Whew! Yes, I’ve been busy! Working, dancing, protesting, teaching – I think I need one more project!
So here’s a quick rundown on what’s been going on : Oakshade Sanctuary is rolling along quite happily these days. I’m very proud to say our study group and rituals are growing every day, and having the influences and teachings of so many varied people has created wonderful discussions. Currently we are learning more rituals as they are being taught by our initiates (and soon-to-be initiates!). Several of us have also been invited to sit in on séances being held by another group here in town. Fun stuff!
After the New Year, we are going to start looking into a Pagan scouting group. I’ve worked with such a group in the past, and it was great for the kids to be able to get together and learn about the Gods and Goddesses and the Earth and Spirituality. Of course, it wasn’t all seriousness – there was Bubble Day, Water Balloon Day, Zoo Day – I’m looking forward to all of it!
In dancing news, it’s winter so we get to slow down…a little bit, anyway! Learning new choreography, teaching, brushing up on improvisation – it keeps us busy. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
And yes, I am still very much involved with the Occupy movement. It’s become a matter of being heard, not even as a Pagan or a single parent, but as an American. And if you are only getting your information about the movement from the mainstream media outlets, trust me, you’re not getting the story. I invite you to look at some alternative news sources:
Truthout.com
Rawstory.com
Boingboing.net
Bbc.co.uk
That’s my soapbox for today. I know at times I can really preachy and annoying, so the rest of this will be a little lighter. Seasons are changing, and time of madness is upon us!
Yes, I love spending time with my family, both blood and extended. What I do not love is trying to buy the necessities of life while battling those nutjobs that think this time of year means spending yourself into debt. So here’s a thought for this year’s gift-giving – instead of buying a bunch of junk that most people don’t really need anyway, do something for your family. There’s always something I can do for the people in my life that won’t cost an arm and a leg, and it’ll be appreciated much more than something else that will catch dust on the knick knack shelf. Even if the only thing you can think of is a gift certificate for a massage or a manicure, it’s a personal gift, and the money stays local. The boys and I have decided to spend more of our dollars here with the wonderful local shops and services. After all, change begins at home.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Why should those of minority faiths and spiritualities care about the Occupy Wall Street movement? This is about government and corporations and banks and corrupt executives, right? Yes, it is, and it still affects us – maybe not directly, but it does.
The fundamental idea behind the Occupy movement is to remove Big Business influence from the government. The bigger corporations in this country have systematically been removing a lot of the restrictions (just one example of many) that were placed upon them to provide cleaner, safer work environments and produce less smog and emissions. That in and of itself should be enough to get anyone of a Nature-based spirituality to get up in arms. Respect and reverence for the Earth does NOT include poisoning the water and the air. However, a certain major religion in this country believes the Earth is here for them to use up without any consideration for future generations – or even the current one, for that matter. Which leads me to my next concern…..
The mindset of human dominance(as opposed to harmony) over the Earth is predominantly a Christian viewpoint. As this belief is filtered through the bigger corporations and into the government, a more conservative ideal is introduced and accepted. Time and again we’ve heard a number of politicians announce, “This is a Christian nation!” Pushing policy through based on a single religious view is incredibly dangerous for a country that was supposed to founded on a principle of religious equality.
Please understand!!! I know not all Christians believe we should just trash the planet. I’m not out to attack anyone or any religion. What I’m trying to point out it, these businesses are using some religious dogma as a reason to change environmental policies. Now that I think about it, if I were Christian, that would piss me off, too!
So here we are faced with politicians and extremely well-paid executives using their own beliefs to get policies pushed through that are ultimately damaging to the human race. And if we stand up to protest these policies, we are branded as tree-hugging hippie Pagans. Well, ok, some of us ARE tree-hugging hippie Pagans, but we make up just a small percentage of the people who would really, really like to see the corporations out of politics and government. Anyway, if you’ve been reading and keeping up with the news from New York and the bigger cities that have Occupy movements going on, then you’ve probably read some of the negative comments coming from these politicians and executives. They are of the mind-set that anyone involved with the Occupy movement is trying to destroy the government and destroy Wall Street and they obviously don’t love their country and they’re obviously just a mob of unwashed hippies and they’re obviously liberals/anarchists/communists. And yes, those awful, immoral Pagans are even involved.
Holy crap – the world is coming to an end.
There is a lot of misinformation being spread about the Occupy movement. Those that would like to see it fail are twisting the goals and picking up on the most extreme fringe individuals to say these are the people responsible for “trying to destroy our nation.” We don’t want to destroy it – we want to make it better. Corporations are not evil – they need to be changed. Government is not evil – it needs to be changed. We are not looking for handouts or ridiculous tax changes or a redistribution of wealth. At our most basic, we simply want corporate America out of our government, so that our politicians can go back to work doing what they were supposed to be doing in the first place – representing the people.
The fundamental idea behind the Occupy movement is to remove Big Business influence from the government. The bigger corporations in this country have systematically been removing a lot of the restrictions (just one example of many) that were placed upon them to provide cleaner, safer work environments and produce less smog and emissions. That in and of itself should be enough to get anyone of a Nature-based spirituality to get up in arms. Respect and reverence for the Earth does NOT include poisoning the water and the air. However, a certain major religion in this country believes the Earth is here for them to use up without any consideration for future generations – or even the current one, for that matter. Which leads me to my next concern…..
The mindset of human dominance(as opposed to harmony) over the Earth is predominantly a Christian viewpoint. As this belief is filtered through the bigger corporations and into the government, a more conservative ideal is introduced and accepted. Time and again we’ve heard a number of politicians announce, “This is a Christian nation!” Pushing policy through based on a single religious view is incredibly dangerous for a country that was supposed to founded on a principle of religious equality.
Please understand!!! I know not all Christians believe we should just trash the planet. I’m not out to attack anyone or any religion. What I’m trying to point out it, these businesses are using some religious dogma as a reason to change environmental policies. Now that I think about it, if I were Christian, that would piss me off, too!
So here we are faced with politicians and extremely well-paid executives using their own beliefs to get policies pushed through that are ultimately damaging to the human race. And if we stand up to protest these policies, we are branded as tree-hugging hippie Pagans. Well, ok, some of us ARE tree-hugging hippie Pagans, but we make up just a small percentage of the people who would really, really like to see the corporations out of politics and government. Anyway, if you’ve been reading and keeping up with the news from New York and the bigger cities that have Occupy movements going on, then you’ve probably read some of the negative comments coming from these politicians and executives. They are of the mind-set that anyone involved with the Occupy movement is trying to destroy the government and destroy Wall Street and they obviously don’t love their country and they’re obviously just a mob of unwashed hippies and they’re obviously liberals/anarchists/communists. And yes, those awful, immoral Pagans are even involved.
Holy crap – the world is coming to an end.
There is a lot of misinformation being spread about the Occupy movement. Those that would like to see it fail are twisting the goals and picking up on the most extreme fringe individuals to say these are the people responsible for “trying to destroy our nation.” We don’t want to destroy it – we want to make it better. Corporations are not evil – they need to be changed. Government is not evil – it needs to be changed. We are not looking for handouts or ridiculous tax changes or a redistribution of wealth. At our most basic, we simply want corporate America out of our government, so that our politicians can go back to work doing what they were supposed to be doing in the first place – representing the people.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Occupy
I spend a lot of time being frustrated with all those things that seem to be too big to care, like the government, my state senators and representatives, even the city managers. Yes, we all know the economy is utter crap right now. I have several friends that are unemployed and have been that way for quite some time, despite their best efforts to find work. I feel very fortunate to have a job these days. But nothing pisses me off quite like stories like this, about corporate executives that damn near destroy a company but still end up with millions. How does that happen? WHY does that happen? If all these businesses are so poor they can’t even hire enough people to run it, where is all this money coming from? And how come nobody is doing anything about it?
We’ve been told repeatedly that taxes can’t be raised on corporations because they need that money to create jobs. So create them already! What’s the hold-up? If you’re looking for a specific skilled person, guess what? There are a whole lot of young people out there, fresh out of college, with no job prospects who would love an opportunity to change the disastrous condition of our country right now. How do I know that? Because of this – Occupywallst.org.
Admittedly, there is not a lot of coverage for this event (and many others that are taking place across the country), and the mainstream media has done a lot to make them look like a bunch of clueless kids with no idea what they’re doing there. That is unfortunate. On the plus side, the longer these movements are ignored, the bigger they grow. Being ignored is exactly the problem – because those with the money and power think that the average person can be marginalized and pushed aside. These people are tired of feeling their voices don’t matter. We elect officials into office to speak for us, not to line their own pockets and help out their buddies, and yet that’s what we see every day. They use hot-button topics to get into office (anti-abortion! morality! keep Jeeeezus in the schools!), then proceed to gut their entire platform and do what they can to “get theirs.” And it turns out, a lot of their buddies have these big businesses that manage to garner these huge tax breaks and skirt around the most basic of safety rules. Seriously – how did the cigarette companies manage to rock along for as long as they have?
People are pissed. Quite frankly, I think it’s about time. I honestly believe we have been systematically lied to for years in order for the rich and powerful to maintain their status quo. History points to many moments in the past when this has gone on: in the Middle Ages, the average person was uneducated and was not even allowed to learn to read or write. Much easier for a very wealthy church and/or king to control the masses if you tell them everything they should know and believe. Nazi Germany was a crown jewel in the last century for learning how to spread propaganda. Whether the Reichstag fire was set by Hitler’s people or not, he was quick to use it as a way to strip away civil liberties and establish control over all information received by the entire country.
And if we don’t think anything like that could happen in the United States, we’re fooling ourselves.
It’s long past time for a change. I don’t care how it happened, the fact is we are all in trouble. We need to fix it. If those we’ve elected into office won’t do anything about corruption, greed, lack of accountability and their own constituents starving to death, then WE need to make the changes for them.
OccupyWallSt.org
OccupyTogether.org
Occupytogether.org/events/midwest/missouri/
We’ve been told repeatedly that taxes can’t be raised on corporations because they need that money to create jobs. So create them already! What’s the hold-up? If you’re looking for a specific skilled person, guess what? There are a whole lot of young people out there, fresh out of college, with no job prospects who would love an opportunity to change the disastrous condition of our country right now. How do I know that? Because of this – Occupywallst.org.
Admittedly, there is not a lot of coverage for this event (and many others that are taking place across the country), and the mainstream media has done a lot to make them look like a bunch of clueless kids with no idea what they’re doing there. That is unfortunate. On the plus side, the longer these movements are ignored, the bigger they grow. Being ignored is exactly the problem – because those with the money and power think that the average person can be marginalized and pushed aside. These people are tired of feeling their voices don’t matter. We elect officials into office to speak for us, not to line their own pockets and help out their buddies, and yet that’s what we see every day. They use hot-button topics to get into office (anti-abortion! morality! keep Jeeeezus in the schools!), then proceed to gut their entire platform and do what they can to “get theirs.” And it turns out, a lot of their buddies have these big businesses that manage to garner these huge tax breaks and skirt around the most basic of safety rules. Seriously – how did the cigarette companies manage to rock along for as long as they have?
People are pissed. Quite frankly, I think it’s about time. I honestly believe we have been systematically lied to for years in order for the rich and powerful to maintain their status quo. History points to many moments in the past when this has gone on: in the Middle Ages, the average person was uneducated and was not even allowed to learn to read or write. Much easier for a very wealthy church and/or king to control the masses if you tell them everything they should know and believe. Nazi Germany was a crown jewel in the last century for learning how to spread propaganda. Whether the Reichstag fire was set by Hitler’s people or not, he was quick to use it as a way to strip away civil liberties and establish control over all information received by the entire country.
And if we don’t think anything like that could happen in the United States, we’re fooling ourselves.
It’s long past time for a change. I don’t care how it happened, the fact is we are all in trouble. We need to fix it. If those we’ve elected into office won’t do anything about corruption, greed, lack of accountability and their own constituents starving to death, then WE need to make the changes for them.
OccupyWallSt.org
OccupyTogether.org
Occupytogether.org/events/midwest/missouri/
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Question
So let’s say you’re a person working on a project and every time you turn around, something goes wrong with that project. A key person leaves or a scheduled work day go horribly awry, yet you keep plugging away at it, absolutely convinced that what you’re working on is worth all the aggravation.
At what point should you finally stop and say, “hey, this isn’t working out.”? How many whacks to the head should you take before you finally get it? Especially if you’re told time and again what a great big waste of time you’ve created?
There are a few people who believe in the project. They encourage you and help you at every turn and they give you hope that your project really is worth the time and effort. When you finally realize the futility of it all, what do you tell them?
And how do you find a new reason for living? After you’ve spent most of your life working on this project, when you realize its end, what is left?
At what point should you finally stop and say, “hey, this isn’t working out.”? How many whacks to the head should you take before you finally get it? Especially if you’re told time and again what a great big waste of time you’ve created?
There are a few people who believe in the project. They encourage you and help you at every turn and they give you hope that your project really is worth the time and effort. When you finally realize the futility of it all, what do you tell them?
And how do you find a new reason for living? After you’ve spent most of your life working on this project, when you realize its end, what is left?
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Drawing a Bullseye
Well, Pagans in the Park got rained on. A lot. And from what I understand, there were statements made that celebrated the fact we were rained on. Apparently there are people out there who believe rain is enough to keep Pagans away. Honestly, I was surprised at the number of people that DID venture out into the rain, but I’m bothered by this knowledge that some would celebrate what they see as a failure for the community.
First of all, rain happens, and honestly we really needed it! It’s been incredibly hot and dry this past summer, so I know the rain was welcomed by many, many people around here. Second, there were a lot of events scheduled for this past weekend. This is the time of year for a lot of the smaller towns around here to celebrate harvest time, too, not to mention Cider Days for our own town of Springfield. Third, as Pagans, aren’t we supposed to enjoy the changes that the Mother brings?
Finally, there are some that will never ever want unity and harmony. They enjoy the drama and the chaos, and actively seek to drive wedges between as many Pagans as they can. You know who you are – so do we (“we” being my group – I’m not that full of myself!).
Oakshade Sanctuary is having a picnic in November. Nothing really over the top or anything. It’s just a chance for us all to get together before the weather gets really nasty and have a nice day in the park.
If you wish to view this as a failure, fine. I know several people have been trying to find some way to discredit me personally for a while now. Well, here ya go. Have fun with it. No point in being secretive anymore, is there?
First of all, rain happens, and honestly we really needed it! It’s been incredibly hot and dry this past summer, so I know the rain was welcomed by many, many people around here. Second, there were a lot of events scheduled for this past weekend. This is the time of year for a lot of the smaller towns around here to celebrate harvest time, too, not to mention Cider Days for our own town of Springfield. Third, as Pagans, aren’t we supposed to enjoy the changes that the Mother brings?
Finally, there are some that will never ever want unity and harmony. They enjoy the drama and the chaos, and actively seek to drive wedges between as many Pagans as they can. You know who you are – so do we (“we” being my group – I’m not that full of myself!).
Oakshade Sanctuary is having a picnic in November. Nothing really over the top or anything. It’s just a chance for us all to get together before the weather gets really nasty and have a nice day in the park.
If you wish to view this as a failure, fine. I know several people have been trying to find some way to discredit me personally for a while now. Well, here ya go. Have fun with it. No point in being secretive anymore, is there?
Friday, September 16, 2011
The Occult and Being "PC"
oc·cult [uh-kuhlt, ok-uhlt] –adjective 1. of or pertaining to magic, astrology, or any system claiming use or knowledge of secret or supernatural powers or agencies. 2. beyond the range of ordinary knowledge or understanding; mysterious. 3. secret; disclosed or communicated only to the initiated. 4. hidden from view
I like to consider myself a student of the occult, but it’s really hard to call something “occult” when you lay everything about it on the table. Or better yet, those things that some might offensive you don’t show to anyone, but you also stop doing them altogether. And that is exactly what I did.
Way back when I first decided to become an advocate for Pagans and Wiccans, I looked at some of our practices and considered how strange some of it must look to those that weren’t raised Pagan – much like some Christian practices look strange to me. I wanted the general public to understand we weren’t a threat to them, but there were a couple (or more) little things in there that I knew people might seize upon and make some crazy accusations. I’ve seen it happen before, with disastrous results. So as a whole, a lot of Pagans and Wiccans kind of became “PC Pagans.”
I know, sad, and a little bit of a sell-out.
Again and again, I would hear stories about how “weird” this person or that person was, and wow, I’m glad not all Pagans are like that, and gee, you all seem so normal. There’s been very little magical workings in full robes around a fire in the dark of night. And you know what? I really, really miss that.
Jut a few years ago, I started looking around at what we had created in our effort to educate and shed a little light on who and what we are. Maybe we shed a little too much light. Maybe it’s time to take a step back and reclaim the shadows. Wicca and Paganism were never meant to be all white light and rainbows and sunshine. There is darkness, death, even war. As we begin to move into the dark part of the year, I believe we should all take a step back and see how out of balance we truly are.
I have a theory – we’ve spent so much time and energy on being Glinda the Good that we’ve totally turned our backs on what it is that helps us realize that which is good. Because of this, weird and strange energies have come into our community and created it’s own form of chaos and discontent. I’m not saying we need to become hate-mongers and start casting hexes on every ass that crosses our paths (tempting though it may be!). But welcome the shadows and the darkness. See them for what they are – a part of the Wheel. And while I still believe in working for tolerance among the general public, I feel very strongly that we need to reclaim the occult within our spirituality.
Samhain is coming…..this is a great time to renew and reconnect.
Oh, and just an fyi – I really dislike that whole “being politically correct” thing.
I like to consider myself a student of the occult, but it’s really hard to call something “occult” when you lay everything about it on the table. Or better yet, those things that some might offensive you don’t show to anyone, but you also stop doing them altogether. And that is exactly what I did.
Way back when I first decided to become an advocate for Pagans and Wiccans, I looked at some of our practices and considered how strange some of it must look to those that weren’t raised Pagan – much like some Christian practices look strange to me. I wanted the general public to understand we weren’t a threat to them, but there were a couple (or more) little things in there that I knew people might seize upon and make some crazy accusations. I’ve seen it happen before, with disastrous results. So as a whole, a lot of Pagans and Wiccans kind of became “PC Pagans.”
I know, sad, and a little bit of a sell-out.
Again and again, I would hear stories about how “weird” this person or that person was, and wow, I’m glad not all Pagans are like that, and gee, you all seem so normal. There’s been very little magical workings in full robes around a fire in the dark of night. And you know what? I really, really miss that.
Jut a few years ago, I started looking around at what we had created in our effort to educate and shed a little light on who and what we are. Maybe we shed a little too much light. Maybe it’s time to take a step back and reclaim the shadows. Wicca and Paganism were never meant to be all white light and rainbows and sunshine. There is darkness, death, even war. As we begin to move into the dark part of the year, I believe we should all take a step back and see how out of balance we truly are.
I have a theory – we’ve spent so much time and energy on being Glinda the Good that we’ve totally turned our backs on what it is that helps us realize that which is good. Because of this, weird and strange energies have come into our community and created it’s own form of chaos and discontent. I’m not saying we need to become hate-mongers and start casting hexes on every ass that crosses our paths (tempting though it may be!). But welcome the shadows and the darkness. See them for what they are – a part of the Wheel. And while I still believe in working for tolerance among the general public, I feel very strongly that we need to reclaim the occult within our spirituality.
Samhain is coming…..this is a great time to renew and reconnect.
Oh, and just an fyi – I really dislike that whole “being politically correct” thing.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
A Few Thoughts Before Pagans in the Park
Autumn has definitely made it’s presence known here in the Ozarks. The nights have been cooled off to the point of being chilly and the days are clear, wind-blown gems, the kind of day you reminisce about ten years later.
I’ve been busy working outside (finally!) and getting ready for Pagans in the Park. My, what a little hot-button topic for something that is supposed to bring people together! I’ve seen more animosity in just the past couple of weeks than I’ve seen around here for the entire previous year. It’s been a little discouraging, really. It’s this sort of infighting that has caused so much division within our community, and what’s really off-the-wall is that most of the anger and accusations have been coming from those that espouse working together and trying to repair the community!
I do appreciate it when people offer thoughts and advice on how to repair our damaged community. I’d love to see everyone sit down and talk about where it’s all gotten weird and try to pull it back together, but I truly believe that must be done with an open mind and a willingness to listen to EVERYONE’S ideas, not just one person’s. And I know there are a few out there who will say I’m not willing to listen to anyone else’s ideas but my own. I don’t really think that’s true. I still like the idea of trying to create some sort of truly interfaith organization. I’m very much open to anyone else wanting to organize a gathering or a study group that would truly be available to the community as a whole.
The only thing that I think would help with these ideas is if they are done in the spirit of true healing and togetherness, and not out of revenge, jealousy or an attempt to create elitism. Bringing an idea to a public forum generally indicates it’s something for everyone, not just a select few. When I do create a public event, there is almost always someone there I don’t really get along with, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to have them removed or intimidate them into leaving. Just because I have a problem with someone doesn’t mean I get to dictate how everyone else around me deals with them. That’s part of being a mature individual.
I remember a time when everyone around here decided we could get along and we would just agree to disagree. Live and let live. We could come together once or twice a year for big, public events, then go home and teach, practice, worship as we saw fit and not bother to stick our noses into anyone else’s business. That’s all I want. That’s why I keep doing this gathering in September. I’d like to see us return to that one day. Soon.
Please come to Pagans in the Park – September 17th from noon to five p.m. at Fassnight Park. It’ll be a good day – let’s make it a great day.
I’ve been busy working outside (finally!) and getting ready for Pagans in the Park. My, what a little hot-button topic for something that is supposed to bring people together! I’ve seen more animosity in just the past couple of weeks than I’ve seen around here for the entire previous year. It’s been a little discouraging, really. It’s this sort of infighting that has caused so much division within our community, and what’s really off-the-wall is that most of the anger and accusations have been coming from those that espouse working together and trying to repair the community!
I do appreciate it when people offer thoughts and advice on how to repair our damaged community. I’d love to see everyone sit down and talk about where it’s all gotten weird and try to pull it back together, but I truly believe that must be done with an open mind and a willingness to listen to EVERYONE’S ideas, not just one person’s. And I know there are a few out there who will say I’m not willing to listen to anyone else’s ideas but my own. I don’t really think that’s true. I still like the idea of trying to create some sort of truly interfaith organization. I’m very much open to anyone else wanting to organize a gathering or a study group that would truly be available to the community as a whole.
The only thing that I think would help with these ideas is if they are done in the spirit of true healing and togetherness, and not out of revenge, jealousy or an attempt to create elitism. Bringing an idea to a public forum generally indicates it’s something for everyone, not just a select few. When I do create a public event, there is almost always someone there I don’t really get along with, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to have them removed or intimidate them into leaving. Just because I have a problem with someone doesn’t mean I get to dictate how everyone else around me deals with them. That’s part of being a mature individual.
I remember a time when everyone around here decided we could get along and we would just agree to disagree. Live and let live. We could come together once or twice a year for big, public events, then go home and teach, practice, worship as we saw fit and not bother to stick our noses into anyone else’s business. That’s all I want. That’s why I keep doing this gathering in September. I’d like to see us return to that one day. Soon.
Please come to Pagans in the Park – September 17th from noon to five p.m. at Fassnight Park. It’ll be a good day – let’s make it a great day.
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