That Idea From Forever Ago…

I know most of you who visit nowadays probably aren’t my co-conspirators from a few months ago.  Nevertheless, I welcome you to my project.

Way back in August, I think, I mentioned an idea for a multi blogger network site where we could all be connected.  We have a sort of tenuous community, linked by blogrolls and the occasional cross blog comment.  i want something a little more uniform for us.  Without forcing those of us who have stable blogging identities to lose any of it.

And over the past few days, beginning with the end of my semester, I’ve begun formulating this idea.  I call it Paganocity.  Its currently in alpha testing(lol) and barely worth linking to.  Over the next while I’ll be solidifying the internal organization and adding some base content.

But I can’t do this big ass thing alone.  I don’t have the time.

That’s where you come in.  Any pagan who’s interested in some sort of community with other pagans.  Yeah, I’m a witch, but I don’t care if you are.  You can come from any walk of paganism.  What I do want is people who wouldn’t mind devoting an hour or two a week to helping a fledgling site get off the ground.  And there are a LOT of roles that need to be filled.  From forum moderator to content managers to contributors.  You don’t have to be a writer.  If you spend a lot of time browsing the net, my guess is that you searching can be to our benefit.

It will cost me approximately $50 a year to run this site, and I’m a college student – so paying you is out of the question. Eternal thanks and maybe a few wacky Christmas/Yule cards are pretty much all I can offer.  But I don’t want people to take ‘jobs’ from me.  That’s silly.  I want people who want to be community founders – leaders.  Those should be easy to find among the pagan community.

So what will the site offer?  I’ve got it set up in a “city” format right now.  A requests come in for leadership positions, it can be expanded, adjusted, etc.

These are the categories.  A lot has been adjusted – this is actually a relatively outdated list, but it’s extremely dynamic.  If there’s anything that peaks your interest, just leave a comment here and we’ll exchange some emails.

Main Menu
-The Library

-Fiction
-Non-Fiction
-Other

-The Garden
-Herbs/Plants
-Tutorials

-The Crystal Ball
-Tarot
-Runes
-I Ching
-Scrying

-The Gallery
-Art
-Cartoons
-Photography

-The Kitchen
-Recipes etc

-The Playhouse
-Pagan Crafts
-Pagan Software
-Pagan Images

-The Coffee House
-Pagan Poetry
-Pagan Songs
-Pagan Video

-The Town Hall
-Civil Rights News
-Meet and Greet
-Advice
-Q & A
-Polls
-Forums
-Prayer Requests
-Chat

Sorry!

Finals hit me hard. Friday, I’m all done, and with the exceptions of moving out and Christmas, i should be back to posting.

Someday, school and life won’t kick my butt. I promise.

What Is Magic?

Magic is the act of taking responsibility to create change. This is the simplest, most encompassing definition that will span a range of religious and spiritual traditions, regardless of time or geographic region.

Wiccans perform magic. Christians perform magic. Hindus, Muslims, even Atheists practice magic. Magic is self responsibility. Magic is standing up and deciding to walk to your car. Magic is praying for a better world.

Magic is conscious change.

Doubtful

I was doubtful at first.  I was doubtful of Barack Obama and what he would mean for us.    But I mean, what could be better?  A man with a foot in both worlds: the white and the black, the international and the national, the family and the self, the death of his grandmother and the beginning of his journey as president.

The man is honorable.  I trust him like our forefathers trusted Kennedy.  He has a loving family – you know he won’t be getting blowjobs on the side.

For the first time in eight years, I am proud to be an American.

The Paper’s Done…

Now what?  Well, November is National Novel Writing Month.  That means, 50,000 words in 30 days.

I know I can’t write that much, this month.  But I can, at least, stick to a subject matter on here as I update, add to, and expand my book of shadows(which is currently at 46,000 words).  I will be using the blog in combination with the book of shadows for my little prize at the end of the month; and meanwhile, be getting some good writing in about what it is that I believe.

Anyway, the topic of the month?  The Principles of Magic.

First chapter coming soon.

Five.

The basic tenets – the universal truths – of Wicca are easy to understand. I have spoken of many in one way or another, above. Yet, there is one rule which resides above all: And it harm none, do what you will.

This can mean stepping up when no one else will. This may also mean standing back and allowing things to progress without your interference. The choice is sometimes all too easy, but other times, it will be the hardest decision that you can make. Following the path of least harm is not always simple. But it is what we – as Wiccans – strive to do.

That being said, there is one more thing that must be known of the faith. A covenant, handed down from generation to generation, between us and the gods.

And thou who thinkest to seek for Me, know thy seeking and yearning shall avail thee not, unless thou knowest the Mystery: that if that which thou seekest thou findest not within thee, thou wilt never find it without thee.

Four.

My path is unique, special. My teacher is not just the man whom I call my High Priest. My teacher is the wind and the trees. It is the thoughts of my ancestors. It is the tears I shed over the death of loved ones. It is the joy in an orgasm and the wholeness I feel while racing down a hill on a bicycle, wind rushing through my hair, life running through my veins. It is my stress over college and life and it is my determination, my will. My teacher is the Universe.

It is wrong of me to say that my teacher comes from several different pagan lines, taught by both his ancestors and people outside of his bloodline. To say I am part of an ancestral tradition takes away from it – because I am not a descendant of my teacher.

Our path is rooted in one simple question: Why? We seek through our religion, meditation, thought and action, to answer the questions that come to us, no matter how trivial. We seek to gain knowledge from the simplest events in life. We tend to be interested in the conceptual truths – the patterns – instead of the practical, here and now truths. We would rather discover what it takes to make a boat float, than just be told how to build one.

Three.

What of God? The Gods? Many of us have creation stories, and perhaps there is a bit of truth to all. Regardless, we do not view God/s as separate. Instead God is within us, outside of us, and all around of us. There is god in a rock, and fire, and the beauty of the sunset. We – all of us – are parts of God, like a mirror broken into a billion pieces.

Many choose pantheons to best represent their beliefs. Some leave it vague, “the gods put me on this path.” Regardless, we all agree that there is a divine energy in the universe, and it is, in some way, a part of us.

Two.

We believe in magic. We define magic as the inherent ability of an object to influence its environment. Magic is as much being able to walk as it is being able to attract new sources of happiness to your life.

We do not deny the skeptics. Our most fervent believers may define their belief in magic as energy that they can see, feel or touch. And our skeptics insist that we are so able to meld our minds around an idea that we unconsciously work towards the expected outcome. Regardless of how the belief is interpreted, it cannot be denied that we believe in and work with magic.

Along with the belief in magic comes a goal: That we may be the rock in a great sea; to be master of our surroundings and not be mastered by them. Becoming the one to influence – the magician, the hermit, the priest and the priestess – has a cost. We believe that the Universe recognizes intent as action, and acts accordingly. And so, ill wishes bring ill back to us three times over. Likewise, good acts bring good to us three times over. And though we do not see things as black and white, the rule of three and karma still remain as fundamental to our practice and beliefs.

One.

Wicca is not exclusively a religion.  The term religion was most aptly described, I believe, by Richard Geertz:

(1) a system of symbols which acts to (2) establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by (3) formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and (4) clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that (5) the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic.

In other words, a religion is a set of symbols that order our existence and cause our conceptions, moods, and motivations to seem unique and realistic.      This definition has been disputed.  One dictionary defines religion as follows:

A set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

This is closer, but still incorrect.  This particular definition neglects the placement of the word “dynamic” before the word “beliefs.”  Wicca is ever changing, unlike religions which proudly state that their religion has been passed down from generation to generation.
We do not believe in a static universe, static beliefs, or a static god.  We walk a path – many of us with common beliefs on how the world is ordered.  We often live by a common code – but the words may differ.  And the code is not interpreted as one right way.
We believe in balance.  We believe in science – that for every action, there is a reaction, and often it is much stronger than we can perceive.  We believe in responsibility, and in a debt owed to the earth and matter which supports our existence.