last night was the full moon
so naturally i was invited to join in a spontaneous magick ritual. i am serious.
anyone who knows me well knows that as a young child i was exposed to quite a variety of religious communities, and although i was christian i participated in pagan rituals that friends of the family were involved in. i thought it was cool, and as a child didn't realize the catholic church is not okay with the mixing of faiths.
ahem. so last night i didn't really expect to participate but everyone seemed so well intentioned that my friends and i kind of were passively involved.
what struck me most was the similarities between celtic paganism (which was a bit creatively contrived for last nights purposes, hence the spontaneity of its title) and catholicism. it seems obvious that it was necessary for the catholic church to change itself in many ways in order to entice and convert pagan populations.
easter was originally based on a pagan holiday as were many of the other "saint's days" which are celebrated throughout the year.
the boys i was with last night were talking about their respect for the goddess, which is where i can see the importance of the role of mary coming in. it think that pagan spiritualists who really dug feminine divinity wouldn't easily convert to a patriachal religion, so the spiritual importance of mary would make the transition easier. i actually hear that in some native cultures in mexico that people continue to worship the goddess under the guise of the virgin of guadalupe in order to avoid persecution. mary's spiritual role in catholicism is a lot greater than in protestant religions (as is the role of saints).
it is interesting that wiccan rituals are so intertwined with catholic ones and yet catholics shun paganism/"idol worshipping" of any kind.
maybe i should take a comparative religions class afterall. very interesting stuff.
anyone who knows me well knows that as a young child i was exposed to quite a variety of religious communities, and although i was christian i participated in pagan rituals that friends of the family were involved in. i thought it was cool, and as a child didn't realize the catholic church is not okay with the mixing of faiths.
ahem. so last night i didn't really expect to participate but everyone seemed so well intentioned that my friends and i kind of were passively involved.
what struck me most was the similarities between celtic paganism (which was a bit creatively contrived for last nights purposes, hence the spontaneity of its title) and catholicism. it seems obvious that it was necessary for the catholic church to change itself in many ways in order to entice and convert pagan populations.
easter was originally based on a pagan holiday as were many of the other "saint's days" which are celebrated throughout the year.
the boys i was with last night were talking about their respect for the goddess, which is where i can see the importance of the role of mary coming in. it think that pagan spiritualists who really dug feminine divinity wouldn't easily convert to a patriachal religion, so the spiritual importance of mary would make the transition easier. i actually hear that in some native cultures in mexico that people continue to worship the goddess under the guise of the virgin of guadalupe in order to avoid persecution. mary's spiritual role in catholicism is a lot greater than in protestant religions (as is the role of saints).
it is interesting that wiccan rituals are so intertwined with catholic ones and yet catholics shun paganism/"idol worshipping" of any kind.
maybe i should take a comparative religions class afterall. very interesting stuff.