PaganFM! 070210
Underwriting
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Disclaimer
PaganFM! Prayer list
Athostan, Oz, Morning Glory, Jayne Lorraine, Danielle, Mary, Helen
News Items
This past Saturday, Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin had their rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, curiously on the anniversary of the “I have a dream” speech of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. Personally I found it quite interesting that people like Palin and Beck would speak to honoring Dr. King, when I have few doubts that were he alive and speaking the same message, that they would be entirely against him.
I also find quite curious the fact that so many conservative Christians support Glenn Beck, when his religion is pretty much antithetical to theirs. What it seems to show me is that a large number of his supporters know nothing of his religion, or nothing of theirs, or simply pay religion little more than lip service.
Let me explain. Firstly, I have nothing against any religion – I have a huge problem with fanaticism, but I don't have a problem with religions. The issue is that Glenn is a Mormon. Mormons claim to be the only True ™ Christians – in that way they are much like Catholics; but they do claim to be Christians. By my definition – those who follow the teachings of Christ, Mormons are. But Mormons differ greatly from Orthodox Christianity, and are considered by many Orthodox Christians to be a cult. The reason lies in their theology. Firstly, Orthodox Christians believe the Bible to be the sole word of God. Mormons don't. They have, beside the Bible, the Book of Mormon and another text called the Pearl of Great Price.
Mormons also differ from Orthodox Christianity in other important ways. Where Christians view Christ as God, Mormons view him as Man become God. They also believe that we, people, can become gods. One of their more famous sayings is “As man is now, so God once was. As God is now, so Man may become.” Basically, they believe that we can become Gods. For some Pagans, that may not be so far out there, but for Christians, it presents a huge problem; it is basically adopting the position that got Adam and Eve kicked out of the Garden of Eden for.
Mormons claim to be henotheistic – that is that while there are many Gods, they worship only one. Of course this is a term that most Mormons may not know, but if you ask a Mormon who knows her or his faith, they'll tell you that there are many universes and many Gods, but they worship “this” God, the father of Christ. And this is another problem for Christians who worship Christ. Officially, Mormons don't worship Christ, but the Father, “through” Christ. They believe that Christ is “a” god, but that he is our brother, and therefore, do not worship Him. Elohim, the Father, according to Mormon teaching, is our god, not Christ. But when a Mormon does choose to worship Christ, and recognized Christ as different from the Father, then, they move from henotheism, to Polytheism. In this, it becomes obvious that the Christians rallying around Beck, and his “Christian” idealism, “know not what they do”.
So why is it that few conservative Christians are calling Beck out on his religious beliefs? Well, for one, he doesn't talk much about his own theology; he speaks to the points that Christians and Mormons have in common. He'll talk about Christ, he'll talk about God, but he never mentions that he doesn't believe in a Trinity. He honors Dr. King, but doesn't speak to the fact that the Prophets of his religion didn't always consider blacks as fully equal to whites, and has never fully addressed the question as to whether or why God simply “changed his mind about that fact”. On his show, he doesn't speak to the controversial nature of his beliefs, why they have “another gospel”, how people can become Gods, or their change in regard to polygamy, or the simple fact that they consider only Mormons to be true Christians.
And many conservative Christians aren't exactly ready to trash someone who has motivated so many of their own. It's a bit of “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”, until, that is, he starts winning a large number of their faithful over to the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints. Some conservative Christians are coming out against Beck - I do suspect though, that if Beck ever runs for the office of President, that there would be an immediate and deafening out-roar regarding his theology. The enemy of my enemy can only be my friend, presumably, until such enemy threatens me too.
And in the news today, another oil rig exploded off the New Orleans coast. Thankfully, everyone got off the rig alive, though one was injured. As of this writing, I hadn't heard how severe the injuries were. As of Noon-ish today, it was unclear whether this would be another disaster – presumably this rig wasn't actively producing oil or gas, but certainly something is burning.
For those of you who live on the East Coast, the major news is Hurricane Earl, which is heading this way as we speak. Today, here in Portsmouth, we were under a Tropical Storm Watch, a Heat Advisory and an Air Quality Alert. In short, this is some pretty severe weather we're having. Today's high was around 96, depending on where you were. Tomorrow, we can expect thunderstorms in the afternoon, and depending on where Earl decides to make landfall, the weather might get downright terrible. So, if you're in a coastal area in the Northeast United states, try to have a few things ready – fresh batteries for your radios and flashlights, some way to cook your food in the event that you lose power, and maybe some water stored away – especially if you have your own well, as power may be out. No need to panic, but just be prepared.
PaganFM! Almanac
Today is September 2, 2010 – it's the 252nd day of the year.
Ongoing, weekly:
Prayer Requests
Every Sunday
Time: 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
In Your own home
groups.yahoo.com/group/NEPagansAndWitches
2nd Saturday of each month
New Hampshire Seacoast Pagans have their monthly meeting at Karnan House in Portsmouth, from 2:00 to 6:00.
First Tuesday Drum & Chant Circle
Meets the First Tuesday of each month
in the
Misty Meadows Learning Center
7:30-9 PM
Lee, NH
The Second Thursday of each month...
Pagan Pizza Party!
The next gathering will be Virgo, Sept 9, from 7:00 to 9:00 pm.
The DC Metro Area Gay Male Witches Coven
hold full moon monthly rituals and celebrate the Sabats
Thursday, Sept. 23rd. Mabon celebrated at the same time.
DC Metro Area Gay Male Witches Coven
or contact rkelson@gmail.com
The Spinning Withces
Goddess at the wheel
A spinning has formed for spinners and those who want to learn how to spin in Dover, NH.
For more information, contact Gayle at 603-343-4156
The CWPN's (Connecticut Wiccan and Pagan Network) Harvest Gathering will be held on Thursday, September 16, 2010 through Sunday, September 19, 2010.
Upcoming performances and workshops by Elaine Silver
Morristown, NJ - Association For Higher Awareness; Tuesday, September 7; 7:30pm; Masonic Temple; 39 Maple Ave; www.ahanj.org
Witches Ball Masquerade Fancy Dress,
North Sidney, AU
October 2, 2010
Classes with Christopher Penczak
Ascension Magick Workshop
Thursday, Sept 2, 2010
Crystal Jade Metaphysical Shop
Salem, NH
“###”
The Witch's Soul
September 4
7-9:30 PM, $25
Laurie Cabot Presents the Cat, the Crow and the Crown.
Salem, MA
“###”
Between the Worlds (BTW)
- Queer Men's Festival
September 15-19
Southeastern Ohio
Practical Magickal Alchemy - BTW Workshop
With Christopher Penczak
Dance of the Alchemist - BTW Ritual
With Christopher Penczak and Jeffery Altergott
###
The Mighty Dead
Thursday, September 30
6 Pm Book Signing
7- 9:30 PM Workshop
Gardenias
11 Birch Street Derry, NH
The Three Rays of Witchcraft
BOOK RELEASE PARTY
Saturday October 2
Myths & Maidens 189 Kelley Street, Manchester, NH
SJ Tucker's schedule.
StrowlerFest is in St. Louis on September 10-12, 2010
StrowlerCon is in Boston on October 8-10, 2010
Strowler Nights is in Seattle on October 30-31, 2010
You can use the promo code "paganfm"
Friday September 03, 2010 — 8:00pm
The Mischief Tour comes home!
Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center
Memphis, TN
Stones Rising
Service, Ceremony, Celebration
runs Wednesday Sept 1st
through Monday Sept 6th, 2010
Sept 5th is The Rising, in which they'll be erecting one more standing stone.
Lion's Tooth Herbals September Workshops
Dover, NH
Saturday, Sept. 11
Herbal Health & Reiki Clinic
Wednesday, Sept 15
The Art of Sleep & Dreams
Sunday, Sept. 19
Digesting Life
Crystal Bowl music artist ASHANA will be in concert
Friday, September 17 at Unity of the Seaoast
in Rollinsford, NH, 7:00 - 9:30 PM
On Saturday, she'll also present the workshop
Crystalline Activation for Healing and Manifestation. This workshop runs from 6:30 - 9:30 pm.
The Temple of Witchcraft will hold a Mabon Celebration
Sep. 18th. 2010 Salem, New Hampshire 7 PM – 9 PM
In Massachusetts, Eastern Mass Pagan Pride will be Sunday, September 19.
You can stay up to date at www.easternmasspaganpride.org
Southern NH Pagan Pride Day will be next Saturday,
September 11, 2010, at
Victory Park, Corner of Pine & Concord Sts., Manchester NH,
Practical Pagan
Paganism, the Occult and New Age Philosophy
Detractors, and those who fear Pagan, or more specifically Neo-Pagan religions often conflate Neo-Paganism with the Occult and New Age Philosophy. My purpose here is to speak to the differences between Paganism, the Occult and New Age thought, and to offer up an answer to those who conflate these three viewpoints.
To begin, as usual, we need to define our terms. In my discussion on Pagan Apologetics, I offered the following definition for Neo-Paganism: “Neo-Paganism (is) a system of belief that has its roots in the proto-Indo-European religions, and which bases its liturgical calendar on the Positions of the Sun and the Phases of the Moon.” There may be some deviation from this definition among some traditions that consider themselves Neo-Pagan, but much of this holds true for the majority of Neo-Pagan Practitioners.
There are some groups too, which do not have their roots in the teachings of our Indo-European ancestors. Such groups as the Church of All Worlds, or the religion of the Jedi are based on what they learned from Science Fiction novels and movies. For such groups, where they are quite different from Neo-Pagan groups in origin, but are still valid religions, I offer the term Trans-Pagan, calling to mind that while they have different roots, they are still non-Abrahamic in practice, and are valid religions.
The word “occult” has a few meanings as well, but generally each of these implies “hidden”. A moon or planet may be occulted when it is hidden in shadow. Certain knowledge is occult when it is hidden from public view, or even when it is known only to “initiates”. In the realm of science, quantum physics is occult to most of us – we don't know its secrets. Likewise, the practice of many of us, as pagans, is occult – it's not known to the rest of the world. The secret words of priests in the Catholic church are occult – hidden to us. The secrets of the Kaballah are occult – they aren't well – known to the world.
This means that there is very precious little that ISN'T or can't be considered occult in at least some sense. The fact that there is gravity is certainly well-known, but the field theories and such behind it are certainly not common knowledge. We all know that we can flip a switch and illuminate a home through electricity – but just how does that work? The secrets of electricity are known to only a few. Even electricians who wire our homes are not likely to be knowledgeable about exactly HOW electrons are moving through those wires that they install. For instance – we know that the movement of electrons is what causes the filament to glow in an incandescent lamp, but there aren't too many people who realize that the electric and magnetic fields are moving much faster and farther than the electrons in the wires. When we try to explain how and why, things can get a lot more complicated.
But the word “occult” has a more specific meaning when it comes to magic. Here we're talking not specifically about secret knowledge, but a very specific type of secret knowledge – the knowledge of initiates into magical systems.
Many people use the term “Initiate” differently. To some it means that one has been officially initiated into a magical system – Gardnerian Wicca, for example. To others, it can mean a successful practitioner. I tend to use the later definition. I tend to believe that it is the Gods who initiate us, and we, on Earth, can choose to recognize that or not. If you've cast a successful spell, if you have actual dealings on the Etherial plane, if you have spoken with mystic beings in your meditations, you're an initiate, whether or not you've been initiated into some mystical tradition. The fact that you've done these things mean that you're known in another realm, and that is an initiation. Likewise, there are healing modalities such as Reiki, Shamballa and others in which you can take classes and be initiated. Some of us, on the other hand, are natural healers – we can take someone's hand and reduce physical symptoms, without taking a Reiki class. Such people are initiated healers by virtue of having healed. In my own case, that's how it went before I took any of those classes. The only difference is that we live in a world that wants to see a certificate, and the Gods don't hand out certificates.
But in any case, when people hear the word “Occult”, what they are likely thinking about is those magical systems into which we're initiated. And they are right – it is occult. But where they are likely wrong is in the intent or purpose of that occult knowledge. Many people think that the occult implies evil or danger and that's not necessarily the case. Evil or good are in our hearts and our intent. There may well be some practitioners of occult or magical arts that do have evil intent, but that's the vast minority of such people. Danger certainly exists – the magic arts are powerful tools, and any powerful tool can be dangerous for the person who uses it without proper training – and that's one reason for keeping these arts secret. Keeping these things secret is merely the way that one keeps such things out of the hands of those who are unqualified to use them – just as a responsible gun owner keeps such things away from someone who isn't trained to use them, or as a government requires a license (a form of initiation in its own right) to operate a motor vehicle.
There are many occult traditions – all the varieties of Neo-Paganism, Meso-Paganism and Trans-Paganism, many New Age systems, Spiritualist traditions – all of these are in some sense Occult. Also included are forms of divination, from the Tarot, Ouija, Runes and so forth. Other, darker forms of the Occult might be Necromancy or Satanism. The point is that dark or light, the Occult merely means hidden, even in the mystical sense. It doesn't speak to whether something is good or evil. Religion can be practiced for good or ill as well, and the word religion doesn't speak to the benevolence or malevolence of the practices. One might be a tribal head-hunter for religious purposes, but this does not imply that religion, as a whole is evil.
So the Occult means really, just hidden knowledge, and Paganism and New Age practices are merely special cases of the Occult. I don't think that I need to go into what constitutes Paganism, at least not here, but what is the “New Age”, which often gets conflated with Neo-Paganism?
I know a number of people who get upset when people mix the words New Age and Neo-Paganism. New Age, today means so many different things that it's hard to come up with a simple definition. But basically, New Age thought is a somewhat religious philosophy that originated in the later 20th century. It has no official doctrine, but supports a wide variety of belief. Basically, New Age teaches that we are all deity, and deity is us – deity is a force, impersonal and all-pervading, and we are a part thereof. God didn't create the universe, as the universe is God. Some believe in reincarnation, some do not.
New age doesn't teach that there is a source of evil, other than the evil that exists in us, due to greed, ignorance and so forth. Thus, with no objective evil, there is no hell other than that which we impose on our selves. Nor is there a particular salvation from that Hell, but, instead, we all attain what might be called Heaven, as we achieve our highest spiritual goals.
Much of New Age thought is a blend of Eastern and Western thought. There is talk of Karma and Nirvana, and often it is the willy-nilly blending of traditions and philosophies that can lead to some ridicule of New Age ideas.
A fair amount of New Age philosophy can get blended into Neo-Paganism, and I think this is often the case with much of what we call the fluffy bunny syndrome. To be blunt, there isn't a lot of room in Wicca or Druidism for Chakra Balancing wands or Pyramid hats and so forth. In New Age, as it's not a particular religion, most anyone can come up with most anything, whether or not it's based in anything real, and claim that it works. Now this doesn't mean it's all bad, but in many cases, there is simply no solid theory, evidence or history to back it up.
Here's one example – Didgeridoo vibrational healing. Now I'm not claiming that some people can't achieve healing when someone plays the Didge – but the idea that the sonic vibrations are so different from that instrument that they alone affect physical healing in the human body is somewhat specious. If it were real, why would we not have didgeridoos playing constantly around the world keeping us all hail and fit?
Can vibration heal? Somewhat, certainly. Cats purr to help them heal – it's self-soothing apparently. But in the case of the Didge, I think there is a great deal more to be said for intent, and possibly some placebo effect. Likewise for Reiki and Shamballa, those who are seeking healing will likely get come benefit from the placebo effect, and much of it comes from the directed intent and energy of the practitioner. In this case, with the Didgeridoo, I'd say that the instrument is taking the part of the hands in the Shamballa or Reiki practitioner. Certainly, someone who is on a table will feel the vibrations of the instrument, but air moving alone isn't going to heal a cancer. Seriously, music can help people, but it's not the fact that vibrations are resonating with DNA or that sort of thing.
Music therapy is a recognized treatment modality in the medical community – we do resonate with music. Musical beats a bit slower than our heart rate will slow our heart rate down – slightly faster and they'll raise it, and possibly our blood pressure with it. Music can help us relax or it can agitate us. That's a fact. It has power.
The problem I see with New Age thought though, is that many who take part in it are credulous and less than discerning. There is a tendency to believe anything, and pseudo-science runs rampant among many of the people. That isn't to say that there aren't a number of knowledgeable and sincere people, but one does have to be careful.
Some of these people get involved in Neo-Paganism as well, and some New Age teachings will be found in some Neo-Pagan books. And often-times, this is where the fluff factor comes in. Here are some hints-
Crystals are beautiful. But you don't need to have crystals representing every color of the Chakras to heal yourself or to balance or open your chakras. Many crystals are obtained by blasting them out of the Earth, and that's not exactly an Earth-friendly practice.
Pyramid containers aren't going to keep your food fresh or your razors sharp.
Not every witch can see auras, and many of the tricks to “teach” you to see them are just that. Looking at a person in front of a white wall will always result in an aura-like haze around a person – this is a visual artifact, and not the person's aura. People who re intuitive will gain far more cues about a person from how THEY, rather than some haze around them looks. I'm not saying that nobody can see auras – I don't have a way to prove or disprove that. But looking at a person's skin, their body, tells a huge story. We can see if they are happy or sad, if they have good circulation or poor, they color of the eyes, the color of lips, the state of their hair, their posture, even their odor. We can tell if they have had enough to eat, if they are taking care of themselves and so much more. Honestly, if we can hone our skills at how a person looks – that's a skill that will prove equally as valuable as seeing an aura. I remember at my grandmother's house hearing her tell someone they were pregnant even before that woman had taken a pregnancy test. It wasn't the aura – it was the way she looked. My grandmother could tell just by seeing her face. This is a skill we can all learn by being observant.
We get amazed when we hear of stories of trackers who could tell who walked by a place, whether they were walking or running or carrying something heavy, whether it was a man or woman, how much they weighted, how long ago they had passed. This isn't anything mystical – it's observation. I'm constantly amazed that people want to learn how to read auras, but don't want to take the time to read the body that this aura surrounds. I actually suspect that many who think they are reading auras, if successful, might well be reading the body and not even realize it.
Some other New Age thoughts I have a personal problem with are the presumed channelings of Christ and so many other spiritual leaders. I recall reading one book by someone who claimed to have channelled Christ. This person wanted me to review that book for this show, but it was obvious to me that the book was merely a person's imagination. But so many of us get taken in when we hear that someone chanelled Christ or St. Germain or any of a number of other ascended masters. In this one case, there were mis-used words and other errors, that when I spoke to the author about, I was informed were directly from Christ, and could not be corrected because they were exactly as Christ wanted them.
We run into a problem when we accept such things at face value, or when we refuse to suggest to the person who comes up with this material that it may not actually be chanelling, but their own imaginations. The problem is that they are then reinforced that what they have is sacred and holy writ, on par with the Bible or other revealed scripture. Basically, we're permitting these people to accept that they are prophets.
Another one that sort of burns me is the idea of the Pleiadians. This is the idea that there are some of us who are originally from the Pleiades. The Pleiades are a group of stars that, from Earth, look really close to each other. Presumably, there are some of us “from” this “place”. The trouble is that the Pleiades, while being important to mankind on Earth, aren't a place where life is likely to exist – these are hot blue stars, around 100 million years old. Considering that our solar system is 4 Billion years old, and that life evolved on Earth long before most of the stars began shining in the Pleiades, it doesn't make a lot of sense to believe that life here, began there.
This doesn't mean that I don't accept the possibility that life here began elsewhere, but I think we do need to be critical of certain New-Age claims and point out possible inconsistencies when we see them.
On the now defunct podcast Deo's Shadow, Deo and Mandy spent a while discussing when to call BS, and truly it was one of the better programs on the subject that I heard. I think what I might do is to play that in the second hour of tonight's show if I get a chance. By the way – if anyone has copies of Deo's old shows, please get in touch with me – and if you know how to get in touch with Deo, that would be great too. I'd love to be able to get those programs and host them as podcasts again – there was literally TONS of great material there.
So to wrap up – Neo-Paganism, the Occult and New Age are related terms, but they are far from synonymous. Neo-Paganism and the New Age can apply to religious viewpoints, but the Occult more accurately implies hidden knowledge that may or may not suggest a religious viewpoint. Neo-Paganism and the New Age are different in that for the most part, Neo-Paganism is an Earth-Centered group of religions based on far earlier religions in Europe and the Middle and Near East. The New Age seems to be a bit less critical of and discerning of new ideas, and someone might come up with most anything and it will be accepted. In the Neo-Pagan community, something radical might be published, but the chance is that if it's bogus, someone will call you on it at some point. There have been lots of books in the Neo-Pagan community that have adopted some of the stranger NewAge ideas, but many of these simply don't stay on the shelves that long. There are exceptions, but I think we do a fair job of eliminating more of the bogus material.
And I'm not saying that it's wrong for Neo-Pagans to be involved in New Age groups at all. But what I am suggesting is that New Age isn't Wicca or Druidry or Asatru or any other Neo-Pagan religion. You can certainly practice what you wish, but in New Age, you're doing something quite different than in the Pagan religions. If you're part of a tradition, be it Druid, Wiccan, Asatru, please don't try to bring in New Age ideas and make the claim that this was part of the “Old religion”. Druids weren't walking around Ireland carrying Crystal Chakra Healing Wands. Ancient Witches likely saw the Pleiades, but didn't suggest that was where they came from. Certainly there were stories in parts of the world about how those Seven Sisters got there, but they weren't where WE came from.
In short, let's just not make claims that we haven't investigated and can't prove. Someone is likely to call us on it, and we really just don't want to look silly. It's up to us.