Post by herne on Jun 30, 2009 16:02:39 GMT 1
Hello everyone!
I thought that you guys might like to know a little more about me and my beliefs, so I would like to share something I wrote with you. I wrote this piece to put in my BOS. Please let me know what you think...
A Statement of My Beliefs
I consider myself an eclectic pagan - primarily a shamanic henotheist with a little Wicca and Druidry thrown in.
I am not Wiccan. I don't believe that there are only 2 deities, thus I do not worship the Lord and Lady. I am a henotheist, believing in the existence of many gods and feel especially drawn to Celtic beliefs and Native American spirituality. While I do believe in a 3-faced moon-goddess, the Earth Mother, Lugh and many others, the only god I truly worship is the one who called me, my patron, Cernunnos.
My relationship with my god is a complex one. While I love, respect and worship him, I also fear him. I feel that Cernunnos is a very primal deity, a force of nature, and - like nature - is chaotic and unpredictable. He is both light and dark, good and evil, hunter and hunted, life and death. I feel that Cernunnos is related to several other horned deities. These deities include the Horned Lord of the Wiccans, Herne, Actaeon, Hu Gadarn, and Pashupati. I do not, however, feel that he is related to Pan. I have never understood the solar connection Wiccans have made for Him. I see Him as many things: the Lord of the Wild Hunt, god of hunters and hunted, lord of animals, guardian of the gate to the afterlife, male fertility personified. But sun god? Nope. I don't see it.
I don't believe in reincarnation or past lives. I find it hard enough to believe that the Divine are cruel enough to make us go through this hell-on-earth once, but to willingly believe that they are sadistic enough to make us come back and endure it time and time again until we somehow "get it right" is just something I can not do. I believe that when we die, we go to the Summer Country - Tir nan Og - The Happy Hunting Grounds - where we are reunited with our loved ones and the Divine. I do believe that there are those who have committed such heinous acts that they will be denied Tir nan Og, people like Hitler and Jeffrey Dahmer.
I do not follow the Wiccan law, "An it harm none, do as ye will." I feel that light and dark exist side-by-side in nature. Good and bad, life and death. Cruelty and darkness exist in nature just as they do in men. A cat will toy with a mouse for hours before killing it, and a lion will protect its territory. To deny the dark is just as bad and unbalancing as denying the light. I do not condone violence or murder, but I see nothing wrong with using magic to get a little non-violent revenge.
I am not a vegetarian, nor will I ever be. The gods, in their wisdom, made us omnivores and I will not turn my back on the wisdom of the gods. I will not, however, ever eat deer meat in honor of my great Horned Lord. I have nothing against hunters and hunting - I know that hunting is necessary in order to prevent over-population. I also know that hunters are special to my God. I, however, am a pacifist and will not take part in the killing.
I don't like anything which even has the flavor of Eastern religions. Things like Aikido, Chakras, Tantras, Mantras, Yoga, Feng Shui, Taoism, Shakti, Reiki, Yin/Yang, Bushido, Kundalini, I Ching... mere mention of these are enough to make me cringe and instantly lose interest in a conversation. I do, however, like Taiko drumming and am interested in learning more about Pashupati.
I have a deep reverence for life which borders on the silly sometimes.
* I cry if I hit anything with my car.
* I won't use a cut Christmas tree... I cry when I have to carry the poor dead thing out to the curb.
* I have an interest in Bonsai, but I won't try because I'm afraid of killing the poor little trees.
* I often talk to plants and animals.
I have always felt that there was a living, intelligent presence in the woods. I get the distinct impression that it is male - most likely a green man. I do not believe that there is only one green man. I believe that every forest, grove, wood and copse in the world has its own green man. I believe that this green man is the spiritual manifestation of the collective consciousness of all of the plants in the grove, and that it is this spirit's duty to watch over and care for the copse it lives in.
I believe in the sidhe though I don't worship them. I usually find myself looking in the underbrush for eyes looking back at me. I find myself in a state of awe when I'm in the woods..
I have always loved the moon, even before I converted to paganism. Every time I go out the door at night, I always look to see where she is, notice what phase she is in, and pause to admire her beauty. I actually feel disappointment when I look and find she's in the new moon phase. Whenever I see her, I always tell her just how beautiful I think she is. I even find myself at times telling her my deepest thoughts, my deepest secrets, my innermost feelings. I don't consider myself called by the moon, nor do I worship her, but I definitely feel a bond with her. I do not observe Esbats.
I love divination. I work with the Tarot and with the Ogham. I am just starting to get into pendulums. I also have a Ouija board, a black mirror and a crystal ball, though I have not yet mastered the use of them. Astrology, however, bores me to tears.
I am fascinated with Celtic and Native American cultures. I like reading about the Druids and the Shamans. I feel Stonehenge is a holy place and have 2 totem animals: wolf and crow. I also have a faerie spirit guide named Aceros, and a lunar spirit guide I call the White Lady. I feel that Holly and Oak are holy plants for me. I have a staff made of oak and my wand is holly
I practice shamanic drumming and journeying.
Obviously I am not a Wiccan, but I do practice rituals similar to those for the 8 Wiccan Sabbats. I would like to find some way to tie them into the first year of a deer's life since Cernunnos is a stag god, but I can't find a month-by-month description of a deer's first year of life.
When possible, I perform my rituals skyclad, wearing only a torc and bracelet which have been consecrated for ritual use only. I may also wear a Cernunnos mask when it seems appropriate.
I do not believe that my beliefs are the only true and right way to believe. I believe that each of us must observe and do what feels right to us spiritually. We all have a path to walk and we ourselves are the only ones who can determine which path we need to take.
I am interested in learning more about faerie, the Green Man, the Wild Hunt, and the Holly King/Oak King stories. I love wind chimes, fountains, bells, incense and candles. I am especially interested in learning more about primitive forms of worship: drumming, dancing, chanting, masks, face and body painting, tattooing and piercing, etc. I love Celtic and New Age music and I am slowly teaching myself to speak Scottish Gaelic. I want to learn more about Spirit Quests and OOBEs.
I thought that you guys might like to know a little more about me and my beliefs, so I would like to share something I wrote with you. I wrote this piece to put in my BOS. Please let me know what you think...
A Statement of My Beliefs
I consider myself an eclectic pagan - primarily a shamanic henotheist with a little Wicca and Druidry thrown in.
I am not Wiccan. I don't believe that there are only 2 deities, thus I do not worship the Lord and Lady. I am a henotheist, believing in the existence of many gods and feel especially drawn to Celtic beliefs and Native American spirituality. While I do believe in a 3-faced moon-goddess, the Earth Mother, Lugh and many others, the only god I truly worship is the one who called me, my patron, Cernunnos.
My relationship with my god is a complex one. While I love, respect and worship him, I also fear him. I feel that Cernunnos is a very primal deity, a force of nature, and - like nature - is chaotic and unpredictable. He is both light and dark, good and evil, hunter and hunted, life and death. I feel that Cernunnos is related to several other horned deities. These deities include the Horned Lord of the Wiccans, Herne, Actaeon, Hu Gadarn, and Pashupati. I do not, however, feel that he is related to Pan. I have never understood the solar connection Wiccans have made for Him. I see Him as many things: the Lord of the Wild Hunt, god of hunters and hunted, lord of animals, guardian of the gate to the afterlife, male fertility personified. But sun god? Nope. I don't see it.
I don't believe in reincarnation or past lives. I find it hard enough to believe that the Divine are cruel enough to make us go through this hell-on-earth once, but to willingly believe that they are sadistic enough to make us come back and endure it time and time again until we somehow "get it right" is just something I can not do. I believe that when we die, we go to the Summer Country - Tir nan Og - The Happy Hunting Grounds - where we are reunited with our loved ones and the Divine. I do believe that there are those who have committed such heinous acts that they will be denied Tir nan Og, people like Hitler and Jeffrey Dahmer.
I do not follow the Wiccan law, "An it harm none, do as ye will." I feel that light and dark exist side-by-side in nature. Good and bad, life and death. Cruelty and darkness exist in nature just as they do in men. A cat will toy with a mouse for hours before killing it, and a lion will protect its territory. To deny the dark is just as bad and unbalancing as denying the light. I do not condone violence or murder, but I see nothing wrong with using magic to get a little non-violent revenge.
I am not a vegetarian, nor will I ever be. The gods, in their wisdom, made us omnivores and I will not turn my back on the wisdom of the gods. I will not, however, ever eat deer meat in honor of my great Horned Lord. I have nothing against hunters and hunting - I know that hunting is necessary in order to prevent over-population. I also know that hunters are special to my God. I, however, am a pacifist and will not take part in the killing.
I don't like anything which even has the flavor of Eastern religions. Things like Aikido, Chakras, Tantras, Mantras, Yoga, Feng Shui, Taoism, Shakti, Reiki, Yin/Yang, Bushido, Kundalini, I Ching... mere mention of these are enough to make me cringe and instantly lose interest in a conversation. I do, however, like Taiko drumming and am interested in learning more about Pashupati.
I have a deep reverence for life which borders on the silly sometimes.
* I cry if I hit anything with my car.
* I won't use a cut Christmas tree... I cry when I have to carry the poor dead thing out to the curb.
* I have an interest in Bonsai, but I won't try because I'm afraid of killing the poor little trees.
* I often talk to plants and animals.
I have always felt that there was a living, intelligent presence in the woods. I get the distinct impression that it is male - most likely a green man. I do not believe that there is only one green man. I believe that every forest, grove, wood and copse in the world has its own green man. I believe that this green man is the spiritual manifestation of the collective consciousness of all of the plants in the grove, and that it is this spirit's duty to watch over and care for the copse it lives in.
I believe in the sidhe though I don't worship them. I usually find myself looking in the underbrush for eyes looking back at me. I find myself in a state of awe when I'm in the woods..
I have always loved the moon, even before I converted to paganism. Every time I go out the door at night, I always look to see where she is, notice what phase she is in, and pause to admire her beauty. I actually feel disappointment when I look and find she's in the new moon phase. Whenever I see her, I always tell her just how beautiful I think she is. I even find myself at times telling her my deepest thoughts, my deepest secrets, my innermost feelings. I don't consider myself called by the moon, nor do I worship her, but I definitely feel a bond with her. I do not observe Esbats.
I love divination. I work with the Tarot and with the Ogham. I am just starting to get into pendulums. I also have a Ouija board, a black mirror and a crystal ball, though I have not yet mastered the use of them. Astrology, however, bores me to tears.
I am fascinated with Celtic and Native American cultures. I like reading about the Druids and the Shamans. I feel Stonehenge is a holy place and have 2 totem animals: wolf and crow. I also have a faerie spirit guide named Aceros, and a lunar spirit guide I call the White Lady. I feel that Holly and Oak are holy plants for me. I have a staff made of oak and my wand is holly
I practice shamanic drumming and journeying.
Obviously I am not a Wiccan, but I do practice rituals similar to those for the 8 Wiccan Sabbats. I would like to find some way to tie them into the first year of a deer's life since Cernunnos is a stag god, but I can't find a month-by-month description of a deer's first year of life.
When possible, I perform my rituals skyclad, wearing only a torc and bracelet which have been consecrated for ritual use only. I may also wear a Cernunnos mask when it seems appropriate.
I do not believe that my beliefs are the only true and right way to believe. I believe that each of us must observe and do what feels right to us spiritually. We all have a path to walk and we ourselves are the only ones who can determine which path we need to take.
I am interested in learning more about faerie, the Green Man, the Wild Hunt, and the Holly King/Oak King stories. I love wind chimes, fountains, bells, incense and candles. I am especially interested in learning more about primitive forms of worship: drumming, dancing, chanting, masks, face and body painting, tattooing and piercing, etc. I love Celtic and New Age music and I am slowly teaching myself to speak Scottish Gaelic. I want to learn more about Spirit Quests and OOBEs.
