What Do You Call Yourself?

What do you call yourself (As far as religion is concerned)? Does your religion have a specific name for its followers, or did you create one yourself?

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Familiars and Totem Animals: Are They Necessary?

I have a question about familiars and totem animals. Are they that necessary?

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I Don't Like That God So I'll Change Him?

Anyway I was sitting here looking at a train wreck of a thread in another forum and I began pondering how some people want to change what some gods do. It isn't all gods, I mean I don't think I've ever run into anybody claiming that Aries was really a smith and cattle god and didn't practice war at all.

Is it gender stereotyping? Is it being uncomfortable with some facets of life? Is it trying to make those particular gods more in line with one's own thoughts of "goodness" and "rightness"?

Now I realize that I don't resonate well with some gods. Most Asian, Hindu, and African gods don't even show up on my radar so to speak. (except once for Kali Ma who wanted the festival of colors from a self proclaimed devotee)

Maybe I don't have the right mind set being chosen instead of doing any choosing on my own. If you choose your gods do youget to change their job description? I correct mis-information as I can, but why does it persist in the first place?

Is it really as simple as not liking a god and wanting them to change to suit the individual?

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Why Body Modification?

To those who have piercings and tattoos: why do you get them? Why permanently change/decorate your body? Is it just for the appearance, or is there a deeper reason?

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Are False Things Real Too?

Yes, that makes no sense. follow the logic, though ... (and this really only makes sense, I think, for people who are at some level pantheists/panentheists/that sort of thing).

But everything that exists is part of the universe. (of God, of the Divine .. pick your noun and follow it through). This includes us. Now, false things can only exist in the minds of something thinking about it .. it's pretty useless to say that a flitterdigibbet doesn't exist unless someone was thinking about it before. (but now, of course, it applies to the analogy. it just didn't until I said it. lost yet? I think I am ...)

But now that I (And perhaps you) are thinking about this flitterdigibbet, it exists in our minds. and since our minds are part of the universe, doesn't that make a flitterdigibbet part of the universe too? Or did I get hopped up on existentialism instead of tryptophan from my turkey last night?

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Visitations from Deities

When a deity comes to you, is it usually in meditation, during rituals, in dreams, or ???

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How Important is the Wording?

When casting a spell involving words, how important is it that the words are absolutely precise?

Is intent more important than wording? Would it be OK to have a more loosely worded spell but a firm idea of what I want? Or would that bite me in the butt?

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Celtic Calendars?

I have an odd question for those who practice specifically Celtic Traditions.

Several years ago, a sort of more New-Age than pagan pal of mine was going on to me about the date Dec. 23rd being one of those odd days that is "outside" the normal calendar....in this case, the so-called Celtic Tree Calendar. Admittedly, I don't know as much about Celtic practice as I probably should---with as much Celtic ancestry as we have, but I can't find anything really impressive that tells me such a calendar ever existed.

So, why am I even asking? Well, being the nutcase I can be, lol, I got curious this morning---it being the 23rd. I woke up early and as I sat up to check the clock, the lobster-claw clasped necklace I was wearing slithered down my chest. I've never had one of those un-hook itself before, it wasn't broken or 'stuck' in open, either. Forty minutes later, I woke up again and my "Kybele" bracelet...which has a intricate "storybook" clasp popped off my wrist.

Being 'stripped' of my jewelry usually is some kind of hint of something significant for me. Sooooo....I am just wondering.

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Your Experience with On-Campus Pagan Organizations?

I'm considering starting a pagan organization for my campus, which has none. I was wondering if those of you who in the past have been or presently are involved in a pagan organization would mind answering a few questions about your experiences? Thanks in advance!

Please feel free to give plenty of detail; your answers will be immensely helpful!

What is the purpose of the organization you are/were involved in? Is it for learning and discussion, spellwork, or...?

Is/was your experience in the organization overall positive or negative?

How long have you been/were you involved? How active are/were you? Any officer positions, and if so, what are/were your duties?

Did the organization hold any memorable events during your involvement?

Is the organization an active force on the campus or in the greater community? What do they do to stay involved with people outside the organization?

What sort of problems have cropped up while you were involved? How does/did the organization deal with them?

How has the organization contributed to your spiritual education or growth?

What were some of your most positive experiences in the organization to date?

What were some of the most negative?

And if you happen to be the founder or co-founder of any sort of on-campus pagan organization, how did your organization get started? What did you do to help make it successful?

Thanks again for your answers!

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Should The World Be Black And White?

Reading through the posts on this board, I'm always struck by how generally tolerant people here are of different opinions. I think it's safe to say that many people here don't see everything in black and white.

But what if things were black and white?

Imagine a world where there were only two viewpoints: right and wrong. In this world, right and wrong are determined just like counting 2+2. Right and wrong are the same for everyone, everywhere, everytime. People live and breathe knowing that this is right and that is wrong and there is nothing in between.

So, no Cauldron in this world. No debates. No sitting around wondering whether this is the right thing to do because you know what the right thing is; you just have to choose whether or not to do it.

No uncertainty. Ever.

i) Would you want to live in such a world? Why or why not?

ii) Since people in such a world always know the morality of their actions, would they be more likely to do the right thing?

iii) Finally, what impact (if any) would such a world have on our humanity? Is diversity of viewpoints in any way part of what it means to be human, and if so, would we be somehow "less human" in this world?

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