Weblog
22 Feb 2007: We're moving!
Taking inspiration from Dianne Sylvan's work with EarthDance, I've decided to move DWW to LiveJournal. This will allow me a little more flexibility with content while reducing my administration needs. The current site requires that I be vigilant against comment spammers in both the blog and the forums... and the latter are getting very little use.
The new URL is http://dragonsweave.livejournal.com/.
04 Feb 2007: Dawn and Dusk
And the God said, "My Lady, this is not right. Nothing will grow in the darkness. Give the world to me, that I might bring it light and warmth."
And She, who is All Wisdom, looked and saw that His words were true, and She gave the Earth over to His care. The embrace of Him, God of the Sun, brought light and warmth, and all manner of green things sprang up from the ground, covering the lands in verdant splendor. The forests teemed with life, and the skies filled with the rush of wings.
But all began to wilt soon after under the relentless heat of the blazing sun.
And the Goddess said, "My Lord, this is not right. In Your embrace, all will perish. Come, hold the world with Me, that We may give it both Our gifts."
And He, who is All Thought, saw the Truth of Her words, and opened wide his arms, as did She. And They embraced Each Other, the Earth held between them. And so that no part of the world would be hidden from Their gaze, they set the planet to spinning in Their embrace.
And that is why night flows into day, flows into night.
And it why the sky is painted in beautiful colors at dawn and at dusk, which marks the place where the Goddess and the God, in joy and love, meet in Their embrace.
This story is of my creation, crafted as a story to tell my daughter when she was very small.
01 Feb 2007: We should "will" to be Healers
An' it harm none, do what ye will.
The subject of the Rede has provoked many writings, most revolving around the fact that "do as you will" does not mean "do as you whim". It's an important distinction! A few writings have delved more deeply than others. A notable example of that is Judy Harrow's Exegesis on the Rede, a short piece, but one that contains the salient points. It was written in 1984, however, being published widely in 1985. There have been updates, but the last one was in 2002. Additional writings on the subject, also by Harrow, include An It Harm None: high-choice ethics (2000) and Do What You Will: best-choice values (2000).
There are other writings, as well. Robin Wood, the artist has produced a book called "When, Why... If" that addresses the subject of Pagan ethics. The book is also rather dated, published in 1997. To her credit, Wood has posted some additional thoughts on the book on her web site, listing the things she'd have liked to put into the book, had she known back in '97.
One thing that most of the writings, and in particular those listed above, have in common is their reticence when it comes to being specific about what to do, ethically, as a Wiccan. Harrow comes closest, but the focus of her and Wood's writing is more on how to determine what behavior should be followed, rather than on what should be considered desirable. The Wiccan religion has no dogmatic holy writings with which one must agree, or else suffer some eternal fate, and what I'm about to write isn't intended to become such a thing. However, looking at the tenets of our faith, we see certain patterns of belief that should translate into actions, and it behooves us to recognize it.
We Wiccans should devote ourselves to healing. We talk a good line about this, but rarely follow through in any meaningful manner. Most of us (the ones I've met in my experience) live unhealthy lifestyles, being frequently overweight due to non-medical reasons, eating food that should never touch our lips, engaging in a variety of intoxicants that do nothing to truly improve our lives. And these are just examples of physical issues that affect only ourselves! When we start to widen the circle of awareness to include non-physical issues (mental, emotional health) and/or the effects we have on others (immediate family, community, etc.), then the list grows. I won't bother to list the many, many such impacts. I'll only say that I know too many Wiccans who give lips service to "healing" while they live destructively. We do not walk the walk.
This must change. We must devote ourselves to healing, to being Healers. It is not enough to recycle, and then claim you're healing the planet. We must work to become educated on what healing needs doing, how best to do it, how to actually perform that healing service once it has been determined. This is no trivial task! Many lifetimes could be spent on this learning alone, let alone actually doing what we've learned.
Once we have learned more about healing, we must extend that healing touch to everything we do. Everything... no exceptions! We must apply the healing ethic to our physical selves, improving our diet, losing excess weight (not for its cosmetic value, but for the health benefits), exercising and getting more sleep. Our minds should be given the same treatment: exercising it by learning something completely new and different, engaging in strenuous mental exertions, meditation. Our emotional state should be assessed for its health, and work undertaken to heal the emotional wounds we all bear. Our spirits should be cared for, by regular practice of our faith on both personal and communal levels... the latter where possible, the former always.
There is more to be Healers than simply saying so. And our desire to be Healers should lead us to pursue whatever arts are needed to become more of a Healer, always more!
18 Jan 2007: Administrivia: Anti-spam measures increased
29 Dec 2006: Crafting the Craft: Foundations of the Temple
A religion is little different from a religious edifice in this regard. It must also be placed on sufficient foundations to offer support, and if it is not, it will crumble. The duration of its planned existence is the measure of the foundations needed. Even a personal religion, one that speaks to no one but the self, needs have to have solid foundations, least the faith collapse under the weight of hard times. And those hard times do come.
The foundations of the Craft must be made of very strong stuff. Our people will (and should be able to) come to rely on it for strength, for meaning. These foundational beliefs should not be wed to any particular time, place or politics, but should reflect timeless truths. For that reason, they should be simple, direct, unambiguous. What follows is, to the best of my understanding, after several years of thought, meditation and prayer, the foundational tenets of the Wiccan faith.
Read More!
28 Dec 2006: Madison Pagan Unity Council reforming
21 Dec 2006: From out of darkness, light
During this season of darkness-turning-to-light, it's important to be properly grateful for the gifts and blessings we've received. May the Gods grant you continued strength and increasing wisdom.
It is also an appropriate time to recognize the battles yet to be finished. Among these, one with modest beginnings, but potentially tremendous impact, is the Pentacle Quest, of which I have written before. An article appearing today in USA Today may assist in this quest: Wiccans demand acceptance. Go have a look.
14 Dec 2006: A Bad Gift Idea
Liberal and progressive Christian groups say a new computer game in which players must either convert or kill non-Christians is the wrong gift to give this holiday season and that Wal-Mart, a major video game retailer, should yank it off its shelves.
I guess this is an answer to WWJD this holiday season: kill 'em all.
I ask the Gods for their continued support as we try to endure this latest round of religious extremism
13 Dec 2006: Holiday greetings
I can't even begin to point enough links to various places where this issue is being debated and screamed about. Instead, I'll point to just one: Have a look at The Wild Hunt Blog's entry into the issue.
My take on this: wish people a Joyous Yule. It doesn't sound like "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Hannukah". It's a greeting that's our own, and people can accept it or not, as their spirit moves them.
12 Dec 2006: Crafting the Craft
The answer to that question, until very recently, has been a toss-up between "Haphazardly", and frankly, "Not very well." Generally speaking, the Craft of the Wise is being handled unwisely in most cases, with little regard for anything approaching consistency, no matter how you define that term. A religion is a method or system of relating to the Gods (by whatever name you call Them), and that method is ill-served by the "anything-goes" attitude brought to our religion by most of its practitioners.
There is certainly room for investigation and exploration by Wiccans. Although it sparked a mini-schism in the Gardnerian line back in the mid-80's, there has always been a place for serious exploration of variance in practice within Wicca, and many elements of our ritual and philosophy can be shown to have antecedents in other mystery cults as well as mainstream faiths. In an effort ot make a welcoming place for newcomers and visionaries, the attitude in the Craft community has been very laissez-faire, and from this, we have "Wiccan" sweatlodges, pipe ceremonies, pujas and so forth. I have written on this subject before, and I quote a piece from that earlier blog:
A religion's practices should support, explain and expand on the philosophies of that religion. Most Wiccan practitioners' practices are a hash of those of other faiths, chosen strictly for their "cool factor". For this reason, Dragon's Weave does not condone the pillaging of other faiths for their practices. There is nothing "Wiccan" about a sweatlodge, for example. If we Wiccans want to hold a sweat, we are free to do so, but we shouldn't be chanting Lakota prayers while we do it.
I have gathered by thoughts, and have decided to pursue them in a series of articles that will outline where I think the Craft should be going, and where I'm taking Dragon's Weave. There are other people out there working on similar creations... Dianne Sylvan's EarthDance tradition is a good example... But I see no reason to wait. Either this material will stand on its own, be absorbed into a different body of work, or fade to dust. No matter; I'll set the ball to rolling here.
A brief outline of what's to come:
- Wiccan Thealogy: The Foundation Blocks
- Wiccan Philosophy: The Edifice
- Wiccan Practice: The Structure of Our Temple
- Wiccan Rites: Holy Days in the Temple
- Wiccan Heresies: Temple Renewal
