The Revolutionary Fires of Beltane

The Pagan Experience - WK 1- May 4 – Fire –  What ignites your passionate fires? What fuels your spiritual fires? What rages in fire’s destructive wake within you? And, what has healed from the cauterizing flames? How do you honor fire? How will you embrace its transformative powers?

Perhaps at some other moment, I will respond to this prompt point by point. Perhaps I'll also discuss fire as an element, as I have done with other elements. But tonight, on this blessed night of Beltane, this holy time to rekindle the need-fire, this is what I have to say. There are tragedies galore all over the news right now. The suffering has a palpable weight, a smell, a taste, a texture, a sound. It galls in my throat, it clogs my nose, it befouls my mouth, it pains my ears and fills my eyes with tears of sorrow and rage. I cannot bear it. No more. Vive la rivoluzione!

“If we respected each other, if we respected animals, and if we respected the land, then we could dispense with laws and cut the middleman out of morality.”

-       Tom Robbins, Another Roadside Attraction, p. 253

Justice. The real meaning of freedom. Nowadays, these are radical notions. But I say that I will stand. I will speak up. I will not be silenced. We simply must make a change. We must control ego to bring about peace. There must be a change of consciousness, a raising of our collective vibration. We must wake up and unite as a community, as a nation. We must interrupt our daily routines to make our collective will heard:

We want our country back.

This country cannot belong to a privileged few. It was a built with the blood of millions. We sacrificed our lives, our homes, all we had in the pursuit of freedom. Ironically, we first fled here to escape religious tyranny. A tyranny that now threatens to return.

The real tyranny is the use of force. Any group can abuse their power and cloak it with a mask of their choosing. The moment we stop focusing on living our own bliss and instead turn to directing the lives of others, we are lost. We have turned to tyranny.

Perhaps our country now is dissolute. Perhaps we are overfed and decadent. I say this is exactly the goal of that privileged few.

Their tactics are most ingenious and dastardly. They force the lower classes into poverty by shipping industry overseas, where laborers are unprotected by our own democratic laws. Their wealth grows in proportion to the degradations of our own citizens.

Meanwhile, their products are weapons that pacify the populace. Television and all forms of media tell us what to believe: go to work, earn lots of money to enjoy the finer things in life (and we’ll tell you what those are). Believe. Exclude, bully and harass others that are enemies of the state. Be silent, be passive and consume.

Industrial food keeps the populace foggy, sick and addicted. An endless cycle of artificial chemistry to addle our brains: sugar, salt, fat, carbs. Dead food. Not food at all. Bloated, sick bodies cannot resist the whims of our ruling class. We can barely get through the week, caring for ourselves and our families. Fomenting a real revolution is currently beyond our means.

With a pacified populace and an endless supply of capital, the tyrants turn to larger prey: the world stage of politics, war and trade. This too is a cycle – start a war to create demand for defense contractors, stimulate the economy, make more money, consolidate more power…lather, rinse, and repeat.

The global players vie for control of resources. People, animals, plants, all of our natural resources and our blessed Earth itself, these things are bought and sold, used and abused. Like a diseased animal, the global economy fouls its own nest, with no regard for its own survival, much less that of its descendants.

I say to you, all my relations, what shall we do?

We must unite.

We must act.

We must not use violence to achieve our goals. As a person acts so does s/he become. We must first heal ourselves in body, mind and spirit, in thought, word and deed.

It begins with self-love. It begins with the knowledge that all beings have worth. All beings have their place in the web of life. What we do to any part of the web affects the entire web.

We must practice love. We must practice compassion. We must practice freedom. We must practice peace.

We must rise above the urge to harm, to diminish the light of others. We must accept that our differences make us strong, and that we are strongest together.

We must unite.

We must act.

We must remake this country. Reclaim it. Re-sanctify it wit the pure light of freedom, of justice for ALL. We must have equality, dignity and opportunity to thrive.

We must take our country back.

So mote it be.

Honor

Honor is an often misunderstood and sometimes misused concept with a mixed reputation. Historically, those who claimed to live honorably have used their power for both good and evil. The Arthurian legends tell of medieval knights whose entire lives were dedicated to honor. They used their martial prowress and personal virtues to protect others and uphold justice. Renaissance era knights inspired by Arthurian codes of conduct also perpetuated horrific crimes during the Crusades. Samurai are another tradition of fiercely honorable warriors devoted to their ideals. When their aristocratic masters were just, this was a beautiful and effective thing. If not, not so much. On the more brutal end of the spectrum, there are also so-called "honor killings" of innocent female children in places like Yemen.

This points out an essential conflict with perceptions of honor. There are actually two concepts involved: honor and face.

Face is what many people mistake for honor. Face is about social standing and how one is ranked in the pecking order of the community. It is about what other people think of one's actions and reactions. The Yemeni father who killed his 15 year old daughter was far more concerned with face than he was with honor. He was worried about his daughter's reputation, and how that reflected on him. In this tribe's twisted way of thinking, he would "lose honor" if his daughter was even accused of being involved in anything improper before marriage. As if her alleged action could grant or revoke any of his honor.

Honor is about who you are and how you live your life. Honor cannot be taken from or granted to you. You must earn it. Every day, with every choice you make. What others think of your choices is not all that important, in the grand scheme of things. But what you yourself think of your choices is very important. Being authentic is powerful - each choice must resonate with rightness to your soul, to your innermost being.

To determine honorable action in any given situation, you must:

1. Weigh the situation for justice.
2. Determine your obligation.
3. Formulate appropriate action.

To put it another way, honor is also about living up to a code of ethics, or living in alignment with personal values.

I think that especially as Pagans, whether we walk the warrior way or not, it's important to have a good sense for what your underlying values are and to live with honor. We are, after all, working magic, which is a big responsibility. Some of us, like myself, follow the Rede: 'and it harm none, do as you will'. That's pretty wide open. Not harming another doesn't always cover every situation. And what about those who don't live by the Rede? What code or ideal do you believe in?

My point goes back to the theme of cultural creation that I have been discussing lately on this blog. We're a relatively new (old) faith. We have the opportunity and duty to make it something wondrous and life-ehancing. But really, we can do anything. There is no central authority or ancient text. We are responsible for our actions. We and we alone.

Taking inventory of our beliefs and values is the first step. What do you believe? Where did that belief come from, and does it still serve you? Is it in the highest good of all? 

Step two is to examine those beliefs and then make any needed adjustments. Perhaps your old beliefs were part of a lower level of understanding, or were reactions to trauma that you experienced. Perhaps they are remnants of the faith in which you were raised, or simply common to your community. Inherited beliefs can be a beautiful thing, anchoring us with deep roots. But even these must be examined in the light of day with open eyes.

When tweaking values or beliefs, it's always a good idea to see if your beliefs support positive interaction in your family and community. Maybe you value acceptance - that's a belief that protects and nourishes you as well as others. Equality, tolerance, respect for all living things...all of these types of values are life-ehancing and supportive.

It's also a good idea to revisit values regularly. We all have obligations in life, appropriate to our age and abilities. No ageism intended here, merely pointing out that our role in life changes with age. As our roles change, the values that support our ability to meet our obligations will therefore need to continue to evolve and grow as well. 

After you've inventoried, examined and perhaps adjusted, it's time to act. Keep your code of honor handy, and refer to it when situations come up. Remember the guidelines of honor: justice, obligation and appropriate action. Breathe and just act! 

Protip: Honor is action, not dillydally, delay and inaction. Refusing to make a choice is, in itself, a choice.

Honor has been my path for many years. I have walked the warrior way for most of my life. I can remember being in kindergarten and already, protecting others was just part of the day's work for me. Official bee stomper, bully confronter and authority defier....that's me, always looking out for an underdog, or for a friend. I don't recall it ever seeming strange; it was just something I did. 

Later when I began to train in martial arts, I learned the values of courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit. In studying Yoga, I learned the Yamas and Niyamas, with such values as contentment (santosha) and non-violence (ahimsa). Throughout my life I studied philosophy, history and world religion, with all of its codes of conduct, philosophies, rules, manifestos, guidelines and laws. 

Years and years of service to the community through mentorship, teaching, training, studying and volunteer work have taught me something very simple about honor. I'm not capable of living any other way. When I look in the mirror, I have to be able to meet my own eye. To like the person I see there. To know that I've done the best I could. To know that I have walked with honor.