I'd like to hear your oppinions about the future. Is there any predestination, in your oppinion, to what will happen? Or does destiny really exists, but it changes as our behavior and actions changes? Or is it completely inexistent? You can tell other things related to your belief about it too.
I wasn't really sure if this would fit better in the 'Gods/Goddesses' section, but since I'm a beginner to this, I chose to post it here.
So, as the title says, I can't find the 'right' deity. Actually, I can't contact any deity at all.
I'm all new to this, and I have no one to ask but you (people on this forum). That being said, I hope that someone more experienced can help me. I'm having a hard time over here.
I was really interested in Greek mythology, because from an early age I loved to read about these deities and their myths. Plus, I'm Greek with a passion for anything ancient (and from that period), so it seemed right.
But, I don't know where to start from! I mean, I feel that some deities appeal to me more than others, but is this enough? For example, I have a strong feeling for Dionysus. Is it because my name's Ariadne? Is it because my favourite musician was compared to Him? I don't know. But there's also Aphrodite, and I feel drawn to Her as well. As a matter of fact, I tried to build a relationship with Her. I made a shrine for Her, put seashells on it, a pink-redish candle to represent Her and I make daily offers to Her. I also gave Her a little gift, a pair of pearl earrings.
The bad news, though, is that I don't know if all these are being recognised. She didn't give me any signs, didn't contact me in any way. Does that mean that I should be patient and wait, or that she just doesn't like me and I should move on?
Also, what kind of contact should I expect from a deity? Like, seeing them in my dreams talking to me? Seeing them while meditating? And what kind of signs? But what if I only see signs because I want to see them but they're not really there?
I'm so jealous (in a good way) of you who have a strong relationship with your deities.
I'm sorry if this is too big or I have spelling mistakes (I'm still learning the language), but I'd really appreciate your help.
I'm kind of lost and I don't know how to find the 'right' deity for me, nor how to build a proper relationship with them.
How do you find out which element you are connected with? I have done my spiritual journey tarot reading with my faery wicca cards and they mentioned air and water. Anny suggestions of how to find out?
Hey, what is this thread? The night beginning at sunset on Friday, December 21, 2012, is the longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. To celebrate the winter solstice (a.k.a. Yule, Midwinter, and probably other things, depending on your tradition), a bunch of us plan to stay up all night and post here in this thread off and on throughout, sharing our experiences or random thoughts...sharing photos or artwork throughout the evening...or just encouraging each other to stay awake!
So if you’re trying to stay up till dawn, or just want to pop in to converse with those of us who are, this is the place! (Or if you're lucky enough to be in the Southern Hemisphere, enjoying the warmth and sun of summer solstice, tell us what we're missing!)
In that spirit, I'm yet again resurrecting a modest rhyme I composed specifically for our winter solstice efforts. Tradition dictates that I offer it as invocation to kick things off:
A WINTER SOLSTICE REVEILLE
by Altair
Light dwindles, life despairs
A bitter chill is in the air
The sun departs, and with it goes
A fruitful season free of woes
As winter’s icy grip takes hold
The sleeping landscape to enfold
Many hours of dark must pass
Before the sun returns at last
To make its long-awaited climb
With promise of a flowering time
Until that hour, let dark prevail
Greet longest night with strong wassail
Sing and dance, feast and drink
Or solemnly reflect and think
From strange and hidden wells partake
With one rule only: Stay awake!
From dusk till dawn, hear our refrain:
Let the solstice revels reign
[In the last line, swap in the word “vigil” for “revels” if the feeling is more contemplative than festive]
I have been doing a little bit of religion exploration lately and i am leaning heavily towards Eclectic Wicca for its Ethics and Magic views. As far as spirituality goes I'm looking through different pantheons to see what Gods i can associate with/ get general knowledge about. I know Greek/Roman and Egyptian gods fairly well, but when i was researching Celtic Gods (I have heavy Irish/Scotch/British heritage) I seem to have hit a brick wall. Can anyone suggest a few decent books or websites that i can mine for information?
Last night my friend said something in passing that made me think. She had been asked why she was so focused on her genealogy and heritage. Her reply was that it gave her something to research and often times she came across cultural details that she found attractive and that she may want to research and get into.
We wound up further discussing the topic and I wound up with the following questions based off her answers:
Do you think that heritage is a determining factor in your practices and actions even down to your religious beliefs?
As in do you think that because you have a lineage tied to a certain practice or belief/system that you should be a part of it?
Conversely does a lack of a blood tie exclude you from that heritage or system?
So for instance could I being a black male with no notable ties to Celts or such practice a Celtic Religious system and be accepted by virtue of my sincerity alone and a belief and adherence to the practices of that system or would such a thing be frowned on?
I am very comfortable with my religious views and spiritual path and I don't think that blood, so to speak, ties a person to a particular path. I am going to go old school and say " By blood or by deed " I concede that an ancestral tie can be a good factor in a choice like that but I think a person legitimately dedicated to and interested in a religion should be just as welcome to be a part of it.
I hear about cultures and people being exploited by outsiders using their ways and traditions and I have to wonder if that his a blanket accusation. On the one hand there could indeed be someone exploiting the culture, on the other they may be people seriously interested and dedicated to following the tradition or practices.
Away from both of these are those who take portions of the practices and adapt them to suit their purposes. They tend to be accused of diluting the culture or perverting it. To me so long as they aren't claiming to be a practitioner of said culture it's all good. For instance an eclectic Wiccan taking a portion of a Druidic ceremony and tweaking or altering it to suit a ritual they are performing is all gravy so long as they admit it and don't claim it is something it isn't.
Whats the consensus on the whole thing? Thoughts, feelings, experiences?
Lately I feel like I've been wandering aimlessly on my spiritual path. I've ended up discarding virtually all of my practices except for Kemetic stuff related to Bast.
I've also started to branch into other religions again, look around, see what there is. Not necessarily a bad thing. Part of learning when you've only been walking for a couple years, but it worries me. A lot of my spiritual practice involves worshipping deities and I, Miss Wildly Flail Through Everything in Life, worry about stepping on some divine toes. I haven't been hit with an unholy shitstorm yet, but I know it's coming if I keep acting a fool.
So I wonder: At what point can you say you're just fooling around and not evolving? What are some possible warning signs that you're wandering without growing?
How normal is it to strip everything down to the barest of bare essentials, then start over? And how do you pass through numerous theistic traditions without stepping on any divine toes?
I'm not going to elaborate on the question really, other than to point out that (obviously) if you're a Pantheist as a result of belonging to a specific religion/path that ISN'T Taoism, it makes sense that you aren't a Taoist. I'm more interested in what it is about Taoism that fellow Pantheists find irreconcilable with their beliefs.
Thoughts?
I'd be interested to hear about peoples experiences with different incense brands, both stick and cone, although I've only used stick so far. The ones I have are made in India so likely to be available throughout the world. Also if anyone knows what about the brands I have tried makes them either have a good scent or have not much scent and give me a headache.
I can't tell what brand the really cheap crap I got with my holder is. It had no scent at all and barely any actual incense on the stick.
Tridev: the stuff I get from my local $2 shop type store. Comes in a hexagonal box. Good scent from the sticks that spreads through the room. Incense on the stick is black and is thicker than the Kamini ones. There are a good range of scents, I especially love the sandalwood.
Kamini: comes in boxes of 8 sticks. Have interesting sounding scents and got from online pagan store here in NZ. Haven't tried all the scents I got but the ones I have tried so far don't give much scent and make my head hurt. Incense coating on the sandalwood and pagan magic sticks are both yellow and thin.
Darshan: comes in boxes of 8 sticks. Got from the same pagan online store. Have tried the Musk and Vanilla scents, both have a thicker coating of incense on the stick like the Tridev do. Incense coating on the sticks are black. I like these ones and they give off a good amount of scent.
Sai Baba Nag Champa. Not sure which is the brand and which is the incense type. Got them from the local $2 shop type place. They give off a good amount of scent, just didn't like the scent, too overpowering for my liking.
KAYA: from the other $2 shop type place in town. I have the lavender one though I saw 2-3 other scents there too. Similar quality to the Tridev, also has black incense coating on the sticks.
I hope this all made sense. I definitely will make sure I order Darshan sticks next time and no Kamini ones if the other sticks disappoint me and give me a headache too. I wonder if some of them having black coating and some having yellow means anything?
I have Apollo as my spirit guide and I love him to death. I think of him constantly . I make him food every night and sometimes get him some pretty gemstones. I really want to know what would be a better offering, I still want to make him food every night but i want to know what he likes. I usually give him a plate of food and sometimes something to drink with it. What offering do you give him if you do? I want to know what he likes.
I've wondered how much time others spend learning and practicing, devoting themselves to the "homework" of spirituality. For very specific reasons, I find it hard to spend time reading about how to do X ritual or Y spellworking, to concentrate on my spiritual life with [insert life here]. Though I know that " a little a day keeps the funk at bay" I feel that if I can't devote full attention to what I'm doing, I shouldn't be doing it. That it'd be an insult to the gods to just "go through the motions" each day. I guess I'm wondering, how do you learn?
Do you sit down for X hours before bed/ in the morning?
Do you read and study your craft, or are you purely hands-on practitioner?
Do you practice your craft nightly/weekly/monthly/holidays-only?
Do you study on nights you practice, or immediately put your studying into practice?
Do you have a teacher to help you? A partner to work with? A group?
Were you raised in a spiritual household, or are you finding your way on your own?
How long have you been on your current spiritual path / working with the system you use today? How long have you been studying your current craft?