Alone With The Gods

I came across this great quote about imagination near the end of the Promethea Series by Alan Moore. It’s from the end of book five:

“Consciousness, unprovable by scientific standards, is forever, then, the impossible phantom in the predictable biologic machine, and your every thought a genuine supernatural event. Your every thought is a ghost, dancing.”

As I read Michael Talbot’s The Holographic Universe, I find this notion even more striking. If reality is but a mere holograph then we certainly may be Spiritual Beings having a human experience as Chardin has suggested.

All of us are just ghosts, carelessly dancing, much like the Fool of the Tarot as we float off that ledge.

My friend over at Birch Grove tagged me as part of an interesting meme called the “Joys and Trial of Religion.” So, here is my response.

I begin with the rules, as originally written:

1. You have to use your own belief system for the meme. No fair using someone else’s to make a joke or satire. Being humorous about your own religion is encouraged!
2. You have to have at least one joy and one trial. More are encouraged. And no, they don’t have to be equal in length, but please be honest.
3. You have to tag at least one other person. More are appreciated!
4. Please post these rules!

Here is my version of the meme:

The Joys and Trials of being a Solitary Witch with Heavy Feri, Gnostic and Hermetic Influences.

Joys:

1. Being able to draw from a vast ocean of inspiration and resources including poetry, history, myth and song.
2. The beauty of affiliating with a path that uses language like, “God herself” and “Cast yourself. You are the spell.”
3. The Divine is clearly visible in any path that encourages expression and creativity as a remedy for dogma.
4. Working with energy and being able to understand the role it plays in magick, spells, prayer and our own place in the cosmos.
5. Reconnecting with nature and the earth.
6. Having truly remarkable things happen to me that defy explanation.
7. Gnosis.
8. Incense really makes me happy.
9. So do candles.
10. Finding the Sacred in the smallest moment.
11. Not having to deal with the insane guilt that is inherent in the notion that we are born sinners and all teetering on the edge of falling into an even more silly notion of eternal damnation.
12. Making fundamentalist Christians just a bit uncomfortable.

Trials:

1. Having to explain myself and defend my beliefs when they come up. Especially when most people lazily like to lump everyone into over simplifications and stereotypes.
2. Knowing that upon explaining myself I’ll have to hear a lot of crickets chirping.
3. Having to admit that I’m not really a fan of the drum circle. (sacrilege to some).

So there are mine. I guess I’ll tag the Gnostic Witch, even though I don’t know her, I sure do love her domain name and her site.

I recently moved and was therefore thrust headfirst into my book collection where I had to catalogue, arrange, box, transport and reshelve my little collection. Therefore, I thought I’d share a list, in no particular order, of my favorite esoteric reading.

Here goes:

1. Evolutionary Witchcraft, T. Thorn Coyle
2. The Three Selves and Astral Travel, Victor Anderson
3. Initiation Into Hermetics, Franz Bardon
4. Gnosis, Stephen Hoeller
5. The Middle Pillar, Israel Regardie
6. The Training and Work of an Initiate, Dion Fortune
7. Angels, Demons and Gods of the New Millennium, Lon Milo Duquette
8. Modern Magick, Donald Michael Kraig
9. Raja Yoga, Swami Vevekananda
10. Fundamentals of Hawaiian Mysticism, Charlotte Berney
11. The Chicken Qabalah, Lon Milo Duquette
12. Inner Temple of Witchcraft, Christopher Penczak
13. The Gnostic Gospels, Elaine Pagels
14. Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner, Scott Cunningham

And the list could go on and on and on. However, these are some of the specific books that have inspired, informed and enlightened over the years.

What about you?

Here’s what I’ve learned: spiritual practice is, simply put, a quality over quantity proposition. Great, elaborate rituals aren’t needed, nor are $200 dollar robes, walls full of candles or a thick cloud of incense.

What is really needed is attention to detail, devotion, and intent. 5 focused, well-intended minutes sitting quietly with a single candle as part of a ritual act of devotion trumps all the bells and whistles and pomp that goes with a lot of what passes as Witchcraft or Magickal Ritual.

I’ve had the most profound things happen to me when I was most deeply committed to doing the work (And it’s not always easy). And most often this was nothing more than some form of sitting practice or meditation wrapped in a few small, simple ritual gestures.

Whatever it is we seek is found this way, whether it’s gnosis, knowledge and conversation with your Holy Guardian Angel, enlightenment, transcendence or whatever else may drive you down you path.

Because it is in these simple, honest, raw and pure moments that a limitlessness opens up to us and gives us a glimpse of what is possible.