Imbolc is Coming

In our tradition, Imbolc is the festival of midwinter. It is a celebration of the returning light, of the growing God, the promise of spring, and a time of dedication and initiation. Here in the depths of winter, we look into the fire and make our promises to the Gods and to ourselves. What intentions are we nurturing in this turn of the Wheel? Who do we want to become? 

The days have lengthened. For most of us, it's still light out when we finish work for the day. I don't know about you, but that cheers me up mightily.

Here at the Clan stronghold, great things are afoot. We have two dedicants finishing their first year of study. That means initiations at our Imbolc ritual - what a joyous prospect! Our little Clan is growing. We have weathered our first year. Our numbers are still small, but our members are dedicated and strong, creative and intelligent - beautiful women and developing shamanic witches all.  For all of this, I give thanks.

Meanwhile, we have one dedicant who came in partway through the year, and a new student waiting in the wings. That means that we will have two training classes going at once - Shamanic Witchcraft 101 (open to the public) and Shamanic Witchcraft 201 (closed to the public). What an exciting time it is!

It's also a time of intense concentration and work for me as a high priestess. I know exactly what my Imbolc dedication will be; I'm already doing it. The work of tradition creation and evolution is my task. I am loving this adventure, and blessed with inspiration and guidance from across the veil. For this, I give thanks. Several of my close allies in this Earthly realm are helping me by listening to me vent, acting as a sounding board, and giving their opinions of my ideas. For this, I give thanks.

Things have certainly evolved as I've gone along. Last year, we used Christopher Penczak's work as a textbook. This year, we will use a few books for specific topics. Eventually, I can see that our own book is needed. One step at a time. Slowly, slowly.

So if you've been wondering where all the new posts on this blog have gone...this is where. They've fallen by the wayside for a bit. I'll be back, and I'll be checking in as I have time. May your Imbolc celebrations be bright!

Ethics in Community

The Pagan Experience - This month the focus is on ETHICS… As a member of the human species we are faced with choices everyday. The responses we make are most often guided by our definition of values, standards and what we consider to be just and ethical behavior.

Add the complexity of walking a spiritual path and he topic of Ethics becomes one that reaches deeply into the fabric of who we wish to be and who we believe ourselves to be.

So, use this month’s writing to share, listen and explore your ethical landscape…

As we walk our path, making choices according to our personal code of ethics, we of course interact with others. We interact with family, friends, co-workers, business community and spiritual community. Today I'd like to share a few of my thoughts on ethical considerations around participating in Pagan community.

1. Respect copyright laws. Contemporary Paganism is an evolving community of many traditions. Most of the time, the work that we now create is influenced by and/or based on the earlier work of others. It's important to ask permission of writers and artists before we use their work in works of our own. If you can't get permission, be sure to credit the author/creator. If you have obtained permission, be sure to use the material in the approved way, and credit the author properly.
2. Collaboration instead of competition. Since we are such a small community, with many divisions within it, it's important for us to band together when possible, especially on community projects. Say you're interested in running a festival or a big event. Before you run out and create a new one, why not see if you can get involved in an existing one? Community festivals, expos and parties almost always can use more help and expertise, whereas creating something similar to an existing event will cause conflict and hard feelings, as well as divide the resources of an already small community.
3. Be an encourager and helper. Want to see more awesome books, workshops, events, and works of art tailored to our community? Encourage your friends and acquaintances. Help them in any way you can. We have plenty of critics, but we always need more networkers and cheerleaders. Maybe you can't help directly, but maybe you know someone who could. Make the introduction. We never know what connections will be important. 
4. Buy local. This goes along with #3. If we want awesome products, events, classes and such, we MUST support our local artists, writers, teachers, and so on. As one of those people, I can't stress this enough. Not only do these people desperately need our business to survive and pay their bills, it's also demoralizing when friends and acquaintances say how much they love our creations/services, but then do not buy them. 
5. Consider your words carefully. Many people have written about the destructive power of gossip. I think we all can agree that it's a bad idea. But I'd like to take it one step further, or perhaps just change the conversation about our words in community. Consider what you say in light of how it will affect others. Are you willing to stand by what you said in front of your coven, your friends, the community at large? If not, refrain. Silence is sometimes the best policy.
6. Make new friends. Have a great coven and great friends? Awesome. But do you know the other players in the community? Have you ever spoken to someone from a different path than yours? What about another coven in a similar tradition? What about that quiet new person sitting alone in the corner? Say hi, include them. Don't re-create middle school and it's ridiculous cliques. Get out there and get to know your community at large, more than just your own circle. Remember the saying "the greater the circle, the more the love grows". It's hard to fear or dislike people you know personally. Go meet them!
7. Participate. I've written about this before, but I'll write about it again, and again, and again, until it's no longer relevant. Go out there and participate in that class, that sweat lodge, that festival, that book discussion group, that community party. Armchair quarterbacks don't win the game - you have to be in it to win it.
8. Be an ambassador for the community. When you are out and about in the general public, try as much as possible to embody the values of our faith, and our community. Yes, I know that Contemporary Paganism is a huge community without a common set of beliefs. Yes, I know that you may or may not be out in public. Do what you can, when you can. Let people know that we're human beings like everyone else. We work, we have families, we pay our bills, we vote, and oh yeah, we're Pagan. 
9. What happens in Circle, stays in Circle. Whether it's a deep emotional sharing that occurred during or after ritual, or the Pagan identity of an acquaintance, it's vital that we support and protect each other by preserving confidentiality.

These are suggested actions, of course, but they are based on ethical principles as applied to a community setting. Those values could be stated thusly:

• Respect for others
• Healthy Community
• Inclusion
• Ambassadorship

Can we all agree to those? I know I'm quite passionate about community building, and I know that is sometimes annoying to those who know me. But I really and truly think it's important that we unite, that we continue to work on our beloved community, and that we leave it better than we found it.  Join me, and when in doubt, just be excellent to each other.

Read more here and here.

Revisiting the Past: My Ethics

As I've mentioned in my previous posts on Ethics, Honor, Justice, and Arete, being an ideal human being means that one is:

• Emotionally mature
• Self-aware - living a conscious life, making active choices, taking responsibility for Self
• Well educated - a broad base of knowledge including but not limited to: other cultures and world history, with an emphasis on lifetime learning
• Consistent at putting ethical system in practice
• Possesses a continually evolving system of ethics

My goal is to be an ideal human. Back in my heavy martial arts years, I wanted to be the ideal warrior. This consisted of a range of warrior skills plus a good education in history, strategy, philosophy, art, and music. My focus has changed, but it's not so different. I just train in different disciplines now. No fighting now; instead, I practice Yoga (my own Pagan Yoga system that I'm designing). I hone my teaching skills. Music, always music. Healing work. I think I've posted about it before, how I can't be a physical warrior any longer; instead, you could say I'm a spiritual warrior, working to raise the vibration of the world, one person at a time.

But back to Ethics. As a person who walks the warrior way, even the spiritual version thereof, living an honorable life is central to my identity. It is the light that shows me the way. It is, at times, what shapes my path. I could tell many a story about how my insistence upon the ethical choice has cost me money, relationships or what have you. Other times, it's what has cemented a relationship or gained me a business ally. And I'm totally fine with that.

So in keeping with my philosophy, here begins an examination of my list of values and ethical principles. It's time for a periodic update!

1. Arete - Excellence above all is still the most important thing to me. Keep this one!
2. Courtesy - the first of the virtues from my old tae kwon do dojang. Still important.
3. Integrity - the first of the virtues from my old tae kwon do dojang. Still important.
4. Perseverance - from my old tae kwon do dojang. Still important.
5. Self-Control - from my old tae kwon do dojang. Still important.
6. Indomitable Spirit - from my old tae kwon do dojang. Still important.
7. Honor - unchanged, truly.
8. Lifelong Learning - hasn't always been on the list, but is what I've always done.
9. Creativity - we all have it! Continue to practice and it will strengthen.
10. Play/humor - don't take yourself or this world or anything else too seriously. "It's sacred, not serious" - adorable hippie child 
11. Reverence - for every step, every breath, every living thing, always.
12. Shibumi - the essence of what is, pure simplicity
13. Tolerance - essential to harmonious living with other beings. It means that you acknowledge the plurality of our world.
14. Stewardship of the Earth - new - I suppose this was so intrinsic that I never listed it before. But it must be said - take care of our home.
15. Respect the autonomy of all beings. - new - also intrinsic to my belief system is the acknowledgement that all beings have agency and that must be respected.

As it turns out, not a lot has changed. There's been a bit of evolution and perhaps a bit more clarity in my thinking about my beliefs. I'm happy to say that they have accreted throughout my life, and I value all of these incremental additions. I may not always embody them at every moment. I may fail, like everyone does. Ego, petty annoyances, and other such temporary conditions may supersede my principles. But still, I strive. And to be quite honest, I mostly succeed. I can look myself in the mirror. My relationships are good, and I have a place in the community. These are signs of success, in my book - and an ethical life!

Sun Reborn

The miracle has occurred again...the longest night has passed. The Sun is reborn, and now, light begins to return to the Earth!

The sun returns! The light returns!
The time of darkness has passed,
and a path of light begins the new day.
Welcome, welcome, the birth of the sun,
blessing us all with its rays.

Merry Yule

The longest night has come once more,

the sun has set, and darkness fallen.

The trees are bare, the earth asleep,

and the skies are cold and black.

Yet tonight we rejoice, in this longest night,

embracing the darkness that enfolds us.

We welcome the night and all that it holds,
as the light of the stars shines down.

Here at the Clan of the Wildlings stronghold, a 12 day and 13 night festival begins. We celebrate this turning of the Wheel. We rest and rejoice in this gap between the lunar year just ended and the new solar year not yet begun. We dream and vision what we will create in the year to come. We spend time with loved ones, making precious memories and strengthening family ties. We bring the good news of the returning light to the trees and the forest creatures. We reflect and feel gratitude yet again for all of the lessons, joys, pains, and blessings of this year. We make merry and sit by the fire. Each night, we light one more candle on the sun wheel and say a prayer. Each day, we perform a seasonal task. Today, I'll be gathering cedar, holly, mistletoe, and ivy branches to deck the halls in preparation for tonight's Yule ritual with the Clan.

Merry Yule and Happy Solstice to one and all. May you be blessed with light, love and laughter on this, the shortest day. May you sleep well sheltered by the ancestors on this, the longest night. May your fires be bright and your hearts be full. Blessings of peace, love, and joy be upon you and your family.

Blessed be!

Yule Eve Eve

Tomorrow, we go into the longest night. Solstice is almost here!

This is the long night.

This is the dark night.

This is the cold night.

This is the night of last hope.

This is the night of the little spark.

This is the night of turning from darkness.

This is the night of turning toward light.

This is the night of wonder.

The long night is here:

Come to us, you spirits;

Together let us fill the long night with light,
Calling all beings to warm themselves at our fires.

What are Ethics?

The Pagan Experience - This month the focus is on ETHICS… As a member of the human species we are faced with choices everyday. The responses we make are most often guided by our definition of values, standards and what we consider to be just and ethical behavior.

Add the complexity of walking a spiritual path and he topic of Ethics becomes one that reaches deeply into the fabric of who we wish to be and who we believe ourselves to be. So, use this month’s writing to share, listen and explore your ethical landscape…

Ethics is a timely topic in my life. The Universe has its inscrutable sense of humor, as always...and its timing is impeccable. But what are ethics? I've written here about honor, about justice, and about arete, but not specifically about ethics. As a philosophy major and a person committed to living an honorable life, this topic is near and dear to my heart.

According to the Oxford Dictionary, ethics are defined as:

"Moral principles that govern a person’s or group’s behavior."

I have discussed honor, which is essentially a system of personal decision making based on ethics and obligation. I have discussed justice, which is a system of applying ethics to governance. I have discussed excellence (arete), which is a tangentially related concept. Possibly one could argue that the good and true nature of actions containing arete are inherently ethical. But maybe not. Ethics are not only virtuous in and of themselves, but also in how they impact others.

In keeping with my post about justice, I think that ethical principles grow and change as we evolve as human beings. That means that study is important. We must understand ourselves, not only as individuals, but also in relation to our place in the world. We must understand something of world history, of other cultures, of ideas broader than what we may have been taught by our biological families and birth religions.

A broad knowledge base matters if you want to be a well-developed human being. It's easy to simply believe what you were told, and many people do. This unfortunately often leads to provincial, us vs. them systems of thought. Which is a big part of the reason why the US has problems, but that's a separate post. Suffice it to say that considering the highest good of all is a good filter to use when evaluating ethical principles, and knowledge is essential to that process.

So then. Ethics are moral principles, the foundational concepts that guide our behavior. Ethics are the things we consider to be right as opposed to wrong. Ethics are the values that we hold. But what is a value?

Back to the Oxford Dictionary:

"(values) A person’s principles or standards of behavior; one’s judgment of what is important in life."

Now we're getting to the root of things. Morality is a discussion that involves both ethics and values. The things that we think are right as well as the things that we think are important. Both of these things, ethics and values, guide our behavior in life. Both are relational - they are important in evaluating actions that relate to others. I propose that values also include concepts that are not relational. There are qualities that help us to be good human beings that are also just for us, or that support us in ways that then allow us to have good relationships. But that too is a separate post.

You could say that ethics and values added together are what make an ideal human. Oh, but what, what is ideal?

Back to the Oxford Dictionary:

"A standard of perfection; a principle to be aimed at."

So you could say that ethics are principles that guide us in our goal of becoming ideal human beings.

That's a useful definition, but it's important here to note that human beings are already perfect. We are learning creatures. We are experiments, if you will, experiencers of this cosmic dance we call life. Some say our purpose here is to learn. Perhaps that's true, but it's learning with no test at the end. There is no goal, not really. We are perfectly imperfect. No matter what we do, we are performing our purpose, which I propose is simply to exist and experience. The ideal human being is one that grows and changes throughout its life.

Me being me, I also think that we ought to be good to each other along the way. But on a universal level, we need all kinds of experiences to grow, even the painful ones. Even the awful ones. That means somebody has to volunteer to be the villain, at least some of the time. If we were all perfect paragons of love and light, what would ever happen? Change, growth, and evolution are impossible in a state of perfect bliss. Chaos, negativity, disruption, destruction, and randomness are essential to a growing and evolving Universe. But I digress.

What does all this mean to us as Pagans? Obviously, I don't speak for everyone, but I post this here as a sort of impetus to deeper thought. What law do you live by? Are there built-in rules of ethical behavior in your belief system? Do you follow them as is, or do you add in values of your own? What are they based on? Have they changed over time? Do they still fit you now, at this time in your journey?

If you follow the Wiccan Rede, there is an awful lot of room for interpretation. What and who does "do no harm" apply to? How far do you take it? Does it apply to every situation? What do you do in situations where harm is not at issue? What qualities are important to you? I propose that a set of ethical principles and values is helpful in addition to the Rede. In my next post, I'll discuss my own ethical system.