Connections
Relationships between persons - politeness
So, June is Pagan Values Month, I guess. I almost missed the boat.
For me, one of the key pagan values is connection. I've long said that "Witchcraft is all about creating and maintaining relationships." As I grow in my spirituality, I believe that more and more.
My ability to do magic doesn't come from my own awesome cosmic power, and it doesn't even come from my ability to impose my will on the outside world. It comes from the relationship that I have with the sacred elements of life--Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit. It comes from the relationships that I have with my magical/mysterious allies.
I can express this in some pretty poetic ways: The Earth is my friend, the Air is my brother, and so on. The deeper truth is that I treat my magical allies in the same way as I would treat my flesh and blood allies. If I had a favor to request of a friend, I wouldn't call them and demand it. "Dave: I bind you to the task of getting me another beer!" Even if Dave did it, he would eventually start to see that I am a douche-bag. I view my magical relationships in mostly the same way. I don't want Freyr or the Fey or Fire to view me as a cosmic douche-bag, either.
I have started recommending Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior (http://www.amazon.com/Manners-Excruciatingly-Correct-Behavior-Freshly/dp/0393058743) as an introductory text on Witchcraft without a hint of irony. Yes, because I've seen Witches (and other pagans, of course) interact with one another in ways that seem to suggest that they were raised by truculent wolverines, but also because I believe that consideration for others is and essential and foundational tool of the Witch. It's not about politeness or etiquette: It's about remembering that the world really is imbued with the spirit of the Divine, and that maintaining a good, working relationship with the Universe is the first step to magical practice.
That also means that I've started to forgo magical traditions and practices that I feel are more disconnecting than connecting. Recently, in a workshop that I was teaching, I had a brief conversation about working with Elements and working with other tools, such as the Iron pentacle. The other individual took the perspective that there was more to be gained from the other tools than from the Elements. While I do not for a moment question the validity of the other tools (particularly the Iron Pentacle, which I have personally found useful), I also feel that either failing to tend or avoiding the deepening of a relationship with the Elements of life leads to a distracted, un-anchored spiritual practice. I commented to my partner last night that the act of baking a pie, with magical intention, in which the ingredients are chosen carefully and which is crafted with spells, can be more magical for me by far than poring over obscure occult texts. Not that obscure texts aren't useful--it's that I believe that the practice of pagan spirituality seeks to unify us with our sacred bodies, with the sacred earth. Some practices are more connecting, others are more disconnecting--and the disconnecting practices aren't harmful, but I feel they need to be tempered with practices that connect us with our world, our immanent Divinity.
Source:
blue_sky_48220. [Jun. 30th, 2009|08:48 am]. Connection. http://blue-sky-48220.livejournal.com/239703.html
So, June is Pagan Values Month, I guess. I almost missed the boat.
For me, one of the key pagan values is connection. I've long said that "Witchcraft is all about creating and maintaining relationships." As I grow in my spirituality, I believe that more and more.
My ability to do magic doesn't come from my own awesome cosmic power, and it doesn't even come from my ability to impose my will on the outside world. It comes from the relationship that I have with the sacred elements of life--Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit. It comes from the relationships that I have with my magical/mysterious allies.
I can express this in some pretty poetic ways: The Earth is my friend, the Air is my brother, and so on. The deeper truth is that I treat my magical allies in the same way as I would treat my flesh and blood allies. If I had a favor to request of a friend, I wouldn't call them and demand it. "Dave: I bind you to the task of getting me another beer!" Even if Dave did it, he would eventually start to see that I am a douche-bag. I view my magical relationships in mostly the same way. I don't want Freyr or the Fey or Fire to view me as a cosmic douche-bag, either.
I have started recommending Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior (http://www.amazon.com/Manners-Excruciatingly-Correct-Behavior-Freshly/dp/0393058743) as an introductory text on Witchcraft without a hint of irony. Yes, because I've seen Witches (and other pagans, of course) interact with one another in ways that seem to suggest that they were raised by truculent wolverines, but also because I believe that consideration for others is and essential and foundational tool of the Witch. It's not about politeness or etiquette: It's about remembering that the world really is imbued with the spirit of the Divine, and that maintaining a good, working relationship with the Universe is the first step to magical practice.
That also means that I've started to forgo magical traditions and practices that I feel are more disconnecting than connecting. Recently, in a workshop that I was teaching, I had a brief conversation about working with Elements and working with other tools, such as the Iron pentacle. The other individual took the perspective that there was more to be gained from the other tools than from the Elements. While I do not for a moment question the validity of the other tools (particularly the Iron Pentacle, which I have personally found useful), I also feel that either failing to tend or avoiding the deepening of a relationship with the Elements of life leads to a distracted, un-anchored spiritual practice. I commented to my partner last night that the act of baking a pie, with magical intention, in which the ingredients are chosen carefully and which is crafted with spells, can be more magical for me by far than poring over obscure occult texts. Not that obscure texts aren't useful--it's that I believe that the practice of pagan spirituality seeks to unify us with our sacred bodies, with the sacred earth. Some practices are more connecting, others are more disconnecting--and the disconnecting practices aren't harmful, but I feel they need to be tempered with practices that connect us with our world, our immanent Divinity.
Source:
blue_sky_48220. [Jun. 30th, 2009|08:48 am]. Connection. http://blue-sky-48220.livejournal.com/239703.html