
Plus, theres a Goddess in the book! Who woulda thunk it? The Lady clothed in the Sun, crowned by Stars, standing on the Moon. The Bride of Heaven. Sounds goddess-like to me.
The dragon has always been a favorite of mine (it wasn't until I was 15 that I made contact with my Dragon Guide and Guardian). Which leads to a second goddess! The Harlot. Now she may not be a goddess in the eyes of many Christians but she's a figure of great darkeness and the companion of the Dragon.
The 4 horsemen(no, not Jim Jack Johnny and Jose) with Hades following (I love how in Greek it is actually Hades in many translations and never The Devil, but sometimes Death. Just more fun when explaining there is not Devil in the Bible). The use of 4 is all through Revelations, which has a very strong numerological connotation. 4 hosrement, 4 thrones, 4 creatures, etc.
The use of 7 is also very strong with the 7 seals.

Anyways...I digress from the prompt...

What about the Rapture?
Well the Bible says Jesus Christ will come back for his followers but he will be like a theif in the night and no one will know the Day nore the Hour of his return.
So why are so many Christians obsessed with "It'll be in my lifetime" or "It'll be May 21, 2011" or "October 21, 2011" or "December 21, 2012" (now I have my own beliefs on 2012 but that's for another post).

I read another post on this ask, why are Christians so ready to be done with this life and move on with eternity? I think that it is because, even though they claim no belief in reincarnation and enlightenment, all beings desire it. We all desire to reach enlightenment or "heaven" and this life on this plane of existence is the main area to change your karma and reach enlightenment. We all feel this on a basic level and seek for it through religion, magic, meditation, etc. Even Christians.

Do I believe Christ is coming for his followers? Sure, but I don't think its going to be like in the Left Behind series or how many Christians think. I think Christ bridges a span of planes so that Christians can reach a level of heaven when they die instead of condemning their souls to a personal hell in the next life (for even Buddhists believe in hell).
Do I believe I will be left behind? No. I believe that I will transcend due to my own personal beliefs and work. I doubt that my next stage is true enlightenment but I have met people who are at that stage and it is glorious.

I'm sorry if thise post rambles. There is so much to say on the subject (which is why there are so many books on the topic).

Consecration

Last night Night and I cleansed and empowered our new altar. It’s so nice to finally have a permanent standing altar after years of makeshift stools and quick-to-hide blankets caused by living in a Christian household. It was also nice to perform something so simple yet so powerful as a blessing with my life-partner.
We’re not quite done with the consecration and won’t be until Wednesday, the last night of this full moon. On that night we’ll also be consecrating some of our new tools such as the wands we harvested back in the spring.
Such work along with the weather makes me anxious for Samhain.

Tarot Decks

www.housewivestarot.com
This tarot deck has to be the cutest one I’ve ever seen! So quirky, I definitely suggest everyone check it out.

The Jane Austen Tarot DeckThis is the deck that I use. My love for literature (especially Romantic/Victorian literature like that of Austen) was never something I thought I could connect to my faith until I saw this deck. Having always wanted to read tarot but never feeling any connection to the cards I was so excited when I found this. The characters and the connection all make sense. It makes me wonder why there aren’t more literary decks out there. Some good ideas would be Shakespeare, maybe Lewis Carol’s Alice books, Edgar Allen Poe…I guess if I got my ass in gear I could work on some of these ideas myself eh? Heh perhaps when I have time on summer break this year.

Merry Meet Again

Samhain fast approaches. The very air carries the intense smells of falling leaves, smoke from fires, and the crisp ice of coming winter.
My thoughts are busy with preparations. My physical work will start on the 18th, 13 days from the Sabbat. I tend to work with fairies as the day draws near, to renew my connection with my inner child (a process that is and should be on going), and mediate on the death of the Mother Goddess and the Oak God that harkens the coming of the Crone and Holly King.

Such a magical time is felt by all people, witch and mundane alike. Signs for Trunk or Treats, Fall Festivals, and Harvest Fairs are posted, decorations of warding Jack-O-Lanterns, spooky ghosts, ensnaring spider webs, and enchanting witches are set out, and boys and girls of all religions are fired-up with the energy of Halloween.

Your meditations for the Sabbat could be on ancestors and death for the season is one of endings (and eventual re-births). They could be on abundance and growth as the third Harvest comes. Or they could be on beginnings and the Witch’s New Year.
Whatever your thoughts are on I know they are blessed. Be sure to go outside and enjoy the autumnal breeze, the pumpkin moons, and the crunch of leaves beneath your feet.

Blessed Be,
Dawn