When my mother and grandmother were my age, and raising a family, having a big garden and canning and freezing the produce was comon place. It is just what you did to feed your family.
Now adays, most ppl get all of their produce from the grocery store or perhaps a farmer's market. Growing and canning your own food is fast becomming a lost art in America today.
This is the 2nd year we have had a garden. Dewayne and the boys have worked their butts off. We planted it on March's full moon and had a full moon ritual that night asking the goddess for her blessing and to provide us with a bountiful harvest.
Now we have just passed June's full moon and we have been harvesting for some time. We have been enjoying as well as freezing green beans, purple hull peas, corn radishes, onions, yellow squash, banana pepers, bell pepers, okra and best of all TOMATOES.
We have had fried green tomatoes, sliced tomatoes, tomatoes sandwiches and today we canned tomatoes. We still have LOTS of tomatoes left to harvest. Next week we plan to make and can spiced tomato juice.
It is very cool to sit down to dinner and know that you raised all of the vegetables on your plate. The kids are LOVING the fresh veggies. Lil Bit has almost made himeself sick on green beans lol
So we will continue this tradition, passed down from our grandmothers and hope someday our kids will do the same.
Blessed Be!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
The Solstice; Celebrating Summer (June 21, 2010)
Summer Solstice, also known as Litha, Sun Blessing, Gathering Day and Vestalia is the longest day and shortest night of the year.
Litha, June 21, is the official first day of summer now a days....But in the ancient times, Summer began on Beltane (May 1st) and ended on Lammas (August 1st). So the solstice on June 21st was mid way between the two, hence it was called Midsumer.
I always wondered why the first day of summer was called Midsummer and why Summer officially began on the day when the sun's light begins to wane. It makes more sense doing it the old way.
For this Pagan family, Litha is a big deal. It is a night when the fairies are out and magick abounds. I have to admit it is one of my favorite Pagan holidays.
We try to celebrate in the old ways. For us, this means we have a bonfire. Yes I know it is as hot these days, but the old ones believed that the Litha fires possesed great power and prosperity and protection, so we had ourselves a fire.
We started celebrating at dinner, by having Solstice Salad. This is a salad we make with all kids of fresh veggies, smoked chicken brest, craisins and mandrian oranges.
After dinner, but before the fire was ritual. I sent David, Daniel and Hunter to find wild flowers, and we covered a circular table with flowers instead of an altar cloth. I filled my big cast iron cauldron with water and floated some flowers as well.
We then did a simple ritual that I adapted from one I found online. {ok here is where I confess that I have spent a miserable week suffering from sunburn from last week's boat trip and did not feel like writing one myself as I usually do}
Here is the ritual we did
(I can't remember where I found the original, but most of it is not mine, I only adapted. If someone knows the original author, I will gladly give credit as it is a beautiful ritual)
We all stand around the altar at sunset and I begin saying:
"Today is Litha, called Midsummer by the old ones
A time for celebration
Tomorrow the light will begin to fade
As the Wheel of the Year turns on and on"
Then we all face the East and I say:
"From the East comes the Wind
Cool and clear
It brings new seeds to our garden
Bees to the Pollen
And birds to the trees"
We now turn to the South and I say:
"The Sun rises high in the summer sky
And lights our way, even into the night
Today the sun casts 3 rays
The light of Fire upon the land, sea and heavens"
We now turn to face the West and I say:
"From the West the mist rolls in
Bringing rain and fog
The life giving water
Without which we would cease to be"
And finally we face the North and I say:
"Beneath our feet is the Earth
Soil dark and fertile
The womb in which life begins
And will later die, then return anew"
At this point we do what is commonly called cakes and ale. It is similar to Christian communion, except that it dosen't represent someone's body or blood
For cakes this year, I made rice crispy treats with chocolate chips. This was to represent the seeds of the dark winter (the chocolate chips) even in the bright summer (the light colored rice crispies.) And for ale, we of course, had Dewayne's home made wine.
I take the plate with 5 bites sized pieces of the cakes (the lil ones were already in bed) and I turn to the person on my left and pass him the plate and say "May you never hunger" He says "Blessed Be" takes his piece of cake and passes it to the person on the left and says "May you never hunger"
The cakes go around the circle ending with me, and then I take the chalise of wine and to say to the person on my left "May you never thirst", his responce is of course "Blessed Be" and like the cakes the wine makes its way around the circle ending with me.
*footnote, yes we use real wine, and yes the kids get a sip the same as catholic kids get a sip of wine in communtion*
We also have a fairy altar for Litha and we leave a bit of cakes and ale for the fae. Trust me you never want to piss off the fairies. They can be devious lil buggers if they feel they have been disrespected :)
After closing the circle, the formal part of ritual is over.
We proceede to the fire pit and consecrate the fire. As a throwback to our Native American ancestors we consecrate it with white sage and cedar.
Here is the prayer I recited as the fire was consecrated (again not mine)
"Today to celebrate Midsummer, we honnor the Earth. We are surrounded by tall trees. There is clear sky above us,and cool dirt beneath us and we are connected to all three. We consecrate this fire as the ancient ones did so long ago"
And then Dewayne, adds the cedar and sage to the fire. It is now a sacred and nothing but wood can be added to it.
Now for the part the kids like best. We turn on some Pagan music and sing and dance around the fire. This year we listened to a really cool Pagan artist I have recently been turned on to called Kelliana. (I recommend her music to anyone pagan or not) and we also had one of our favorite Solstice songs "Solstice Call" by Gaia Consort.*see lyrics below*
Dewayne and I continued to drink wine, and sing along as the kids danced and frolicked. The kids got to stay up late, which of course the loved.
Lyrics to Solstice Call be Gaia Consort {one of my favorite solstice songs)
Come all ye young maidens, come all ye old sods
Bring your pimply faced boyfriends and glowering Dads
Bring your brothers and sisters and grandparents too
Your lunatic Aunty and drunk Uncle Lou
There'll be bonfires from Kalaloch to Portland tonight
To celebrate summer and sing out the light
All come all come - all come along
We'll strike up a quick tune to call out the boys
One to hike up your skirts to and make lots of noise
We'll play out a waltz to encourage romance
And we'll make it a slow one so the old folks can dance
All come all come - all come along
Starch up your linens or come without clothes
For no matter what covers we'll dance in our bones
Come, timid young virgins and old libertines
For it's mid-summers eve and we've come here to dream
All come all come - all come along
Leave off your prayin' and leave off your hate
For there are none of us sinners and none of saints
We'll feast and we'll dance and we'll stay up too late
And if the Reaper comes knockin' he'll just have to wait!
All come all come - all come along
There'll be bonfires from Kalaloch to Portland tonight
Litha, June 21, is the official first day of summer now a days....But in the ancient times, Summer began on Beltane (May 1st) and ended on Lammas (August 1st). So the solstice on June 21st was mid way between the two, hence it was called Midsumer.
I always wondered why the first day of summer was called Midsummer and why Summer officially began on the day when the sun's light begins to wane. It makes more sense doing it the old way.
For this Pagan family, Litha is a big deal. It is a night when the fairies are out and magick abounds. I have to admit it is one of my favorite Pagan holidays.
We try to celebrate in the old ways. For us, this means we have a bonfire. Yes I know it is as hot these days, but the old ones believed that the Litha fires possesed great power and prosperity and protection, so we had ourselves a fire.
We started celebrating at dinner, by having Solstice Salad. This is a salad we make with all kids of fresh veggies, smoked chicken brest, craisins and mandrian oranges.
After dinner, but before the fire was ritual. I sent David, Daniel and Hunter to find wild flowers, and we covered a circular table with flowers instead of an altar cloth. I filled my big cast iron cauldron with water and floated some flowers as well.
We then did a simple ritual that I adapted from one I found online. {ok here is where I confess that I have spent a miserable week suffering from sunburn from last week's boat trip and did not feel like writing one myself as I usually do}
Here is the ritual we did
(I can't remember where I found the original, but most of it is not mine, I only adapted. If someone knows the original author, I will gladly give credit as it is a beautiful ritual)
We all stand around the altar at sunset and I begin saying:
"Today is Litha, called Midsummer by the old ones
A time for celebration
Tomorrow the light will begin to fade
As the Wheel of the Year turns on and on"
Then we all face the East and I say:
"From the East comes the Wind
Cool and clear
It brings new seeds to our garden
Bees to the Pollen
And birds to the trees"
We now turn to the South and I say:
"The Sun rises high in the summer sky
And lights our way, even into the night
Today the sun casts 3 rays
The light of Fire upon the land, sea and heavens"
We now turn to face the West and I say:
"From the West the mist rolls in
Bringing rain and fog
The life giving water
Without which we would cease to be"
And finally we face the North and I say:
"Beneath our feet is the Earth
Soil dark and fertile
The womb in which life begins
And will later die, then return anew"
At this point we do what is commonly called cakes and ale. It is similar to Christian communion, except that it dosen't represent someone's body or blood
For cakes this year, I made rice crispy treats with chocolate chips. This was to represent the seeds of the dark winter (the chocolate chips) even in the bright summer (the light colored rice crispies.) And for ale, we of course, had Dewayne's home made wine.
I take the plate with 5 bites sized pieces of the cakes (the lil ones were already in bed) and I turn to the person on my left and pass him the plate and say "May you never hunger" He says "Blessed Be" takes his piece of cake and passes it to the person on the left and says "May you never hunger"
The cakes go around the circle ending with me, and then I take the chalise of wine and to say to the person on my left "May you never thirst", his responce is of course "Blessed Be" and like the cakes the wine makes its way around the circle ending with me.
*footnote, yes we use real wine, and yes the kids get a sip the same as catholic kids get a sip of wine in communtion*
We also have a fairy altar for Litha and we leave a bit of cakes and ale for the fae. Trust me you never want to piss off the fairies. They can be devious lil buggers if they feel they have been disrespected :)
After closing the circle, the formal part of ritual is over.
We proceede to the fire pit and consecrate the fire. As a throwback to our Native American ancestors we consecrate it with white sage and cedar.
Here is the prayer I recited as the fire was consecrated (again not mine)
"Today to celebrate Midsummer, we honnor the Earth. We are surrounded by tall trees. There is clear sky above us,and cool dirt beneath us and we are connected to all three. We consecrate this fire as the ancient ones did so long ago"
And then Dewayne, adds the cedar and sage to the fire. It is now a sacred and nothing but wood can be added to it.
Now for the part the kids like best. We turn on some Pagan music and sing and dance around the fire. This year we listened to a really cool Pagan artist I have recently been turned on to called Kelliana. (I recommend her music to anyone pagan or not) and we also had one of our favorite Solstice songs "Solstice Call" by Gaia Consort.*see lyrics below*
Dewayne and I continued to drink wine, and sing along as the kids danced and frolicked. The kids got to stay up late, which of course the loved.
Lyrics to Solstice Call be Gaia Consort {one of my favorite solstice songs)
Come all ye young maidens, come all ye old sods
Bring your pimply faced boyfriends and glowering Dads
Bring your brothers and sisters and grandparents too
Your lunatic Aunty and drunk Uncle Lou
There'll be bonfires from Kalaloch to Portland tonight
To celebrate summer and sing out the light
All come all come - all come along
We'll strike up a quick tune to call out the boys
One to hike up your skirts to and make lots of noise
We'll play out a waltz to encourage romance
And we'll make it a slow one so the old folks can dance
All come all come - all come along
Starch up your linens or come without clothes
For no matter what covers we'll dance in our bones
Come, timid young virgins and old libertines
For it's mid-summers eve and we've come here to dream
All come all come - all come along
Leave off your prayin' and leave off your hate
For there are none of us sinners and none of saints
We'll feast and we'll dance and we'll stay up too late
And if the Reaper comes knockin' he'll just have to wait!
All come all come - all come along
There'll be bonfires from Kalaloch to Portland tonight
Father's Day 2010
This year we spent Father's Day on our boat, and out on the lake. We took some time to swim at a small beach we found.
We motored across the lake to get to Heber just to say we did it, even tho with a 30 horse power motor it took over an hour. It looked like we might be headed into a storm for a bit and we battened down the hatches and prepared for a storm on the lake, but the goddess was with us and we didn't get so much as a sprinkle. Altho we did get into some wind and a little bit of choppy waves.
But as we got back to port, the clouds parted and the sun came out...
Blessed Be!
Pre Father's Day Ritual (June 19)
We have a ritual that we do every year on the day before Father's Day.
No, it isn't a religious ritual. It is something that Dewayne's family does every year and has since he was a kid. They go out to the cemetery to clean and redecorate the family graves.
Dewayne has done this since he was a boy. His father passed away when he was 11 and since then it has had even more meaning to him.
I remember the first time I went with him, thinking that I was going to the end of the world.
This is not just some drive to a cemetery. It is a LONG treck down one side of a step mountain road, across a rickety one lane bridge (that Im convinced will fall into the water at anytime) and then up the other side of the steep mountain road, all of which is dirt.
We try to get to the cemetery early because the heat is so bad. We arrive around 9 a.m. and meet a cousin of his. She used to babysit Dewayne when he was a baby and she gets a kick out of seeing how much like him Lil Bit looks.
Dewayne gets out the hoe and remounds his father's grave, and the graves of his father's parents who died before he was born. Then we put the new flowers on the graves. This year both Allison and Lil Bit joined in.
We all pose for pictures that his cousin Lisa wants to take and we small talk for a bit. But the heat drives us all back to our air conditioned vehicles.
On the way home, Dewayne drives us passed the house he grew up in, and passed the land his family used to own. He shows us the field his uncle used to work with just a mule, a plow and a whole lot of determination. He also shows us the rock building that used to be a one room school house where his father whent to school. And he shares with the kids and I stories of his father's family and of growing up on the mountain.
This is the 4th year I have gone with him and the 4th time I have been passed these places and heard these stories, but I know that this is something very important to Dewayne and so we will go every year and in this way, the kids will get to know family that lived before them and hopefully learn some respect for family rituals such as this.
Blessed Be!
No, it isn't a religious ritual. It is something that Dewayne's family does every year and has since he was a kid. They go out to the cemetery to clean and redecorate the family graves.
Dewayne has done this since he was a boy. His father passed away when he was 11 and since then it has had even more meaning to him.
I remember the first time I went with him, thinking that I was going to the end of the world.
This is not just some drive to a cemetery. It is a LONG treck down one side of a step mountain road, across a rickety one lane bridge (that Im convinced will fall into the water at anytime) and then up the other side of the steep mountain road, all of which is dirt.
We try to get to the cemetery early because the heat is so bad. We arrive around 9 a.m. and meet a cousin of his. She used to babysit Dewayne when he was a baby and she gets a kick out of seeing how much like him Lil Bit looks.
Dewayne gets out the hoe and remounds his father's grave, and the graves of his father's parents who died before he was born. Then we put the new flowers on the graves. This year both Allison and Lil Bit joined in.
We all pose for pictures that his cousin Lisa wants to take and we small talk for a bit. But the heat drives us all back to our air conditioned vehicles.
On the way home, Dewayne drives us passed the house he grew up in, and passed the land his family used to own. He shows us the field his uncle used to work with just a mule, a plow and a whole lot of determination. He also shows us the rock building that used to be a one room school house where his father whent to school. And he shares with the kids and I stories of his father's family and of growing up on the mountain.
This is the 4th year I have gone with him and the 4th time I have been passed these places and heard these stories, but I know that this is something very important to Dewayne and so we will go every year and in this way, the kids will get to know family that lived before them and hopefully learn some respect for family rituals such as this.
Blessed Be!
Been MIA
I have been MIA for a while. I went out of town for a bit, then have been busy...but will catch up on the blog...I wil do one for each day I thought of blogging but didn't and put the date in the title...
BTW, to my one follower...it means alot that ya missed me...perhaps someday I will have many followers but you, dear Kel, will always be my first follower.
Blessed Be!
BTW, to my one follower...it means alot that ya missed me...perhaps someday I will have many followers but you, dear Kel, will always be my first follower.
Blessed Be!
Monday, June 7, 2010
Getting Organized... and a tale of two frogs
I did it!! Yesterday, despite being tired, I did something that has been a goal of mine for a long time. I sat down and planned an entire week of meals, wrote out the shopping list and got all of the ingriedents for said meals!
I have been trying to get things more organized around here. Somedays I feel like I am just treading water and making no progress. But yesterday was definitely a BIG step in the right direction.
When I feel like all I am doing is treading water, I will remember a story I once heard somewhere. Two frogs fell into a bowl of cream and could not get out. They tried and tried to jump out but we unable to. One frog said to the other "It's useless, we are never going to get out of here." And he gave up, stopped trying and sank to the bottom and drowned in the cream.
The second frog kept trying and trying, and he tread in the cream all night long. By the morning, he had tread so much that he had made himself a blob of butter and sitting on his butter, was able to jump out of the cream.
So just for today, I am trying to be like the second frog....
I have been trying to get things more organized around here. Somedays I feel like I am just treading water and making no progress. But yesterday was definitely a BIG step in the right direction.
When I feel like all I am doing is treading water, I will remember a story I once heard somewhere. Two frogs fell into a bowl of cream and could not get out. They tried and tried to jump out but we unable to. One frog said to the other "It's useless, we are never going to get out of here." And he gave up, stopped trying and sank to the bottom and drowned in the cream.
The second frog kept trying and trying, and he tread in the cream all night long. By the morning, he had tread so much that he had made himself a blob of butter and sitting on his butter, was able to jump out of the cream.
So just for today, I am trying to be like the second frog....
Sunday, June 6, 2010
A night of Fishing
This will be a short post. I am SO tired. Dewayne and I took Daniel out on the boat fishing last night. We didn't go to the backwater place I described yesterday, but under a bridge in the main part of the lake.
We got there a little early so we could get a good spot and Daniel took a swim. Then about sunset, we got our poles ready and the fun began. We had a busy night. We caught a toal of 16 fish. We had 9 crappie, 5 white bass and 1 hybrid bass.
It was about 2am when we got home. After a shower it was after 3 before I got to bed. We put the the fish on ice and Dewayne cleaned them this morning. We plan on having a fishfry sometime this week.
Thanks to the Goddess for giving us a bountiful catch!!
As for the rest of the day, I am gonna veg out on the couch and read.
Blessed Be!
We got there a little early so we could get a good spot and Daniel took a swim. Then about sunset, we got our poles ready and the fun began. We had a busy night. We caught a toal of 16 fish. We had 9 crappie, 5 white bass and 1 hybrid bass.
It was about 2am when we got home. After a shower it was after 3 before I got to bed. We put the the fish on ice and Dewayne cleaned them this morning. We plan on having a fishfry sometime this week.
Thanks to the Goddess for giving us a bountiful catch!!
As for the rest of the day, I am gonna veg out on the couch and read.
Blessed Be!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
The Mockingbird Family in the Rose Bush
We have 4 new arrivals! Four baby mockingbirds have hatched in our rose bush!!!
The mother is a cherry little mockingbird that has been around here for some time now. Many mornings I have sat on my front porch drinking coffee listening to her sing a selection of songs.
Her favorite place to sing is atop the remanents of a small tree that use to stick up from my rose bush. From these heights she would trill and sing til her heart was content.
Not long ago, I noticed that she made frequesnt trip INSIDE the rose bush. So with my curiosity piqued, I gently looked inside the rose bush and found the beginnings of a nest.
I did not tell the kids where, but did tell them our little friend was making a nest. I did not want them disturbing her. I promised them I would keep tabs on her as long as she let me, but the first time it seemed to bother her, then I would stop.
Every few days I would check her progress without being invasive. She did not seem to mind that I was occasionally checking up on her.
Then one day, I discovered that she had laid 4 blue eggs speckled with brown spots.
I kept watch when she wasn't around, but I would not go every day. I was afraid that if I checked everyday, the scent would scare her and she would abandon the nest.
Today I noticed that she was making more frequent trips to the nest. I kept watching until she was away, and went for a look-see. Sure enough there were 4 newly hatched babies!. I went inside to announce to everyone that the eggs have hatched.
I took my camera, but when I went back out Mama Mockingbird was on her perch, so I snapped a couple of shots of her and watched and waited. When she had gone to look for more food, I quickly went and snapped a few shots of the babies, so the kids could see.
I won't be going out as much since I know she will be busy bringing lots of food to 4 growing babies, and I do not want to disturb her. I will on occasion check up on them and hopefully get some pix of them growing up; unless Mama Mockingbird let's me know she does not want me there. {a friend of mine told me once of a moching bird that had a nest in a tree in her yard and would dive bomb anyone near the tree}
Blessed Be!
On the Lake at Night
Things have been rather stressful around the house lately. We have been dealing with teenaged drama with David, and Lil Bit is firmly entrenched in the terrible 2's. Add to that 3 other kids and the return of summer heat indexes near 100, and you can imagine the chaos that has been building around the house.
So last night Dewayne and I decided to take our pontoon boat and go out on the lake. Officially we were fishing. In reality, for me at least, it was about getting out into a world that has recently been opened for me.
We got the pontoon boat last November. Dewayne cuts firewood to help support the family and last fall he traded 4 rick of firewood for a pick up tuck that needed work. Before he could bring the truck home, a guy offered to trade the boat for the truck.
The boat needed a lot of work and needless to say, he did some more trading and got the work done on the boat. He tweaked it some himself and bought old school bus seats at $10 a pop and installed them on the boat and we are now ready for adventures on the high seas...er the lake that we live near.
The family has a blast on the boat on hot days. The kids get a kick out of riding around seeing natre and of course swimming!
But for me, an incredible new world, the lake at night, has been opened up. Sometimes Dewayne and I go out at night and I am amazed at the tansformation.
Last night, we were cruising along the inky black water and the fog was swirling and dancing on the surface. The night creatures called from the banks in a chorus of crirps, croaks, and other unidentified song.
As Dewayne drove the boat, I stood at the front watching the water, which had become a mirror made of onyx, pass by. The cool, damp wind was blowing my hair wildly and smelled fresh and clean yet somehow exotic and mysterious.
With the stars flying past me overhead and the water flying past below me and the wind in my face, I felt like I was flying.
When we stopped to fish, we baited our poles, cast them out and waited. Not that I cared much if we caught anything. I sat back in my seat, looking out into the the night sky, wondering if the stars had ever been so close and so bright.
I sat like this, with the night creatures still singing, and meditated on things. I thought of serious issues and mundane things. I re-energized myself in the dark beauty of our Mother at night.
I told Dewayne that we need to bring the kids out like this, one at a time. All together, they would be too noisy and so wrapped up in who was doing what that they would miss most of the beauty. But one at a time, they could be still and open their eyes, ears, minds and hearts to this mysteriously beautiful world.
Blessed Be!
So last night Dewayne and I decided to take our pontoon boat and go out on the lake. Officially we were fishing. In reality, for me at least, it was about getting out into a world that has recently been opened for me.
We got the pontoon boat last November. Dewayne cuts firewood to help support the family and last fall he traded 4 rick of firewood for a pick up tuck that needed work. Before he could bring the truck home, a guy offered to trade the boat for the truck.
The boat needed a lot of work and needless to say, he did some more trading and got the work done on the boat. He tweaked it some himself and bought old school bus seats at $10 a pop and installed them on the boat and we are now ready for adventures on the high seas...er the lake that we live near.
The family has a blast on the boat on hot days. The kids get a kick out of riding around seeing natre and of course swimming!
But for me, an incredible new world, the lake at night, has been opened up. Sometimes Dewayne and I go out at night and I am amazed at the tansformation.
Last night, we were cruising along the inky black water and the fog was swirling and dancing on the surface. The night creatures called from the banks in a chorus of crirps, croaks, and other unidentified song.
As Dewayne drove the boat, I stood at the front watching the water, which had become a mirror made of onyx, pass by. The cool, damp wind was blowing my hair wildly and smelled fresh and clean yet somehow exotic and mysterious.
With the stars flying past me overhead and the water flying past below me and the wind in my face, I felt like I was flying.
When we stopped to fish, we baited our poles, cast them out and waited. Not that I cared much if we caught anything. I sat back in my seat, looking out into the the night sky, wondering if the stars had ever been so close and so bright.
I sat like this, with the night creatures still singing, and meditated on things. I thought of serious issues and mundane things. I re-energized myself in the dark beauty of our Mother at night.
I told Dewayne that we need to bring the kids out like this, one at a time. All together, they would be too noisy and so wrapped up in who was doing what that they would miss most of the beauty. But one at a time, they could be still and open their eyes, ears, minds and hearts to this mysteriously beautiful world.
Blessed Be!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
So, what is a Pagan anyway?
I have been asked what a Pagan is or what it means to be a Pagan. There are as many answers for that as there are Pagans. Since there are so many misconceptions about Pagans, I will start by telling you what we are NOT.
Pagans are NOT
*Devil Worshipers
Pagans do not even believe in the devil. The "devil" or "satan" is a concept of the Christian religion. Hell is also a concept of some Christian religions which Pagans also do not believe in. So it's pretty hard to worship something you do not believe in.
*Atheists
Atheists do not believe in any god. We believe in many gods and goddesses.
*Sacraficers of Animals (or babies)
Pagans believe all life is sacred, so sacraficing animals (or babies, or whatever you have heard we may sacrafice) for any reason goes against our belief system.
*Evil
As Pagan, we try to live in balance. Most of us believe in Karma, meaning that whatever we do, will come back to us 3 (some believe 10) times over. So if we do evil, we believe that evil will come back to us. No one wants evil things happening to them right?
What Pagans ARE
*Polytheistic
That means we believe in more than one god/ess. Most of us believe in both god and goddess. Pagans follow different pantheons. This means some Pagans woship Greek or Roman or Norse or Egyptian gods and goddess. Some Pagans just pray to the Lord and Lady (god and goddess)
*Earth Based
We believe that the Earth is our Mother. She is sacred. We celebrate the seasons and life cycles.
*Believers in reincarnation
All of life is a cycle, including birth, death and re-birth. I, personally, believe that we are on Earth to learn, then we die and pass into the spirit realm for a while and then are re-born to learn more. It's kind of like being away at college. You go home to the Summerland (afterlife) for a while, then come back to school to learn more.
This is a VERY basic rundown of Paganism. I hope that it will clear up any misconception some may have about what it means to be a Pagan. If anyone has questions, I will ty to answer them. Also other Pagans, feel free to add anything you think I forgot.
Blessed Be!
Pagans are NOT
*Devil Worshipers
Pagans do not even believe in the devil. The "devil" or "satan" is a concept of the Christian religion. Hell is also a concept of some Christian religions which Pagans also do not believe in. So it's pretty hard to worship something you do not believe in.
*Atheists
Atheists do not believe in any god. We believe in many gods and goddesses.
*Sacraficers of Animals (or babies)
Pagans believe all life is sacred, so sacraficing animals (or babies, or whatever you have heard we may sacrafice) for any reason goes against our belief system.
*Evil
As Pagan, we try to live in balance. Most of us believe in Karma, meaning that whatever we do, will come back to us 3 (some believe 10) times over. So if we do evil, we believe that evil will come back to us. No one wants evil things happening to them right?
What Pagans ARE
*Polytheistic
That means we believe in more than one god/ess. Most of us believe in both god and goddess. Pagans follow different pantheons. This means some Pagans woship Greek or Roman or Norse or Egyptian gods and goddess. Some Pagans just pray to the Lord and Lady (god and goddess)
*Earth Based
We believe that the Earth is our Mother. She is sacred. We celebrate the seasons and life cycles.
*Believers in reincarnation
All of life is a cycle, including birth, death and re-birth. I, personally, believe that we are on Earth to learn, then we die and pass into the spirit realm for a while and then are re-born to learn more. It's kind of like being away at college. You go home to the Summerland (afterlife) for a while, then come back to school to learn more.
This is a VERY basic rundown of Paganism. I hope that it will clear up any misconception some may have about what it means to be a Pagan. If anyone has questions, I will ty to answer them. Also other Pagans, feel free to add anything you think I forgot.
Blessed Be!
Introduction : My first post
So, I'm a witch. Yeah really. If you passed me on the street you would probably never know. I look like your typical every day wife and mother. If you look a bit more closely, you will see my Goddess pentacle necklace, and if I am in shorts, you may notice the triple goddess/pentacle tatoo on my right ankle.
My name is Mindi and I live in a small town in Cental Arkansas. My husband is Dewayne and our kids (at home)David 16, Daniel 10, Hunter 9, Allison 3 and Dewayne III (aka Lil Bit)2.
I homeschool Daniel and Hunter and do home preschool with Allison and Lil Bit. David is in high school and we may decide to homeschool him next year.
We attend meetings with a family oriented Pagan study group. We are active in the Pagan community and attend Pagan Pride Day and various Pagan festivals.
Raising my kids Pagan means that we have respect for the Earth. We take responsibility for our own actions. We believe that whatever we do, will come back to us 3 times over.
We celebrate life, and the seasons and cyles of life and the Earth. We dance, we sing, we drum by the fire at night. We explore the world around us with love and respect. We pray to the God and the Goddess.
We are a typical family. We love each other, we argue with each other, we protect each other. As parents, Dewayne and I feel that it is our responsibility to raise our kids to be happy, productive members of society.
I invite all open minded people to read this blog and comment as you like; however for those who wish to leave negative comments or preach to me, stop reading and find a blog more to your liking.
I attended Christian school for five years and I have read the Bible, so I do not need to be witnessed to. Christians are welcome to read and comment as long as they can do so with an open mind and a positive attitude (we can agree to disagree as long as it isn't insulting)
Blessed Be!
My name is Mindi and I live in a small town in Cental Arkansas. My husband is Dewayne and our kids (at home)David 16, Daniel 10, Hunter 9, Allison 3 and Dewayne III (aka Lil Bit)2.
I homeschool Daniel and Hunter and do home preschool with Allison and Lil Bit. David is in high school and we may decide to homeschool him next year.
We attend meetings with a family oriented Pagan study group. We are active in the Pagan community and attend Pagan Pride Day and various Pagan festivals.
Raising my kids Pagan means that we have respect for the Earth. We take responsibility for our own actions. We believe that whatever we do, will come back to us 3 times over.
We celebrate life, and the seasons and cyles of life and the Earth. We dance, we sing, we drum by the fire at night. We explore the world around us with love and respect. We pray to the God and the Goddess.
We are a typical family. We love each other, we argue with each other, we protect each other. As parents, Dewayne and I feel that it is our responsibility to raise our kids to be happy, productive members of society.
I invite all open minded people to read this blog and comment as you like; however for those who wish to leave negative comments or preach to me, stop reading and find a blog more to your liking.
I attended Christian school for five years and I have read the Bible, so I do not need to be witnessed to. Christians are welcome to read and comment as long as they can do so with an open mind and a positive attitude (we can agree to disagree as long as it isn't insulting)
Blessed Be!
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