Read Along: To Walk A Pagan Path (Chapter 7)

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Welcome back to the Read Along of To Walk a Pagan Path by Albert Albertsson–Catch up here with Chapter 1 (part 1), Chapter 1 (part 2), Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 5 (I’m still skipping Chapter 4 for now), and Chapter 6.  Today’s commentary will be for Chapter 7, “The Birds and the Bees”.

This holiday is celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox. In Latin it is called Pascha, the French call it Paques, the Spanish say Paschal, and the Swedes say Pask. The only two languages that have preserved the name of the goddess who was once praised and honored in mid-spring are German, which names this holiday Ostern, and and the English language, where it is known as Easter.

Very little solid information about the goddess Eastre (or Eostre) has survived. Her name is cognate with our word east, and so we can surmise that she is a goddess of the Dawn and, because of her feast date, of the spring–a goddess of beginnings. Her moon marked the beginning of Eostre’s month, which later became to be known by its Roman name, April. In the pre-Christian era, Eostre’s feast was one of the three great festivals of the Germanic world.

Now, I’ve not read A History of Pagan Europe by Prudence Jones and Nigel Pennick (the book that the author references for at least the last portion of the above quote), but I’ve read enough in my 20+ years as a Pagan to have some doubts about Albertsson’s choice of openings to this chapter. Of all the Wheel of the Year holidays, Eostre is the one whose provenance has always been a bit thin:

Our sole authority for Eostre is Bede, who says that she was the Anglo-Saxon goddess after whom the month of April is named. He did not associate her with hares, and modern scholarship finds her name cognate with many Indo-European words for dawn, which presents a high possibility that she was a dawn-goddess, and so April as the Eostre-month was the month of opening a new beginning which makes sense in a North German climate.

~Ronald Hutton

So, we have a holiday whose first historical written reference is by the Venerable Bede in his 8th century De ratione temporum, later followed by some commentary by Joseph Grimm’s Deutsche Mythologie from the 19th century–these two bits of source material seem to the reference material for all modern claims of the goddess Eostre. We also have a preponderance of folk-festivals and custom involving bunnies, eggs, and other spring things. And last, but certainly not least, there’s the proposed proto-Indo-European (PIE) root word (a reconstruction of a theorized goddess name), Hausos (also *h₂ewsṓs, Aeusos, or Xáusṓs). My problem with this introduction to the chapter is my problem with how this holiday is generally addressed among Pagans–as fact.

There may have been a goddess of the dawn named Eostre that was largely lost to time (I find this odd, when so much of Germanic myth was preserved) but can still be found through the tracing of linguistic evidence back to the cultural group from which most Pagan religions descend.  There were definitely a number of springtime festivals throughout Pagan Europe, and bunnies and eggs certainly play a role in the symbols and customs of a number of European folk traditions that undoubtedly have Pagan roots.  And, most certainly, the Eostre-as-goddess idea is true by simple fact that itis what (most) Pagans celebrate–its what we do, what we believe, etc.  My objection to it is treating it as historical fact when, in fact, we don’t know that it is historical fact.  We hope it might be, we believe it might be, and we think we have evidence that supports it…but there are other plausible, evidenced (and more parsimonious) hypotheses out there*.

The problem is this–when one  belongs to a tradition that has often used inaccurate or outright manufactured claims for as a bid for legitimacy, I think its fairly safe to say that one loses their credibility.  This, like many things in Paganism, becomes a conflict over authenticity vs. validity.  We like the idea of Eostre, Goddess of Spring, because she “fits” our narrative–but what we “know” of her (everything but her possible name) as been our creation to fill avoid in that narrative.  Since this is a topic I’ve already broached, I’ll leave my criticism with one last general thought, as it has effectively become longer than the two paragraphs it is addressing:  Validity without historical authenticity is better than validity with false historical authenticity; with the former, you at least keep the validity…and with the latter, you have neither.

Moving on…

Then came spring’s promise.  First came the lambing season, which meant fresh milk as the ewes began to lactate.  And by this time, the chickens were produing more than an occasional egg…

…For early Pagan people, the spring eggs were life; they were much-needed sustenance and nourishment after the hardship of winter.

Albertsson continues to draw upon other commonalities and to discuss spring (and the symbols of spring) as a gateway to discuss additional customs, rituals, and activities to incorporate an observation of the seasons and a more natural way of living (the *actual* point of this book anyhow).  Among these topics, he addresses the following (not necessarily in order):

• Natural Egg Dying–Of all his suggestions this one (and egg divination) are probably the easiest for people in a variety of living situations.  There are actually a number of ways to dye eggs (if you Goggle “natural egg dying” everyone from Better Homes and Gardens and Martha Stewart to CrunchyMomBlog (I’m making this one up as a summary of every “natural” parenting blog ever) has a website about it.  Basically, simmer any colored plant matter til it turns a few shades darker than you want your eggs, toss in a tablespoon of vinegar per cup of dye, and then soak the eggs in the cooled dye til they reach the preferred color.  You can rub some oil onto the eggs to deepen the color and make them shiney.  Albertsson suggests a slightly different method of boiling the eggs and the ingredient for coloring at the same time…but its been my experience dying other things (like cloth and yarn) that sometimes it takes longer than the length of time required to boil eggs to get the desired shade.
• Keeping Chickens–I’m a huge fan of keeping chickens.  I know a number of people that do, I love fresh eggs, and when I eventually have a yard, I’m totally down with this.  As an apartment dweller, its just not practical.  With that being said, if keeping chickens is something you want to do, there are some excellent print and online resources.  Albertsson’s synopsis of chicken-keeping is an excellent overview to introduce someone that is unsure or has never thought about it to the idea.  For more information (if its something that interests you) I would recommend starting with BackyardChickens.com’s forums, which are full of helpful individuals and some good resource lists (I’ve been lurking there for years).  If you want to keep chickens, the big things that I’ve learned that you need to consider are 1) local ordinances, 2) breeds suitable to your climate, 3) suitable habitat for your chickens (you’re gonna need a coop, a place to put it, and a way to keep them safe from whatever your predators are–for me, that’s hawks, eagles, osprey, gators, foxes, snakes, coyotes…also, I like the idea of a mobile coop), and 4) the time to properly research their needs and care for them appropriately.  Most of what Albertsson says here is a summary of what you can find more fully developed elsewhere.  The biggest novel idea that he presents here is in using magic and ritual to bless and protect your coop and/or flock.
• Egg Divination–“With your own eggs, you can practice one of the oldest forms of divination.  It is a practice known variously as oomantia, ovamancy, oloscopy, or oomancy…”  Basically, egg divination involved hot water, and cracking one of your freshly laid backyard chicken eggs (just the white) into the hot (not boiling water) and interpreting the shapes it creates (not unlike reading tea leaves).  Albertsson is quite adamant about this only being *truly* significant if its a nice fresh egg out from under your own chiken, and not from the grocery store.  Personally, I’d hate to waste good fresh eggs like that (they are SO much tastier than store eggs)…unless I was doing oomancy while making egg drop soup.
• Bee Keeping–Albertson recommends bee keeping for honey, beeswax (good for candles, salves, etc), a way of being part of the Earth’s cycles, supporting pollination, and for pure entertainment (also as a social topic of interest).  He talks a little bit about bees (from human history to bee behavior), of keeping bees (taking bee keeping classes, hive maintenance), and “making it Pagan” (deities amenable to bee-oriented magic).  He also mentions that even if you aren’t going to keep bees yourself, you should plant with a mind to the bees.  And this is true–bees are immensely important to our way of life, to our agriculture…and they are in trouble from that same way of life (CCD, or colony collapse disorder, is a terribly threat to honey bees, with a complex etiology).  But it is important to remember, whether you keep honeybees or not, that there are other pollinators–pollinators that are actually native to our ecosystems (unless you are reading this from Europe, honey bees (Apis mellifera) are not a native species), that you should also be planting for and can also make homes and shelter for.  Native bees may not make honey, but they are still important!

 

Next time, Chapter 8: Making Food.

* I’m quoting Wiki here only because it has the most complete explanation that I’ve been able to find outside of a book (and yes, its footnoted):

In 1959, Johann Knobloch proposed a different etymology. Writing of “the relationship between dawn and springtime, between night – or early morning – and daybreak in the Christian Eastern rituals of the East and the West”, he proposed that the Old High German name for the feast, Ōst(a)rūn, as a Gallo-Frankish coinage, drawn from Latinalbae in the designation of Easter Week as hebdomada in albis and in the phrase albae (paschales). The Germanic word is connected with an Indoeuropean word for the dawn (uşás-, Avestan ušab-, Greek ἠώς, Latin aurora, Lithuanian aušrà, Latvian àustra, Old Church Slavonic za ustra), and Knobloch links this derivation with the word albae in the phrases in Church Latin, with which are associated the French and Italian words for the dawn, and connected it with the dawn service of the Easter Vigil in which those to be baptized faced east when pronouncing their profession of faith.  Jürgen Udolph, himself a proponent of a different view, says that, although the theory that the words “Easter” and “Ostern” come from the name of a Germanic goddess reconstructed by Jacob Grimm as Ostara is the most widespread at a popular level, Knobloch’s proposal enjoys most support.

(source)

 

Read Along: To Walk A Pagan Path (Ch. 6)

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Welcome back to the totally-not-on-schedule Read Along of To Walk a Pagan Path by Albert Albertsson…  If you’d like a refresher (or a first look) at the rest of the posts, catch up here with Chapter 1 (part 1), Chapter 1 (part 2), Chapter 2, Chapter 3, and Chapter 5 (I’m still skipping Chapter 4 for now).  But for today, we’ll visit Chapter 6, entitled “Bark and Branch”.

Whether due to  longevity or size, trees are often accorded a status higher than other botanical species. “Save a tree” is the environmental battle cry. You are unlikely to hear anyone saying “save a dandelion,” even though dandelions provide food for honey bees, discourage army worms and help break up hardened soil. Dandilions and most other plants just do not command the same degree of respect that we have for trees.

Admittedly it takes longer to replace a tree than a dandelion but our arboreal veneration arises from a deeper, spiritual association that we have with trees that is often reflected in Pagan myths and folklore.

~To Walk a Pagan Path by Albert Albertsson (Ch 6, p. 145)

Whether one venerates nature for its literal attributes, sees it as part of a broader Divinity in a pantheistic sense, or whether one truly believes in individual nature spirits (as does the author of this book), it would logically follow that  “to senselessly pollute or destroy these wild places is no less an offense than vandalizing a neighbor’s house.”  Even so, many a Pagan (in my experience, more so among hard polytheists and reconstructionist crowds) denies that their religion is nature-centered, earth-based, environmentalist, or even concerned with their local ecology.  And I’m sorry, but I think this attitude is nothing short of bullshit.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I think that as Pagans, we have the duty to…examine our privilege and its accompanying consumption habits (as individuals and in our communities), and to make conscious decisions about the resources we use and the waste we create.   If we don’t do at least that, how can we claim to either be revering the Earth itself or celebrating the cycles of the Earth?  How can we claim to be paying homage to the Spirits of a place we’ve treated like a dump?  How can we claim to honor the Spirit of the Bear or the Fox or the Turtle, etc  when we are destroying the habitat and poisoning the young of bears and foxes and turtles?  How can we claim to be respecting our ancestors when we fail to preserve a legacy for our children? How do we claim to be worshiping gods that represent the forces of this world, our world, if we aren’t respecting that world?

Quite simply, we can’t.

…though that isn’t really the point of this chapter…

Embedded in all of our cultures are customs of our natural reverence.  Albertsson addresses the importance of specific trees to a variety of Paganisms:

• Oak, ash, hawthorn, yew, and birch are all described in the Old English Rune Poem
• The oak tree, in particular, has a strong place in the memory of England, with a number of historically significant, named oaks
• Hawthorns are both believed to be protective and to bring ill fortune according to English folk customs while rowan trees (aka the mountain ash) is thought to be protective
• Norse and Germanic Paganisms contain the idea of the World Tree (Yggdrasil), which connects various planes of existence
• Maypole dances celebrate spring, fertility, etc–in some places this custom is still quite strong, and quite secular, as a child my elementary school held a Maypole dance as they’d been doing since the school was built in early 1900’s (my hometown had a huge German population that mostly renounced their German identity in the shadow of WWI, but they kept this custom)
• In Greek mythology, Athena created the olive tree to become the patron of the city-state that would become Athens
• and more…*

Albertsson goes on to discuss other ways that we can bring trees into our own practice, starting with the Yule Tree which many of us, including my family, likely already include in our winter holiday celebrations.  He then expands on the idea of the Yule tree to also including a midsummer tree–rather than bringing the tree indoors, adopting an outdoor tree to decorate with natural decorations (cut fruit, birdseed pinecones, etc).  Our family does something like this, but we do it for Imbolc; either way, as Albertsson writes “children love decorating a midsummer tree but it is fun for adults as well!”  Albertsson also says, “the summer solstice is opposite to the Yule season so it makes sense to decorate a midsummer tree that is the opposite to the Yule Tree”  and advocates using a deciduous tree rather than an evergreen one.

Albertsson also addresses the idea of planting your own urban orchard, with some practical advice on selecting dwarf varieties of trees that are easier to pick from and better fit most people’s yards, and a ritual for planting and blessing a new tree.  I love the idea of introducing edible trees to the yard–obviously, you need to know about where you live and what your yard and your climate can support (and you need to match that with something your family is willing to eat for the entire growing season).  While growing edible trees is mostly a requirement for people with yards, there are a few that, given the right climate, can be grown in pots.  Right now, I have a dwarf Meyer lemon tree, a dwarf yaupon holly, a key lime, a eucalyptus, and a tea plant in pots on my patio, with plans for a clementine, an arbequina olive, an avocado, and a pecan tree…none of them are even close to harvestable yet, but they are doing quite well in their containers off my balcony (and once we give up apartment living, should do well in our future yard).

Albertsson finishes up the chapter with the idea of adding a tree to the altar where he talks about his use of a bonsai to represent the World Tree (including his many failures in growing one initially):

Many Pagans today like to keep symbols representing a tree on the altars.  This is especially true for some druids, and for Pagans following a Saxon or Norse path for whom the symbol represents the World Tree.  The symbol can be almost anything, such as a painting or perhaps an iron or an aluminum sculpture.  But what could you place on your altar that better represents a tree than…a tree?

And really, who can argue with that?

 

*And speaking of more, there are a number of pretty decent books about trees out there, in terms of natural history, folklore, etc.  I recommend these in particular:  The Meaning of Trees: Botany, History, Healing, Lore by Fred Hageneder, The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate—Discoveries from a Secret World by Peter Wohlleben, and Whispers from the Woods: The Lore & Magic of Trees by Sandra Kynes

Connecting with Spirit: Part III

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Connecting Within the Self

I don’t mean this in the pejorative sense of ego-centrism, and for that reason I have capitalized the word “Self”, by which I mean something which transcends the ego and even the individual. This analogy may be helpful: as the Vedantic Brahman is to the Atman, so the Self is to the ego. “Self” can be a misleading term, but I think it is actually appropriate for that reason, because the danger of Self-centered spiritual practice is always that it will become ego-centered. (My own spiritual path partially overlaps with this kind of Paganism.) Self-centered Paganism includes Jungian Neopaganism, many forms of Wicca and feminist witchcraft, and more ceremonial or esoteric forms of Paganism. The Pagan identity of Self-centered Pagans is defined by spiritual practices which aim at development of the individual, spiritually or psychologically. Paganism is, for some Self-centered Pagans, a form of therapy or self-help. Authenticity is determined by one’s relationship with one’s Self, with that larger sense of Self which extends beyond the boundaries of one’s ego and one’s individual person. To put it another way, Pagan authenticity for this group is measured in terms of personal growth, whether that growth be toward psychological wholeness or ecstatic union with a divine “One”.
~John Halstead Three (or more?) Centers of Paganism @ The Allergic Pagan

Lets just get the first problem with a Self-centered Paganism out of the way.  Its the name, right?  Makes you think selfish, egocentric, arrogant, asshole by default?  Maybe its just me, but from now on, I think I’ll go with calling it Self-centric…  Now what about problem two–wtf do we mean by “Self” in this context anyhow?   Probably one of the more prolific Pagan bloggers on this subject (particularly with regard to the influence of Jung) is John Halstead, so I’m going to be defaulting to his explanation of what “the Self” *is* with regard to Self-centric Paganism.

Here, I’m going to talk about Self-centric Paganism as I practice it; as a sort of In-scape or Innerworld work that strives to make connections with what I see as the various aspects of (my) Self.  These aspects are eclectic–some of the ideas are Jungian, some are Jungian-ish, and there are influences from the three aspects of the soul in the Feri tradition, and from chakra work.  I work with (my) Self in 7 aspects; certainly it could be divided into many more (or less), or the aspects could be viewed differently, with different names and characteristics.  This is just my personal preference, as the most useful way I’ve found to work with the different facets of my personality, as well as to help the kiddos work through different issues of their own.  But regardless of what aspects of your Self you chose, the important thing to remember is that these aspects aren’t something you have, its something you are.

1.  Connecting with your Wild Child.  In the Feri tradition, what I call the Wild Child is fairly analogous to the fetch.  Your inner Wild Child is child-like, from a sensory perspective, but more adult in his/her interests.  S/he craves sensations and a little bit of mayhem–dance, play in the mud, play with play dough, swing on a swing, stomp in puddles…but (like a child) still needs structure and discipline.  The Wild Child is the part ourselves that is the most connected with nature and the Earth and, I would argue, the most embracing of its magic.  If you are into chakra work, this part of yourself is most strongly connected with the root chakra; it craves security AND freedom.  For some of us, our Wild Child may be overly repressed, and needs to be let out; for others it may be overly loud and need some reigning in.

2.  Connecting with your Wounded Self.  Almost no one escapes life without scars, physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, or all of the above.  We all carry wounds somewhere on our soul, some of which have healed well, some that have healed poorly, some that have become infected, and some that remain open and gaping.  When we connect with our Wounded Self, we become our own healer and identify those wounds, how they were made, and how we can facilitate their healing in a way that minimizes the impact of their scars on our daily lives.  It is connected with the sacral chakra, for those that do chakra work.  The wounded self, IMO, is also where our conscience starts–if something hurts you, you know it will hurt another; someone with a well-developed Wounded Self (and well-developed does not mean oft injured) generally has a strong sense of empathy, and therefore, a strong sense of right and wrong.  The kids call this their Jiminy Cricket.

3.  Connecting with your Shadow.  Our shadow is generally a part of ourselves that we don’t like and try to bury.  Basically, its the flip side or the hidden side of the Talking Self.  In the interest of parsing words, I recommend another of John’s posts on the Shadow Self.   By connecting with our Shadow Self, we can come to terms with (and maybe even honor) those parts of our-self that we spend too much time denying.  I have a hard time dealing with anger, because it was an emotion that I learned to repress very early on in life for fear of getting hit by my father…anger tends to leak from me in the form of sarcasm, or occasionally explode in a burst of temper because (and I’m certain I’m not alone here) I never learned to deal with it in a healthy way as a child, and was made to feel ashamed of being angry.  As a parent, part of my shadow work is acknowledging my anger, accepting it, and finding a safe place to express it (because all parents know kids know how and when to push our buttons for maximum impact).  For anyone doing chakra work, the Shadow can be connected with via the solar plexus chakra.

4.  Connecting with your Mirrored-Self.  The Ancient Greeks had six words for love.  You are likely familiar with 5 of them, but its the sixth that is pertinent here–Philautia, or love of the self (something best done in moderation).  The Mirrored-Self is connected to both our social identity and our self-identity.  When we are well connected with our Mirrored-Self, we are able to let go of how we think others view us (which is generally the source of bias for how we see ourselves) and seek an objective self (an unblemished mirror) that is worthy of philautia (but not so much that we become narcissistic).  Connecting with our Mirrored-Self is about acknowledging our flaws (because we are all flawed human beings) and both seeking to overcome or rectify them AND to forgive ourselves for having them or falling short on getting rid of them.  For those that do chakra work, the Mirrored-Self is in the realm of the heart chakra, because you can’t truly love another flawed human being, unless you accept and love yourself.

5.  Connecting with your Talking Self.  Jung would call this the Ego, but I prefer the Feri term for it… Realistically, most of us are nearly always connected to our Talking Self, so when I say “connecting” with it, I’m not suggesting we need to find it, but rather that we need to acknowledge it and define its edges so that we can release it for a while and move beyond it.   Talking Self falls under the aegis of the throat chakra.  The Shadow is a sublimated aspect of the Talking Self and often shows up in unexpected ways when dealing with Talker.  When dealing with Talking Self, we first need to know the limitations of him/her:

Talker is the part you are used to thinking of as yourself. It’s your social self, the one you present to the world. Talker’s favorite tool is language, because that’s how we social-animal hominids evolved to connect with one another. Talker has its own magic, to do with glamorie and storytelling, but often the more rigid and less charming aspects of it tend to take over. Since it is by necessity focused outward and towards other people, Talker is also the most prone to being pulled out of whack.

~from “Align Your Souls (Feri part 6)” by Sara Amis via Pantheon @ Patheos

6.  Connecting with your Judging Self.  Because I love watching Star Trek (but not enough to go to conventions), I like to call this my Inner Vulcan, because I tend to have a strong empirical streak.  This is the aspect of our-self that is the most concerned with what we value, and is connected to the pineal chakra.  It is the part of our-self that is capable of being reasonable and rational, sometimes even to the point of being unreasonable and irrational (pretty much like most of the Vulcans during the entire Enterprise series).  It is also the part of our-self that can choose to reject the rational, in favor of the intuitive, sometimes to the point of denying reality and being flighty.  When our Judging Self is balanced, we are able to look at both objective and subjective realities and value both as important to the human condition.  Our Judging Self and our Wounded Self are in flux together, one feeding the other in a sort of feedback loop.

7.  Connecting to your Expansive Self.  In the Feri tradition, this is known as the God-self or Deep Self (its also called this in the Reclaiming tradition).   Another way that one can think of this aspect of our-self is as part of the Anima Mundi, or as part of a Universal Consciousness.  Our Expansive self is connected to the Crown Chakra.  This is the part of us that can connect with divinity, in what ever form we conceive of it, and connection to our Expansive Self is highly personalized and dependent on the ways that we perceive sacredness and communicate with what we see as the Divine.  Our Expansive Self is sort of the flip side of a coin with Wild Child, and to some degree, we are working to keep them in a state of equilibrium.

Methods for Connection

We can connect with these different aspects of the Self in a variety of ways, such as through meditation and visualization (guided or otherwise), through direct worship–via prayer or offerings, and from mundane activities that honor the qualities and preferences of the various aspects.  By extablishing a religious relationship with the Self, we are engaging in worship of the Divine-within, an important source of connection and power.

Common Pagna shrine-work often focuses on the Three Kindreds, on honoring the gods of one’s house, one’s ancestors the spirits of one’s land.  All of these things are important for practical magic, but it is also important for magicians to take up the cult of the Inner Divine.  We know that within us is the very Fire of the Druids, the true Holy Well.  The very powers by which the Gods make and nourish the world are ours to use, according to our strength, wisdom, and skill.

This power–this Divine in Us–is worthy of our worship.  It is our own magic…by which we work our will in the world.

~Ian Corrigan, Sacred Fire, Holy Well: A Druid’s Grimoire

One of the most basic ways I connect with these aspects of (my) Self is through a modified chakra meditation.  Using chakra imagery, I sort of “check in” which the different aspects of (my) Self–are they balanced, are they operating optimally, are they being fulfilled, and (most importantly) are they working together?  Usually the answer is yes…while I do have to fight a tendency to live inside my head more than is healthy, along with a bit of a habit of procrastination, some issues with repressing anger that I need to work on, and I constantly feel like I need to prove myself to myself, I think over all, I’m fairly operational and balanced.  But sometimes the answer is no–maybe work stress or parenting stress is getting to me, maybe I’ve been sick, maybe I’ve had to push off too much work around the house to play chauffeur for the minions while the hubby is out of town–regardless of the reason, sometimes one aspect or another gets overworked or neglected and they all get out of whack.

I am not of the opinion that these aspects are subpersonalities, but rather that they are different lenses through which we see the world.  For example, I’m a mom and a wife–what I do and value as mother for my children and our relationship isn’t necessarily the same as what I do and value as a wife to my husband and our relationship (just as what he does and values as a father for our children and as a husband to me isn’t necessarily the same).  When the roles are related and the goals are similar, there is bound to be overlap…but when they have less in common (for example, my role as a member of the military often was at odds with my role as a wife and mother), there is less overlap and occasional conflict.  The aspects of (my) Self, are more like being a mom and a wife and a veteran and a scientist, etc., than the personalities The Three Faces of Eve.  I deal with “conflict” between these aspects in a variety of ways…most commonly by reengaging (generally in mundane ways) with that aspect, or sometimes through meditation or ritual.  I also occasionally engage with them through creative visualization as if they were separate entities, but I’m fairly sure this is not a good idea for everyone to try…I know a number of people whose level of discernment combined with an activity like this would lead to trouble.

Because I also think these are sort of Universal archetypes (though not in the traditional sense) that can be seen on personal, family, community, and societal levels, and even on the level of humanity as a whole, as well as having deities that are representative of these archetypes (there are several trickster-type gods with strong Wild Child and Shadow tendencies in particular), I don’t feel out of place honoring the Divine-within through actual worship, mostly in the form of prayer, but also in offerings.  While I’m fairly sure this system isn’t quite what Ian Corrigan had in mind when he talked about our Inner Fire being worthy of worship, I find that it works for me, not as a means to increase my magical power, but as a means to foster a greater balance and connection to a Universal consciousness and to Earth Herself.

Ultimately, this is just one Self-centric Paganism.  Other Paganisms often have a Self-centric aspect, even if they are not explicitly so–Druidry (see Ian Corrigan’s book for an example, if you have Kindle Unlimited, you can check it out), Wicca, a number of witchcraft traditions, etc.  Others might be explicitly Self-centric–atheistic Pagans, Satanists (theistic or non) that choose to self-identify with the Pagan community , and practitioners of certain forms of magic or witchcraft.  Additionally, something to consider when one is approaching Divinity from a Self-centric perspective is that while a connection with the Self is certainly be an authentic Pagan experience, there is a danger of dipping into little-s, self-centered Paganism* (or perhaps ego-centric Paganism is a better moniker?).  But done well, Self-centric Paganism is one more way that we can connect with spirit as Pagans trying to walk a Pagan path in the day-to-day.

*Actually, I would argue that all four of the centers of Paganism have their own “dark side”–community-centered Pagansim and folkishness, deity-centered Paganism and zealotry, Earth/nature-centered Paganism and a sort of anti-humanist nihilism, and the aforementioned ego-tripping.

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.