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[theconcertino]

I am searching for religion in my life. I would like to explore many possibilities...can you, friends list, offer me your insights? Would you be willing to share with me your beliefs, your rituals? Your help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Comments

[wrenbow]

I looked into Wicca a while ago and the thing that most intrigued me was a description of the God and Goddess that I found in a book. Now I'm not sure I took away exactly what the book was trying to convey, but from this I conceived the idea of two forces (not the forces of good and evil - I don't really believe in them) who oppose each other but also work together to sustain the universe. One of them is creative, full of life, always growing and changing, and very disordered. The other is destructive and harsh, culling away the weak in favor of the strong, but in this way making it possible for things to become even stronger and have fuller lives. This second force intrigues me. I would associate it with the scorching desert, the freezing cold, the space between the stars, death in all its forms, and basically any extreme you can think of - to personify it, think of the stern father, someone/thing that makes decisions which may be harsh but are ultimately correct. The other force I would associate with life, growth, energy, and spontaneous creation - basically, the Goddess in all her wild beauty.

Now, I acknowledge that the above can sound a bit strange. I'm not even sure I fully believe in it. But it is an interesting idea that there may be two forces which rule this universe - one which adds to it, and one which subtracts. They could not exist by themselves, for that would lead to either nothing or everything, so they set themselves up in a nice balance, ultimately sustaining the world we know.

The rest of Wicca that I read of has to do with a lot of hooey that I can't take seriously, but again this is just my own opinion. Mainly I can't believe that wishing for something makes it come true, or that performing certain rituals will achieve a specific affect. Really, it's all in the mind, and although this semblance of "magic" may give many people the right frame of mind to achieve what they want in life, I don't believe these practices are necessary to achieve one's goals.

I hope this gives you something to think on. I still endorse taking that Buddhism class, because it sounds like a very calming religion.

[arabalchemist]

An interesting twist and/or complement to this idea is the pantheon style of religious figures, like the Greek and Roman belief system, and more recently, expressed in a newish form in the first edition of Exalted.