Post No. 284 - Evans-Wentz on Faeries

I'm currently reading (slowly!) Evans-Wentz's book "Fairy Faith and Celts", and while doing so have been wondering how this might relate to non-Celtic countries. I have seen Nature Spirits and worked with them, but haven't seen the scary creatures in Celtic myths - but Australian legends include things like Min Min lights, yowie, etc so ... not my karma to see/encounter? wrong place? too naive? The intro to Chapter II mentions that some spirits native to one part of Ireland but not another ...

Descriptions of indigenous spirituality that seem to largely relate to creation (see here, in which I found particularly interesting stories showing changes in landscape such as Port Phillip, which used to be dry when the Yarra went through the Carrum Carrum swamp), or songlines which have lots of practical info. There's nothing which would equate readily to Evens-Wentz's descriptions.

Going back to the Irish Chapter (pp. 31-32): spirits on Earth are said to be as thick as the grass, mostly "good spirit"s - those who died in war or early, who stay till their time is up (that's a new twist on rescue work ...). Also, there are "bad" spirits.

The belief that faeries are the dead seems to equate with the view (in the Australian film "Ten Canoes") tha,t between lives, spirits live in/near water holes (or some other sacred part of the landscape in other parts of Australia).

As I read more of Irish chapter, my old shamanistic habits came more to the fore, and I tended to regard the stories a little dubiously - except for the concept of leaving a bit out for the fair folk: like that principle. One point that particularly grated is the view that Water is a barrier - not so in the shaman/shamanka's world, where water is a means of passage!

There was a lot about helpers, including from dead rellies, which is a bit like Spiritualism ...

Also stuff about the unseelie is a bit like the struggle between "good" and "bad" in many trad's.

Well, I'll have to see what I think when I finish reading :)

Love, light, hugs and blessings

Gnwmythr
(pronounced "new-MYTH-ear")

Tags: Evans-Wentz, faery, Celts,

First published: Sunnudagr, 26th June, 2011

Last edited: Sunday, 26th June, 2011

Post No. 283 - A Pagan Version of the Six Yogas of Naropa

Something I'm (also) reading - actually, it's more "studying" - at the moment is what is called the "Six Yogas of Naropa", a set of Tibetan techniques. The Wikipedia article is here, but there is also a book on the Sacred-Texts website, here.

This post is not about those techniques per se, but, as I work through these, much as I did with Lobsang Rampa's description of Tibetan group rescues (see here), I am thinking about ways of developing pagan - or pagan-friendly - versions of these.

One of the first admonishments in the training materials for these "Six Yogas" is to be focused on (amongst other matters) compassion, on the suffering of other humans. Some techniques are given to build that (built around the technique of thinking of all sentient beings you met as having been, or potentially having been, your mother in a previous life - which is OK unless your mother was abusive), but what could be a more pagan friendly version of this?

Well, paganism is - in part - about working with Deity, so what I came up with is as follows.

First, consider that some deities, such as Cerridwen or Brigid, are known for the gifts that they gave to humanity, gifts, such as the various Cauldrons of Cerridwen of Bridget's gifts of weaving etc, which are of benefit to humanity. Why would one do so? Well, perhaps it was at least partly out of a sense of caring - compassion. And on compassion, Kwan Yin is the Goddess who I consider one of the leading proponents of that ...

So, the technique.

Basically, this aims to invoke the compassion and caring of Kwan Yin, Cerridwen (pronounced with a hard C - i.e. Kerrid-wen), and Brigid (I use the version of her name "Bride", pronounced for this Bri-day), bring it in to one's heart chajra, let it build there (and maybe transform from pagan version to more generic, or be transformed from higher level to levels that more people can understand or access?), and then let it overflow to the world.

So, standing or sitting as is comfortable:
- chant Kwan Yin, Cerridweb, Bride as your scoop your arms around in a big circle, which I find comfortable just slightly above horizontal, which helps me with the thought that I am gathering compassion to me, and bring your hands in to your heart chakra;
- pause briefly to allow the compassion and love to fill you, which should help with some self healing as well (the [true] Christians' Christ had the message "love your neighbour as yourself"), and then
- allow your hands to gesture out and slightly downwards as you chant "Aum" (not "Om"!), which is a carrier that allows this love and compassion to be taken out into the world.

I have found this so far useful for generating positive energy (e.g., before giving a channelled energy healing), dealing with compassion fatigue, and dealing with any tendency towards "hard love". Hopefully others will find it also useful, although the deities may need to be varied to suit others. Sure, it's highly eclectic, but I think that is what the world needs now. Others may need to adapt the deities used etc.

As I come up with other pagan adaptations of the "Six Yogas of Naropa", I may post them :)


Love, light, hugs and blessings

Gnwmythr
(pronounced "new-MYTH-ear")

Tags: Tibet, Buddhism, yoga, Naropa, Celts, chant, mudra,

First published: Sunnudagr, 26th June, 2011

Last edited: Sunday, 26th June, 2011

Post No. 201 - Why are whites in Australia?

When I ask "why are whites in Australia?", I'm not asking about history - I KNOW the history (and, to be clear about it, I am on the side of the "history wars" that people like Keith Windshuttle call "the black arm band" view of history). No, when I ask that question, I am asking if there is spiritual purpose to this white occupation.

In much the same way that the Kurgans appear (to me, at any rate) to have acquired some of the native matriarchal views on reality as they invaded Europe and the British Isles on their way to becoming the Celts (see this post of mine), what changes are meant to happen to whites (and others) who have come to this land?

Are we all meant to develop a dry, laconic sense of humour? Be more laid back - as in "she'll be right, mate"? (I personally am - I was a bit too uptight and conservative in my previous life.)

Australians used to pride themselves on being hard working, inventive, battlers from the bush: we've been too urbanised for far too long to claim that now. I'm tempted to say we've turned into a pack of party animals, but I'm not so sure that's a new thing.

We too often discriminate, I know that from personal experience - and, in fact, it's ironic to hear to same sorts of scaremonering used about the latest asylum seekers that were used a couple of centuries ago about the Irish (I am descended from - amongst many others - a couple of Irish convicts: James and Patrick Geraghty, transported in 1815 for defending their mother against Briish soldiers).

Is there a way that whites are meant to learn from indigenous people, and possibly vice versa? (Well, it wouldn't hurt us whites to learn how to respect and care for the land!!!)

I have no great answers here, just questions and the start of pondering and a series of meditations. The one thing I am going to keep in mind in all this is that, according to "The Only Planet of Choice", by Phyllis V. Schlemmer, all nations and peoples (in the sense of ethnicities and cultures) on this planet have a (spiritual) purpose for existing - the Israelis, Arabs, Palestinians, Kurds and, presumably, the Australians. What is it we are meant to do spiritually that is uniquely Australian (and constructive)?

Wherever you are reading this from, what is your nation's or your people's unique spiritual purpose? What is it you can do that no-one else could have?

Love, light, hugs and blessings

Gnwmythr

This post's photo is yet to be posted.

Tags: evolution, purpose, archaeology, history, Celts, perspective,

First published: Sunnudagr, 2nd January, 2011

Last edited: Sunday, 2nd January, 2011

Post No. 189 - Reading

Some posts and links which might be of interest.

First a blog with an archaeological and past mysteries which has, so far, been absolutely fascinating to me: The Anthropogene. I particularly found the post (here) about Kurgans of great interest: according to the article I am referring to, the Kurgans evolved into races we now as, amongst others, the Celts ... Here is another particularly (to me!) interesting post ... (I also found consideration of a past inland African Sea of interest, as I think Rampa mentions something about such a sea being lost.)

I may return to this them of changes, such as the absorption of invaders into British culture and genetic mix, in a near future post.

I also found these links via the Anthropogene: they may be of some interest to some:

• In the Hall of Ma'at (Weighing the Evidence for Alternative History), particularly the papers page;
• The extinction of the Australian pygmies, Keith Windschuttle and Tim Gillin, pub. Quadrant, June 2002;

Now, from Witchvox:

• Druidry: The Future of Druidism, by Ellen Evert Hopman, (note the comments about Druid Warriors who aim to aid and protect the defenceless; this article includes links to on-line shrines at http://shrineofbrighid.com/ and http://www.manannan.net/;
• Dark Ages Paganism and Burchard of Worms (Part 1), by Zan Fraser.

Enjoy :)

Love, light, hugs and blessings

Gnwmythr

This post's photo is yet to be posted.

Tags: archaeology, history, Kurgan, Celts, matriarchal society, change, Druid, Brighid, patriarchy, violence,

First published: Tysdagr 14th December, 2010

Last edited: Tysdagr 14th December, 2010

Post No. 109 - The upside of being neo-Pagan

Let me begin by saying that I consider being called neo-Pagan an insult: it has overtones implying that identifying as pagan is lacking in intellectual rigour, on the grounds that one has not meticulously researched and slavishly adhered to a form of paganism as it was in it's heyday.

Well, things change - in fact, I would dare to suggest (timidly, from a position cowering behind the couch, being disdainfully sneered at by 2 out of our 4 cats - who are here for no good reason that I can see) that sometimes the greater intellectual rigour may be required to take something from the past and make it relevant to the present.

This is a struggle that many Christians, a group too often treated dismissively by pagans (in my experience), are familiar with. The Christian's struggle is often splashed about by the media (e.g. the various Anglican crises over the years [I was raised as an Anglican]), which possibly makes it easier to be cynical and dismissive, but many of them are quite genuinely trying to do their best to adapt their faith to a world that IS different now (there is, for instance, the little matter of scientific knowledge, beginning with the Renaissance, which has irrevocably changed how we view the world [Note 1]; then there was the Reformation ...). In fact, the reasons that there are differences between the original forms of Christianity and what we see now (including the Catholic church!) are why I have proposed referring to Christianity as neo-Christianity.

Well, there is an upside to all this neo business.

Much as the Christians no longer have to follow the dictates of the Old Testament (you know, the ones about selling relatives into slavery, raping widows and acting in ways that generally could reasonably be considered homophobic [see various bits of Leviticus]), which is, of course, largely due to some bloke known as Jesus who brought a New Testament (I don't see Jesus as being any more - or less - Divine than the rest of us: I see Jesus as a gifted, spiritually advanced person - who probably DID perform the miracles attributed to Him, but a man nevertheless), us pagans no longer have to follow those bits of paganism such as human and animal sacrifice (the Celts are pretty widely suspected to have had a bit of a thing going about head hunting).

We can take advantage of several thousand years of evolution since the time of the Celts, and be gentler and more inclusive - without losing anything as a result, in my opinion.

This train of thought was stimulated by an article at the "Viking Answer Lady" an interesting site for anyone who is interested in history, such as myself - and this is the sort of site I would consult if I was ever to actually get around to joining the SCA) on homosexuality in Viking society, which:

(a) showed how misogynistic BY MODERN STANDARDS they were, and

(b) how fundamentally different thinking is now compared to those times.

I am a lesbian: I am glad I live in an age and a nation where I have some inherent rights as a lesbian (there is still discrimination, and some nations are still appalling in their treatment of various minorities - but they are slowly becoming fewer). I am a woman: I don't want to go back to an age where there were so many constraints on what I could do or be.

This current age is not perfect - far from it, especially given the glib attitudes of too many people in developed nations towards under-developed and undeveloped nations, and to socially dispossessed people (such as the homeless) in their own society, but it is still better than the world was hundreds or thousands of years ago.

It is, believe it or not, less violent (see here, here and here), and health care is generally potentially better (I am a diabetic: if I was living more than a few years ago, I would be in serious problems, and quite probably dead).

If it means acknowledging those imperfect improvements, and to practice my faith in a way that is gentler and more inclusive, then I will say I am neo-Pagan.

Love, light, hugs and blessings

Gnwmythr

PS - if saying I'm neo-Pagan means pandering to intellectual arrogance and elitism, then I won't :)

Note 1 - if I am ill, I will use both "complementary", or "alternative" medicine, AND "conventional medicine. I know about the theory of germ causation of disease I work with that in my day job), but I also know about the importance of the psyche, and feeling good about oneself, and having good energies about oneself. In a sense, I blend old and new - I CANNOT use only old ways - to do so would not be true to myself.

This post's photo is from Pambula, on the NSW south coast.

Tags:moral relativism, perceptions, about me, arrogance, change, learning from mistakes, science, evolution, angst, Christianity, Celts, head hunting, sacrifice, Viking,

First published: Thursday 29th April, 2010

Last edited: Thursday 29th April, 2010