Connecting with Spirit: Part I

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alaric albertsson, book review, connecting with deity, connecting with spirit, eclectic paganism, offerings, polytheism, read along, to walk a pagan path

Oshun by Thalia Took, with permission

I’ve gotten a bit behind on my Read-Along of To Walk a Pagan Path by Alaric Albertsson (chapter 1, part 2) plans… As usual, life happened. Hubby is out of town for 2 months for work (again), and Sharkbait is needing a slight medication adjustment (sleep issues). Also, I’m trying this *get my butt in gear to apply to grad school* thing again. But, one of the things (in 3 or 4 parts, otherwise its super long) that I wanted to address before I moved on to Chapter Two was the whole idea of “Connecting with Spirit”, because I think the book really short changed it a bit in favor of a pantheon-specific polytheism perspective, and failed to consider the other ways that Pagans connect with spirit…

My daughter starting assembling her own pantheon at 4. Some of the names are similar to the deities she’d heard in myths at bedtime story time, but others are unique. Over the past few years, some of them have left, and new ones have arrived. Still others remain, though her interpretation and experience of them has changed. Mama O’shen looks very much like Oshun now but still has a dolphin daughter, Mr. Neptune, Luna (instead of Mother Moon), H’sheth, and G’geegle have been joined by Bast, Aset, Ma’at, Apollo, and Mars. My son (Sharkbait) isn’t quite as interested in the gods, but I chalk some of that up to the ADHD–he’s too busy to listen as deeply as Chickadee…but I have the feeling this might change as much as he loves it when his big sister reads mythology to him before bed.

Everybody is on a path, but everybody is at a different point on the path. In real life, if two people are on the same path, and look at the same tree, each will see it differently.

(You can do an experiment: Set a cardboard box on a table and look at it. Move one foot to the left, or to the right, or forward, or backward, and the box will look radically different. Did the box change? No, that’s an illusion. What changed was the perspective of the viewer).

So, two people on the same path, looking at the same tree will each see it differently. Arguing about “who sees it correctly” is foolish.

~B. de Corbin, Pagan Forum member, speaking on the subject Buddhist traditions…something perhaps that applies to Paganism as well.

My personal experiences have left me with a quite different perspective and practice than that offered by the author of To Walk a Pagan Path.  Lets face it, not everyone that is drawn to Paganism is drawn to a specific deity, pantheon, or culture. Albertsson suggests that the first step to living as a Pagan is “connecting with spirit”, and to this end, he suggests that we can do so through connecting with deity (which he goes on to describe in some detail), or with nature spirits or with one’s ancestors.  While I largely agree, I think the idea of “connecting with spirit” aligns better with the Four Centers of Paganism that I mentioned awhile back–deity centered Paganisms, nature/earth centered Paganisms, self centered Paganisms (don’t confuse this one with being self-centered!) and community centered Paganisms.

Connecting with the Gods—

Deity-centered Paganism includes many forms of polytheistic worship, many Reconstructionist or Revivalist forms of Paganism, including those which are closer to Heathenry, and those which borrow techniques (i.e., aspecting) from African-diasporic religions. The Pagan identity of deity-centered Pagans is defined by a dedication to one or more deities. Authenticity is determined by one’s relationship with those deities and/or one’s relationship with the reconstructed practices of ancient pagans who worshiped those deities.
~John Halstead, Three (or more?) Centers of Paganism @ The Allergic Pagan

Some of us have it easy when it come to figuring it out what tradition of Paganism we are meant to follow–perhaps we felt “called” by a particular deity, or maybe we we’ve always been drawn by a certain mythos or culture (maybe its our ancestory or a book we read as a child or a trip we took as a teen or, whatever).  If you are one of these lucky people that have an idea of where to start looking for their connection with deity, then you can jump right in!  But maybe you are someone that only knows what you *aren’t* interested in.  Or maybe you don’t even have that much of the elimination process down.  Or maybe you can’t decide between one pantheon and another.  Or maybe you are drawn to two different deities from two different cultures.  Or maybe…

I’ve tried, but I’ve never been able to muster any more than an academic interest in the Celtic, Norse, Saxon, or Egyptian pantheons or cultures (with a few exceptions).  I quite love history and mythology, but not from a personal religious interest or spiritual inspiration.  The gods that I am interested in do not have a pantheon in common (for that matter, many of them have no myths to themselves), so much as they have what I call “proper context” in common.  I’m (unabashedly) an eclectic–one of those people that Albertsson stereotypes as “scattered” who are “leaping from one pantheon to another, collecting “patron” deities like Hummel figurines” ^{(p 17)}.  But I know very few people that actually do this in practice (except maybe when they are still in that seeking newbie stage).  Eclecticism done well depends on thoughtfulness, particularly as it relates to how one views godhood, how one develops their relationship with their gods, and how one integrates their deities into their practice.

Let me say that again… Eclecticism done well depends on thoughtfulness, particularly as it relates to how one views godhood, how one develops their relationship with their gods, and how one integrates their deities into their practice.  I’d do it a third time, but I think we all get the point here.  Eclectic is not a dirty word.  It is not a lazy practice.  It is not something that should be dismissed out of hand.  It is not because someone didn’t want to do their research.  Its not because someone was hedging their bets.  Are there eclectics that do these things?  Sure there are–negative stereotypes always have anecdotal stories to accompany them.  But by and large, eclectic Pagans have their own reasoning and understandings that they have come to with just as much research and practice and experience as a pantheon-specific Pagan.

When it comes to practice, I’m quite polytheistc.  I worship one god at a time, through prayer, ritual, meditation, through mindful attention–because, to me, a one-on-one date makes more sense than a speed dating marathon. I also worship the gods in that same idea of “proper context”–for example, Psamathe, a Nereid and goddess of the beach gets worshiped at the beach (or with appropriate items of hers) for purposes under her domain while Hestia gets worshipped in my kitchen while I’m cooking for purposes under her domain.  This “proper context” is highly personal–one might see “proper context” as derived by the historically accurate portrayal of worship in a specific culture, or as relating to the culture the deity hails from without the emphasis on historical authenticity, or on the basis of the deity being representative of something valued…for me, context is centered around a deity’s identity and purpose.

Unlike Albertsson, who recommends starting with mythology as a way to find the gods that one is interested in developing a relationship with, I would recommend figuring out what one’s “proper context” is.  What is sacred?  Where do you feel the most connected?  Perhaps that connection actually comes from a specific mythology and culture–the ancient religions of the Greek or the Romans, or the Canaanaites or the Norse, or whatever.  But maybe it comes from the ocean or from being a mother or from mountain climbing or from working in a homeless shelter or from teaching.  Start where the feeling is and worship the deity that represents what you find sacred.  Don’t depend on what someone else tells you should be your proper context. The worst thing that can happen is that is that a relationship doesn’t develop and you move on (but even from that experience you can learn and grow).

From there, I can’t argue with the rest of Albertsson’s advice; its good–get to know the god or gods that speak to you (literally or metaphorically).  Read their mythology, look at devotional artwork and poetry, prayers (ancient and modern), get a sense of who they are.  And once you are ready, make an offering to them and then sit back and listen. You might need to do this for a while.

Think about an offering as making a phone call to a person that a mutual friend is trying to set you up with…they don’t have to pick it up.  By listening, I don’t mean with your ears…very rarely are you going to hear actual words, but with your entire being.  Having a pre-established practice of mindfulness is helpful here, but not required.  As Albertsson puts it “You may have a fleeting vision, or smell and odor that evokes a long-forgotten memory.  Or you may experience a “knowing,” a sudden awareness of the deity’s presence and message to you.  Or you may experience nothing at all. Do not be discouraged if this is the case.  You are not going to have a supernal experience every time you reach out to the gods and spirit.  In giving an offering to the deity, you have taken an action and made a connection.” ^{(p 17)}

He also recommends “moving on” if you don’t feel someone picking up at the other end after a few tries (to extend the metaphor of an offering being like dialing up a stranger for a date, maybe they aren’t that interested or its not a good time). Personally, I think this depends on why you’ve chosen that god.  If you aren’t looking for a personal relationship with a deity, I don’t see anything wrong with continued offerings (the gods are not, after all, actually a stranger you are calling for a date!). TBH, this idea of “personal gods” is a fairly modern development–not that it didn’t exist in ancient paganisms, but it wasn’t the norm for your average person.  For me, an offering isn’t to curry favor or attract attention; its a symbol of my sacrifice to something greater than myself.  But if you are looking for a “patron” deity of sorts, then moving on might be a good idea…if that deity (or another you hasn’t even considered) is interested in you, they will find a way to let you know (but maybe not on the timeline of our moder attention span)

Basically, how one chooses to connect with the gods is a personal thing.  It is born out of our understanding of the gods, our experiences with them, our interest in them, and maybe their interest in us…  Provided it recognizes autonomy and consent, no one should ever be judged for how they ultimately meet the gods or which gods they interact with.  And while this book (or my blog post for that matter) offer some different experiences and insights into how or why one might connect with deity, its just the opinion and experience of two people–everyone has their own methodlogy, their own story.

Read Along: To Walk a Pagan Path (Ch 1, part 2)

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alaric albertsson, book review, connecting with spirit, paganism, read along, sacred space, to walk a pagan path

Welcome back to discussing the second part of the first chapter of To Walk a Pagan Path: Practical Spirituality for Every Day by Alaric Albertsson (Book stats: 275 pages (10 chapters), published by Llwellen in 2014). Last time, I talked about my impressions of the first few pages and the idea of a dedication rite. This time, we are actually getting to the seven steps mentioned in the title! Please keep in mind this isn’t really a review, but rather a summary and commentary. Also, I’ve found that one or two of these topics are likely going to become topics on their own for future posts, so this post doesn’t become its own book!

1. Connecting with Spirit–Albertsson’s first step is to find your connection with the Divine (which is probably one of the best first steps one could suggest in how to live your religion). He offers some practical advice on finding which gods to worship, on finding a pantheon or mythology* that appeals to you, perhaps because you’ve been “called”, or perhaps based upon your heritage, or perhaps just because you’ve done some reading and picked something that interested you. He then suggests picking a god to make an offering to as the start to building a relationship, and describes the process of making an offering in a clear and easy to understand way. Like many polytheists that have chosen a specific pantheon to work with, he is fairly dismissive of eclectic Pagans (more on this shortly). And finally, almost as an afterthought, he brings up the subject of connecting to spirits in other ways–ancestor spirits and land/nature spirits.

If I have any complaint throughout this book, it is that Albertsson (understandably, mind you) has a bias towards tradition-specific polytheism (because, you know, that’s his path). As a result, his discussion of non-traditional contemporary Paganisms and eclecticism are underwhelming at best and in some places, more than a tad presumptuous (if I’m feeling uncharitable) and naively stereotypical (if I’m feeling more kindly)–“there are many Pagans today who take a more scattered, eclectic approach to connecting with Spirit, leaping from one pantheon to another, collecting “patron” deities as if they were Hummel figures.” (p 17). While it didn’t lessen the value of most of the advice in the book over all, I did find it to be an unhelpful distraction at times. I bring this up because I feel that it is important to recognize that one can absolutely have a worthwhile polytheism that is eclectic in nature (although I also recognize that there are practitioners that live down to the negative stereotype that is often levied at eclectics), also because I think that his discussion of connecting with spirit could have done a better job with ancestor spirits and land/nature spirits, and it certainly leaves out suggestions for non-theist Pagans. I strongly feel that the book would have been better served with a thoughtful look at eclectic Paganisms and a more in-depth look at non-deity centered Paganisms (something that I plan to blog about as its own topic).

2. Creating Sacred Space–After finding one’s connection with Spirit, Albertsson recommends that “your next action should be to establish a place where you can maintain and continue to build that connection” so that “there is some place in your home that is sacred and set aside for your gods” (p 19) (and/or presumably for your ancestors or nature spirits). He suggests that one’s sacred space (for devotion is an altar and that one’s altar should reflect the culture of the deities of worship–“the sacred space you reserve for your gods should be a space where they can rest comfortably” (p 19) before turning to the practical concerns of space itself and how “out” one is as a Pagan, the benefits of outdoor altar space, and of altars dedicated to one’s ancestors**.

I strongly agree with Albertsson’s assertation that establishing sacred space is of paramount importance in a Pagan practice, though my own take on things is a bit different. First of all, I view all space as sacred…we don’t create sacred space, we just acknowledge our own belongingness (to invent a work) to a particular space (which is already sacred). Functionally, it’s about introducing ourselves to the land–in a land-based practice, you don’t pick the gods you worship, the land does (and they won’t always be from a single pantheon). Secondly, I don’t see an altar as essential to sacred space and I differentiate between altars and shrines in my own practice. An altar is a place for working–for rituals, for magic, for crafting, also for mundane work…it’s a workspace that acts as a conduit (for lack of a better word) between us and outside energies. Shrines, on the other hand, “house” the essence of the object of our reverence…a shrine (IMO) is the place for offerings, for devotional prayers and meditation, etc. Additionally, I feel the former can easily be moved or stored and taken out when needed (a travel altar, for example), but the latter is something that should be established in a semi-permanent location where it doesn’t need to be moved or taken down. Third, in my practice, because is is rooted in the land first, rather than being centered around deities, acknowledging a belonging to the bioregion and introducing yourself to a particular location is how you find your connection to spirit, so this step 2 is really my step 1.

3. Creating Sacred Time–“If you do nothing with your altar, it is not truly an altar it is merely a table or shelf holding an incense burner, a couple of candles, and perhaps two or three interesting statues. The activities that take place at that table of shelf–the reverence, the offerings, and the meditation–are what give meaning to your sacred space.” ^{(p 23)} Yes! Paganism is a religion based in praxis; without practicing, all you have is a shelf of dust collectors. In this section, Albertsson talks about the fact that life happens, and the importance of consistency. Because, as he says, there is always going to be something happening that will let us feel justified in putting it off until the next day. His recommendations include setting aside a specific time for doing this. Practically speaking, that might be during a certain event of your day after you wake up or while you wait for your morning coffee to percolate, or it might be at a specific time each day (in my experience, setting your alarm for this is a good idea). Whether its 5 minutes or 15 or 50 isn’t as important as consistency. And it doesn’t have to be every day–maybe it’s just once or twice a week. Albertsson’s advice (and I concur) is to pick the smallest time commitment that you can reasonably stick with…if you can’t stick with it, then it’s not reasonable for your lifestyle. His last advice here regards the interruptions that life brings to even the best laid plans, “When something like this happens, attend to the problem but make your sacred time the next highest priority. If you put it off any longer than necessary, you diminish its worth.”^{(p 26)}

4. Sacralize Daily Activities–Albertsson’s fourth step is to “integrate our spirituality with the rest of our lives” as our spirits are “sustained by the mindful actions you take to sacralize your daily activities” ^{(p 27)}. He explains his tradition’s “Hal Sidu”, or “holistic tradition” (I call this “artem vitae”, which is Google Latin for “art of living” and my summer sister*** calls it “nuanaarpoq” which is an Inuit word that means something akin to “taking extravagant pleasure in being alive”) as an integration of our spirituality into the everyday of our lives. I won’t spend too much time here, since his third chapter is pretty much dedicated to this idea, except to say that this sacralization might be while you do dishes or take a shower or when you drink your first cup of tea (whether you are interested in Wicca or not, Diane Sylvan’s Circle of One has some great ideas on this topic). Or maybe it’s mindful eating and before meal prayers, or meditation while swimming laps or while running each morning–you name it. As Albertsson says, “Any worthwhile pursuit can be a sacred act.” ^{(p 29)} As I put it, let every action or our bodies be a prayer of our soul.

5. Observe Regular Húsles –Perhaps this would be better titled “Observe regular rites” or “Observe regular Offerings”… According to Albertsson, a húsle (sometimes called a faining) is his tradition’s “formal offering usually given to a specific spirit” ^{(p 29)}.  With that being said, what Albertsson is really calling for here (as opposed to a regular schedule of making offerings) is a ritual practice that is “more formal that a person’s ordinary devotionals” that “recur at specific times” and often are “observed with a group rather than one’s self” ^{(p 30)}.  Some examples of this from other traditions, include blots or esbats, or any other regularly religious observation–what he isn’t talking about are actual holy days (that’s #5 on his list).

If I were to call out any of the 7 steps as perhaps less important (or maybe even unimportant) for some individual paths, this would probably be one I’d single out. I think that whether or not regular formalized religious rites are useful to you will first depend on your personal connection with spirit.  If one has a mostly (or entirely) solitary practice or a practice that isn’t deity-centered, perhaps a weekly or daily devotional practice in combination with seasonal observances is enough for one’s needs.  From personal experience and observation, I also know that this depends on the conditions in one’s life–not every community has a Pagan community, not every Pagan community has fellow members of one’s own tradition or welcoming to one’s own tradition, and not every Pagan community is accessible or amenable to one’s personal needs.****

6. Observe Holy Tides–The next step is a set of seasonal observances that recognizes the significance of the passage of time throughout the year.  Albertsson mentions a number of possibilities here–following the contemporary Pagan Wheel of the Year, whether in the Wiccan form or some other adapted way, or to celebrate an annual calendar from another culture.  As he puts it, “The important thing is not what calendar you follow, but that you consistently observe the hold tides–the holidays of that calendar.  By doing so you touch the earth, attuning yourself to the seasonal change occurring around you.” ^{(p 32)} I’m not going to spend too much time discussing this step now, since it’s the very next chapter!

7. Find Your Folk–“Humans, however, are social, tribal creatures, and the overwhelming majority of us are happier when we can share our life  experiences with others… Our celebrations, whether secular or spiritual, are more fulfilling when we are joined with others of like mind”^{(p 32-33)}.  Albertsson takes some time in this next step to talk about the benefit of having some sort of non-solitary practice, whether its is a single family or a formal group–support, advice, assistance, fellowship, and friendship, to name a few.  He also offers some practical advice in finding the “right people to enter into such a relationship with” , from the practical–compatibility of beliefs and membership expectations, to the precautionary–that active recruitment of new members can be an indication of something not being on the level.  This last step is another that might not be up everyone’s alley, for a number of reasons (many of which overlap with the reasons from step 5).  For those where a local community doesn’t mesh with their own practice or beliefs, online communities may be an option worth looking into.  While the worship aspect would be difficult, the community aspect–advice, support, assistance, and friendship is not.

Extra Thoughts:
*I have a wee complaint here, on the author’s “dislike (of) the word mythology because of its secondary definition meaning “something untrue”^{(p 14)}, as I have a very broad understanding of mythos which is comfortable with the idea that myths are “untrue” (if by untrue one means not factual). As its a disagreement on semantics, I figured I’d keep it out of the main body of discussion.

**Albertsson takes a “not necessarily limited to your biological lineage” ^{(p 22)} approach to ancestors, which I like (= have issues with the bloodline idea of ancestry.

***My BFF since high school and I have long called ourselves summer sisters from our decade of summer canoe and camping trips together, before we’ve had to become long-distance BFFs.

****This might be a physical need such sign language interpretation for Deaf Pagans at Pagan rituals, or it might be a lifestyle need, like child care for Pagan parents that would like to participate–while I can’t personally comment of the former, I’ve long been a follower of Deaf Pagan Crossroads, and know that this (and other) barriers exist for many Pagans…but on the latter, I can definitely comment that Hubby and I often felt unwelcome once we had (mobile) children (if I couldn’t leave them at home) at the very events that we had faithfully attended when it was just the two of us. Many Pagan groups and events that I have encountered don’t have adequate support for families, particular when the kids are between the toddler and early elementary ages.

Just Read: A Discovery of Witches

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a discovery of witches, book review, deborah harkness

Harkness, D.  A Discovery of Witches.  New York: Viking. 2011. Pp 579 ( Hardcover 28.95).

Read with: a cup of Yogi Kava Stress Relief tea, two cups of peppermint tea with honey, a glass of hibiscus lemonade, one (real) Coca-Cola (from the Mexican grocery), two refills on my stainless steel water bottle and a glass of moscato over two days in about 7 hours.

Overall impression:  I liked this book.  I love smart books–ones that are based, at least in part, in actual academic disciplines, and which uses them to drive the story in some way. This is a book written by a historian about a historian in denial about being a witch, who happens upon the biggest magical discovery in 150 years (a book which has been missing for that amount of time) and sets the community of supernatural beings reeling.

The book is set modern times, mainly in the collegiate atmosphere of England (Oxford and so forth), the French countryside and the Northeast of the US.  The inhabitants are a bit different though–witches, vampires and daemons, who may or may not be separate (but closely allied) species to humans, but all of whom must keep (mostly) quite about their differences to the main human population. The main character, Diana Bishop, comes from a long line of witches in America–all the way back to Salem.  In denial of her heritage, she eschews witchcraft in pursuit of the history of science (a study after my own heart, though her preference of 17th century chemistry is about 200 years too early, and the wrong discipline for me!).  In Oxford, she accidentally rediscovers the lost alchemic text known as the Ashmole 782 and unwittingly attracts the attention of the supernatural world, including the attentions of one Matthew Clairmont, (classic hottie) vampire, wine enthusiast and scientist. From there, they are pursued by witches, daemons and vampires (whom are mostly antagonistic to one another) for various reasons…but you’ll have to read it for yourself!

All in all, it was a darn good book.  It did get a bit bogged down in the middle, but it was forgivably well written and the characters were likable (though a bit cliched for the genre).  The biggest attraction of this book, that sets it apart, is the smart factor…its a bit like an atypical urban fantasy The DaVinci Code.

Four elements of five!

Guilty Pleasure: The Alexia Tarabotti series

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alexia tarabotti, book review, gail carriger, steampunk

The Alexia Tarabotti novels by Gail Carriger. Soulless, Changeless, Blameless and Heartless, with a fifth book (Timeless) to appear in March 2012.

As the cover of my copy of Heartless says…”A novel of vampires, werewolves and teapots.”  And really, in my world, it doesn’t get much better than that…unless its vampires, werewolves and teapots in a bubble bath with a bottle of bubbly and a box of chocolates.  I have to say that I *really* love to read these books.  Maybe it’s the steampunk, maybe it’s the almost Austin-esque propriety of the heroine, or maybe it’s the author’s ability to put a some unique ideas to vampires and werewolves without running them…but in the end, I love reading these books.

These books are decidedly un-epic (in the LOTR sense).  If that is what you are in the mood for, you are picking up the wrong read.  But for a spot of diversion on a long afternoon, with a bit of Victorian flair, some steamy mechanisms, and a refreshing approach to the supernatural, this is like a big, fat puffy cotton candy at the county fair.

The Alexia Tarabotti novels tell the story of one Alexia Tarabotti and her preternatural ability—born without a soul, Alexis is a sort of antidote to for those with too much soul, who are able to become supernatural (hence the vampires and werewolves, as well as ghosts).   Her adventures feature her unflappable servant Floote, her aweful family, her good friend and dandy, the vampire Lord Akeldama, and her werewolf admirer-turned-husband.  Alexia solves mysteries of questionable clockwork gadgets and supernatural misbehavior while serving the Queen as one of her “advisors” on matters not-quite-human and sporting an excellent taste in fashion, and an appallingly eccentric pimped out parasol.

Four brass octopi of five (you’ll have to read ‘em to get *that* reference)

Nourishing Traditions review

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book review, fermented foods, nourishing traditions, recipes

Fallon, Sally.  Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats. New Trends Publishing: Washington DC, 1999. Kindle edition.

I’m not totally sure where to start with this book…  It’s mostly a cookbook, and I haven’t road tested 99% of the recipes in it, so in a way, I can’t really say that much about it.  Even so, I welcome the recipes in it because they emphasize techniques that avoid processed foods, and have been largely lost to our modern culture.

With that being said, I agree with the basic message implied in this book—that we are overly dependent upon the industrial food system, that overall, this system contributes to the societal health problems endemic in our culture and that a return to simple eating (and to spreading the food preparation techniques of our great-grandmothers) would be a start to ameliorating some of these problems.  Unfortunately, I have some very big reservations with the specific dietary claims made by this book and the lack of scientific evidence for them.  I think that this book passes a great deal of pseudo-sciencific off as some sort of anti-establishment, stick it to the man, revolutionary ideology that is being purposely ignored…which I find just as autocratic and arrogant as the secondary title of this book.  I also happen to know that this book has some major fans who would happily (and in some cases, angrily) disagree with me until they are blue in the face…

Three spoons—two for the recipes, and one for the basic premise.