(no subject)
So, I've really been thinking about using my lj for more then just stalking around and only viewing posts from others I like. I wasn't sure (and I still don't have it all worked out) what I wanted to do exactly so for now I'm going to be sharing some assignments that I had to do for my Second Degree with Keeper of the Hearth. This is a great organization of Wiccans from, I think, three or four states and if you want to learn more you can go to www.keepersofthehearth.com
The first assignment I thought I'd share deals with sacred space. Enjoy...
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about sacred space and my assignment to write about one that speaks to me, or one that I have visited. These thoughts have led me to reflect about what ‘sacred space’ means to me so I decided to start the assignment with those thoughts and to continue on from there. I believe that at it’s core, this assignment is to talk about places of power that I have visited and at first I didn’t think I had ever been anywhere like that but now that I’m writing and thinking about it, I realize that I have been somewhere… bear with me as I realize my journey that was taken so long ago that only now has been clarified.
In general, sacred space to me can be anywhere and is all around me. The great thing about being Wiccan is that I can step anywhere and feel the connection to the goddess that comes from everything around me. I don’t need a consecrated building to house my faith or to go to for prayer. I revere all that is around me and all space is sacred as a result. Another powerful reality as a Wiccan is that with the use of will and energy I can create a sacred circle anywhere that I can then use to connect even deeper to the goddess and have a secure place to perform rituals/spellwork/etc.
These concepts are so unique to our religion and they speak so true to my heart. I can remember back to a time when I was struggling with my faith and was at a Presbyterian youth camp in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula where I was working as the camp cook. The entire experience was very foreign to me at the time. I hadn’t yet connected with Wicca, but had spent a great deal time with the Native American form of Deity and I knew there was something more out there then what Christianity had to offer. With that in mind, imagine being surrounded by a weekly changing group of children and staff who all believed in the Christian God. I found myself maintaining a distance from them at times by retreating to my beautiful cabin that I shared with only my assistant cook’s cat.
I was struggling to feel comfortable in this nearly oppressive Christian environment I found myself in. One day, when I was by myself - everyone else being at the daily service at The Point, a beautiful outcropping of mountain overlooking the surrounding area - I decided to go for a walk in the forest area just outside my cabin. Looking back now I can recognize the connection I felt to the earth and to the trees and plants. It was a very Wiccan experience that I’ve since felt again in other places and can now really appreciate more after studying the Craft as I have.
But looking back on that afternoon I can remember with clarity the vivid green of the ferns and how my shoes were soaked through from the water of the damp soil by the time I came back. I remember taking my walking stick, Mossneck, with me for my journey and now my heart again feels the loss that I had to leave him behind in Sault Ste. Marie when I moved because I didn’t have room on the car for him.
I had taken a basket with me that day and gather some feathers, pinecones and rocks that I think still linger in what is now my ‘craft supplies’. That day I was connecting with The Creator in that forest while the others at the camp were connecting on another level with God. Looking back now I can see that all of our connections were to the same being… we were just feeling it in different ways.
It’s amazing… I haven’t thought about that camp and those experiences in a very long time. Not in a way that I can now recognize as life altering as it was in so many ways. I lost a dear friend that summer and after camp was over I moved back to my mom’s house to start the next chapter in my life. I remember being very confused then - even going so far as to consider entering the seminary for a time.
I didn’t know or recognize it then, but I was looking for something. Something that I eventually found in Wicca. When I first heard about this assignment I didn’t know it would lead me to realizing when my path took a sharp turn to where it is today. But for me a very important sacred site is that forest near Lake Michagamme in the UP. I haven’t been there in nearly 14 years but I now see how if affected me and the course of my life. Thank you, LunaRouge, for helping to give this realization to me. It’s another gift from you and I love you even more for it.
The first assignment I thought I'd share deals with sacred space. Enjoy...
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about sacred space and my assignment to write about one that speaks to me, or one that I have visited. These thoughts have led me to reflect about what ‘sacred space’ means to me so I decided to start the assignment with those thoughts and to continue on from there. I believe that at it’s core, this assignment is to talk about places of power that I have visited and at first I didn’t think I had ever been anywhere like that but now that I’m writing and thinking about it, I realize that I have been somewhere… bear with me as I realize my journey that was taken so long ago that only now has been clarified.
In general, sacred space to me can be anywhere and is all around me. The great thing about being Wiccan is that I can step anywhere and feel the connection to the goddess that comes from everything around me. I don’t need a consecrated building to house my faith or to go to for prayer. I revere all that is around me and all space is sacred as a result. Another powerful reality as a Wiccan is that with the use of will and energy I can create a sacred circle anywhere that I can then use to connect even deeper to the goddess and have a secure place to perform rituals/spellwork/etc.
These concepts are so unique to our religion and they speak so true to my heart. I can remember back to a time when I was struggling with my faith and was at a Presbyterian youth camp in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula where I was working as the camp cook. The entire experience was very foreign to me at the time. I hadn’t yet connected with Wicca, but had spent a great deal time with the Native American form of Deity and I knew there was something more out there then what Christianity had to offer. With that in mind, imagine being surrounded by a weekly changing group of children and staff who all believed in the Christian God. I found myself maintaining a distance from them at times by retreating to my beautiful cabin that I shared with only my assistant cook’s cat.
I was struggling to feel comfortable in this nearly oppressive Christian environment I found myself in. One day, when I was by myself - everyone else being at the daily service at The Point, a beautiful outcropping of mountain overlooking the surrounding area - I decided to go for a walk in the forest area just outside my cabin. Looking back now I can recognize the connection I felt to the earth and to the trees and plants. It was a very Wiccan experience that I’ve since felt again in other places and can now really appreciate more after studying the Craft as I have.
But looking back on that afternoon I can remember with clarity the vivid green of the ferns and how my shoes were soaked through from the water of the damp soil by the time I came back. I remember taking my walking stick, Mossneck, with me for my journey and now my heart again feels the loss that I had to leave him behind in Sault Ste. Marie when I moved because I didn’t have room on the car for him.
I had taken a basket with me that day and gather some feathers, pinecones and rocks that I think still linger in what is now my ‘craft supplies’. That day I was connecting with The Creator in that forest while the others at the camp were connecting on another level with God. Looking back now I can see that all of our connections were to the same being… we were just feeling it in different ways.
It’s amazing… I haven’t thought about that camp and those experiences in a very long time. Not in a way that I can now recognize as life altering as it was in so many ways. I lost a dear friend that summer and after camp was over I moved back to my mom’s house to start the next chapter in my life. I remember being very confused then - even going so far as to consider entering the seminary for a time.
I didn’t know or recognize it then, but I was looking for something. Something that I eventually found in Wicca. When I first heard about this assignment I didn’t know it would lead me to realizing when my path took a sharp turn to where it is today. But for me a very important sacred site is that forest near Lake Michagamme in the UP. I haven’t been there in nearly 14 years but I now see how if affected me and the course of my life. Thank you, LunaRouge, for helping to give this realization to me. It’s another gift from you and I love you even more for it.