Alone With The Gods

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?

The Spring Equinox is upon us. Today is a day of balance, when equal parts day and equal parts night give way to light’s triumph over darkness.

This is a time of rebirth and awakening.

What better time to renew our commitment to ourselves as we make our way down our varied paths? And if we’ve stumbled, stopped or staggered, this new found light will show us the way and help us find sure footing.

For me, the idea of light giving way to darkness is also about what Victor Anderson referred to as knowing ourselves in all our parts. In other words, looking at ourselves both in light and shadow.

Because to be fully realized at human beings, to be complete, whole and to grow, we must embrace our fullness. That includes the often misunderstood Jungian Shadow.

This is where power resides. If we aren’t whole, we are mere fragments of who we could be. And while this is hard work, even sometimes unpleasant and painful, it is an essential part of growth in the Craft.

And what better time to begin again, than right now, as Ostara moves us forward into the beauty of spring and rebirth and endless possibility.

This is my wish for everyone.

In Scott Cunningham’s book on Wicca, he lists “Thirteen Goals of a Witch.” Take them out of context of the book and they apply wonderfully to any inward journey of the self.

For sake of discussion, here they are:

1. Know yourself
2. Know your Craft (Wicca)
3. Learn
4. Apply knowledge with wisdom
5. Achieve balance
6. Keep your words in good order
7. Keep your thoughts in good order
8. Celebrate life
9. Attune to the cycles of the earth
10. Breathe and eat correctly
11. Exercise the body
12. Meditate
13. Honor the Goddess and God

Any and all of these could apply to a Gnostic, a Hindu, a Buddhist for the most part, a Christian could even find a needed spiritual compass in these 13 goals of a witch.

Can someone tell me again why witches are so vilified? Is there anything in here that we all shouldn’t aspire to as humans?

I’m not Wiccan, but the words here speak to me; they make sense.

As a side note: Cunningham has grown on me as a writer. I find his books readable, likable and very valuable as resources.