The Solitary Path: my time with a Neo-Pagan practitioner

Yesterday, I interviewed and joined a friend of mine on a brief ritual as part of his faith tradition. My friend is what you would call an eclectic, solitary Neo-Pagan. What exactly is this? I'll explain.

Neo-Paganism is a term that describes a number of loosely connected modern religions. The religions are attempts to reconstruct ancient pagan practices (known as Reconstructionist Pagans) or pagans who use elements of ancient religions tied with modern practices and philosophies. Thus far, I've covered one Neo-Pagan religion, Wicca, however there are other Neo-Pagan religions.

My friend is a solitary practitioner of Neo-Paganism, meaning he practices his faith alone without any group influence. He may at times join others in worship, but he strongly prefers to practice alone. He is also eclectic, meaning he draws from a number of different sources and pantheons. He identifies himself as above all else, being a devotee of the Mother Goddess.

My friend's faith has similarities to Wicca, in fact, Wicca was how he started out on his path. However, he has since evolved into his own practice which is separate from Wicca.

His faith is a common story among people in the Neo-Pagan community. Many start out in Wicca and find it no longer suits their needs and outgrow it.

Some similarities between my friend's individual faith and Wicca:

• Both worship a God and Goddess figure rooted in nature.
• Both believe in magic.
• Both honor nature.
• Both use similar ritual tools.
• Both use meditation.
• Both borrow from ancient pantheons and mythology.
• Both believe in channeling energy and working with it to alter their world.

Some differences between my friend's faith and Wicca:

• My friend rejects the aspects of Wicca he describes as "occult based" By this he means the ceremonial magic elements taken from Renaissance magic, the OTO, Rosicrucians, etc. For instance, my friend doesn't call upon the Guardians of the Watchtowers, or use set ceremonial formulas. He also rejects the elements that come into the faith from Kaballah.
• Wiccans use the classical four elements united by a fifth element, spirit. My friend doesn't believe in the four elements.
• Wicca is traditionally structured with certain feast days, ceremonies, and in the most traditional versions of it, set words and ritual directions in ceremonies. My friend's faith is free form. While he sometimes celebrates the same holidays, he doesn't commemorate them with rituals, but rather goes out to party or just remembers the day.
• My friend borrows from other faiths and beliefs, including Hinduism, Asatru, New Age religions, etc.
• My friend's ceremonies are informal and don't usually involve casting circles, summoning various beings, etc.
• Wicca divides the natural world into male and female entities. The Sun is symbolically masculine, the Moon feminine, etc. My friend sees male and female in all things,
• My friend uses the same ritual tools as Wicca, though only when he feels that they would be appropriate. Also, within Wicca, the tools are associated with various elements. As my friend doesn't believe in the four elements, the tools have different meanings.

My friend's altar:

Here are the ritual items held on my friend's altar, as well as other items important to his faith.

There are three items on the back wall which represent the God principle of nature: the Horned God, which represents animals, death, the Otherworld, and our animal nature. The Green Man who represents the plant world and nature itself, Finally, the Sun, which represents the life giving power of the Sun and light.

Directly on the altar itself are three items which represent the Goddess, or feminine aspect of nature. They are: a bowl of sea shells which represent the waters of the earth that give life and abundance. There's candle in a green candle holder representing that she too gives life giving light through the Sun and other ways, and also represents nature with the green holder. 

Then there is the central tool my friend uses: a cauldron. The cauldron to him represents the whole cycle of life death and rebirth. This is due to the Celtic myths involving cauldrons where the cauldron of a goddess was able to resurrect the dead, and the cauldron of the All Father (a powerful god) was able to feed people without ever emptying. For him, this symbol represents male, female, Goddess, and God. It represents all of the universe and is his most prized tool.

Also on the altar are flowers and a gourd to remember the season, as well as an image of Dionysus (in his bull horned form), a figure which to him represents emancipation, being yourself, and enjoying your natural self.

He made this statue, as well as another one which represents the Horned God. I think he did well on both of them.

And here are my friend's classical tools which are used in Wicca as well:

His knife. To Wiccans, the knife represents fire usually and is associated with projecting your will. To my friend, the knife represents cutting away that which is harmful to you, such as attachments to unhealthy things.

His chalice. To Wiccans, this represents the element of water and also represents the womb of the Goddess. My friend still sees the womb imagery as he does in the cauldron, but doesn't see the same association with water. Often he uses it for offerings. I love his chalice because it's shaped like a goat head at the base.

His pentacle. For Wiccans, this is a symbol of the element of earth and symbolizes grounding. For my friend, it represents the Star of Venus and thus represents the Goddess in her celestial forms.

My friend's wand collection. My friend has multiple versions of each tool, But the most of any tool he has are his wands. To Wiccans, the wand represents air, and also is used to direct the will. My friend only sees it as a tool to direct his energy when working magic.

My friend also has a cabinet full of herbs which is quite extensive.

And a few more miscellaneous items he uses, including a crystal ball for divination (which he says is not about telling the future for him, but sorting out things in his own head and reading energy around him), a singing bowl, and three books which contain writings of his beliefs, practices, and meditations.

The symbol on the first two books is called a triskelion and is a very ancient symbol dating back to the neolithic (new stone age) period that has had many meanings throughout history. For him it symbolizes the flow of energy and is his primary spiritual symbol and the one that represents his faith to him. He even has it tattooed on his shoulder.

I asked him a series of questions. The main one was what divinity meant to him. He said that he feels like there is something like the Hindu concept of Brahman, the ultimate reality. This reality is neither male nor female, conscious nor unconscious, existent nor non-existent, Everything is part of this ultimate reality. He said he was a pantheist and believed that everything that exists is divine and adds to the divine reality like a rich tapestry. He expresses this pantheism through animism (believing everything has a spirit or energy) and polytheism with the Gods

He sees the Goddess as the Great Mother Goddess, and the feminine expression of everything that's out there. He primarily worships her, but all the other goddesses in history have represented different aspects of her.

He also worships, though not as extensively it seems, the All Father, an all encompassing god that represents the masculine expression of everything. He feels that all the gods in history have represented different aspects of him.

Neither is superior to the other, and to him both of them are in every single thing in this universe. He says that he doesn't believe the Gods created us, that all living things create the Gods and that we only enhance them. The Goddess and God are everything, therefore they are life and death all at the same time, kindness and cruelty, Summer and Winter, etc.

He also says that he believes everyone's path is different and that his is open to all paths because all of the gods are aspects of the ultimate divine reality. He said he even feels that atheism fits into his beliefs because he constantly doubts everything. He acknowledged it could all just be in his head and that none of this is real. But he said that all it does is help him to sort out his life, help him overcome his problems, and help him feel connected to the world around him. For him, it's about making his own reality.

The Ceremony:

The ceremony was pretty simple. We went on a hike, no ritual tools, no books, no special robes, no candles, just us. We went up a trail on the mountainside near our homes. We got to a small clearing with some stones set up in a circle around a little pool. There was a pipe running off water from the snow cap up on top of the mountain down into the pool which was trickling down into a little stream down the mountainside.

We stopped here and my friend sat and meditated on nature and his life. I took pictures while he did.

After meditating, he took water onto his hand streaming into the pool from the pipe. He used it to anoint various parts of his body and chakra points. He said this was to feel cleansed and empowered by nature.

He then talked about some personal issues his mediation help get some clarity on. Prior to that, I had been tossing pebbles into the pool, and I explained how the ripples acted like sound or light waves and how energy moves in waves. and that the surrounding objects create other ripples and patterns. He said that was a great symbol of his belief on spiritual energy, that it's all around us, and we can make it move and manipulate it, but it affects everything around us, and what you put out can bounce back to you in unexpected ways.

We then packed up and left the spot. That was the whole ritual. He said this was typical ritual for him. No tools or fancy words, just him meditating in nature on personal problems, the Goddess, nature itself, or something else. He only uses the other ritual stuff when the urge or need arises, but for the most part, this was how he practiced his religion.

Overall Experience:

Even though I don't believe in spiritual energy or anything supernatural, I have to say, that his beliefs and practices are pretty interesting and cool. Mostly it just feels like self help framed in a spiritual setting. Indeed, he told me he thinks people who do self help are doing magic and are not any different than him. He has his set beliefs, but he's open to change and new possibilities. He doesn't force his beliefs on anyone nor decry others for their beliefs. He just lives life his way, and that involves a magical worldview.

He's very realistic and says that magic won't solve your problems. That saying a spell won't make someone fall in love with you, make your body image problems go away, or get you the money you want. Instead, they'll give you focus and open you up to possible avenues to make those things happen for yourself. But ultimately you must do the work.

I have no problems with spiritual systems like this existing as long as they don't cause problems like people not seeking real medical attention in favor of spiritual healing, or people denying science in place of pseudoscience and woo woo. For my friend, this all seems to just be something that helps him feel connected with nature, the world around him, the universe, and help him deal with issues in his life that he might not otherwise find a good avenue to deal with. I think it's a beautiful and charming outlook he has. So I say, have fun.

The Silence of the Wiccans

This past week, I visited the Order of Our Lady of Salt (OOLS), a Wiccan group in Salt Lake City. I mentioned them in the previous blog, so go check that out before you read any further, as you need to know bit about Wicca before reading this.

Atmosphere:

OOLS meet at a pagan/New Age store in the southern part of Salt Lake called Crone's Hollow. Crone's Hollow is a lot more than I was expecting and was rather cool. The place is divided into three places. The front portion is the store with plenty of pagan and New Age nick knacks to go around: incense, statues of deities and the Virgin Mary, lots of candles, crystals, censers, pendants, decorative knives, wands, books, etc.

This leads into a coffee shop which is the middle portion of the store. The coffee shop is nice. It has some decent if not overpriced tea and lots of books on every religious subject possible. I actually found a Bible with the Hebrew and Greek texts inside and an interlinear translation of the text in English. There were chairs and couches of an eclectic style, everything from plush leather chairs formed to look like a hunting lounge, to 60's style contemporary thrown about. There was a tent in the corner made of what looked like orange satin in the corner where they read fortunes for $20 bucks a pop. In the back there was a bookshelf that had nothing but board games and a table with a chess set as well. My friend and I actually played a round of chess before the ceremony.

The back third of the store is an interesting place. It's got a hallway leading to three rooms. One of the rooms is the large ritual space (where our ceremony was held), a smaller ritual space/meditation room with a couple of lounge chairs and a large open space, and then a lecture room, set up with rows of chairs and a podium. Along the walls of that room are a bunch of paintings from local artists which were rather beautiful.

The large ritual space was a large room partitioned off by the main hallway with curtains and had golden fabric draped overhead. Just under the draped fabrics were rows of black chandeliers wrapped in purple and orange lights. I loved the look of this room. It was quite elegant.

Along the eastern wall, there was a permanent community altar which has various elements people have brought in. It's a very cool thing, and reflects the spirituality of the Salt Lake region's pagan community quite beautifully.

Also along the walls were other decorations, primarily Egyptian papyri and this much smaller altar along the southern wall. I'm not exactly sure what this altar is for.

I didn't take a picture of the main space as there wasn't a good time to do it. They had set up chairs and carpet squares in a circle, which reminded me a bit of kindergarten, in the north-west corner of the circle, they had set up an altar on what might have just been a cardboard box with a blue altar cloth covered in stars. The altar had three candles upon it, and a larger candle just in front of the altar which was already lit and remained burning before and after the service.

Overall, the atmosphere was quite incredible, far better and more elegant than I was expecting.

The People:

The people were primarily women. In fact, aside from me and my friend, there were only two other men in the whole group, both of which came late. The majority of the women were in their thirties or older. One was dressed in black robes, four were dressed in other clothing, but I will touch on that in "The Service" section. Everyone else was dressed in regular street clothing typical of Summer in Utah.

The women seemed to come from various backgrounds and have different professions. Some looked like soccer moms, some looked like hippies who would frequent health food stores, some seemed like gammer type girls, one of the guys seemed more like he'd be the type to enjoy beer and wrestling on a Friday night, still others looked like they'd be just your sweet old grandma telling you stories while they cooked dinner.

All of them were very nice to us, welcomed us right into their little circle, and were very accommodating and curious about us.

I short, lovely group of people. Nothing really negative to say about them.

The Service:

We were greeted by the lady in the black robe welcoming us and then wafting incense over us and then sprinkling us with salt water. This is a symbolic gesture to cleanse yourself before entering the sacred space. Another one of them handed us each a journal and said that we were going to be journaling as part of the ritual. Before the ritual began, a woman went around with a birch broom and swept around the circle. Many Wiccans do this symbolically to cleanse the ritual space of negative energy. Afterward, another woman came and walked around the perimeter of the circle with a stick of incense, again, this is seen to have the same purpose. While I don't believe in cleansing energy and negative energy fields (other than of course real negative energy, like negatively charged atoms) it was kind of cool to see that.

There was a short announcement of who they were and welcoming guests before they cast their circle. For the circle casting, all of us stood up and held hands in a circle around a woman. We chanted as a group, "Air my breath, and fire my spirit, earth my body, water my blood," as the girl in the middle held onto a staff and said a prayer. It was hard to hear and remember all she said, but I remember one part where she said that behind us is the past and before us the path to our future. She waived her staff in a clockwise motion and said something to the effect of the eternal spark of nature within us coils about. She then struck the ground with the bottom of her staff, we all stopped chanting and she declared, "Our circle is cast."

There were then four of the women who stood in the four cardinal points to call the four corners. Typically, they summon the four elements personified as four Watchers, sometimes called the Guardians of the Watchtowers or the Grigori. The origin of these is actually out of the Judeo-Christian tradition. These are seen as angels of great power. This comes into Wicca through ceremonial magic, which borrows from Kaballah (Jewish mysticism). Typically, the Watchers are summoned by elements associated with each cardinal direction, earth for North, air for East, fire for South, water for West. But they didn't do that in this ceremony. Instead, they represented archetypes. The woman in the East was a woman dressed in a flowing skirt and pastel colors. she held a sky blue candle and said that she was the Watcher of the East and represented the rising Sun and the dawning of new life. The woman in the South was dressed as a warrior in chain mail and a sword around her waist. She said she was the Watcher of the South and represented the hero and strength. The woman in the West was the same woman who had cast the circle. She was wearing a heavy cloak and said she represented the setting Sun and the land of the dead. The woman in the North held a bouquet and said she was the Watcher of the North who represented wisdom and intellect.

After that we all returned to our seats and they lit the three candles on the altar, one for the dead who came before us, one for the living here now, and one for those who shall come after us. They then summoned the Goddess and the God to the circle.

We were all given earplugs and told that we were going to spend time in silence meditating, journaling,or just contemplating silence. I'll cover more about this in "The Message" section.

After this, they passed out Dixie cups full of some kind of tea and sugar cookies. They held up the cups together, and the woman in the black robes said that this represented the waters of the Earth which would cleanse and nourish us. She then held up her cookie and said that it was a cake which came from the Earth and that the Earth shall sustain us and nourish us.

We then discussed what we journaled, again more on that below.

We then closed the circle by holding hands in a circle again and saying goodbye to the watchers and the girl in the center again stating a similar prayer to the one which she used to cast the circle.

In all, it was a very interesting ritual, and not one I was expecting.

The Message:

We all put earplugs in and sat in silence, journaled, or mediated. Afterward, they asked us to share what we had learned. One woman talked about how we were afraid of silence in our modern culture because we have noise everywhere and it distracts us from the uncomfortable realities inside ourselves. The big message I took from this was that we need to take more time to go in and do self reflection. That we need more time in silence to be more creative but also to face the darker parts of ourselves that scare us but often hold us back.

I actually thought this was a practical message for most people in our society to hear. We are distracted all the time by sounds and media. We can't bear not to be without it and it seems to be shortening our attention spans and overstimulating us. It's a message I think we should take to heart. Enjoy the silence, allow it to build you up.

Overall Experience:

This was actually a positive experience for me. I don't understand why Wiccans are demonized and feared. It's essentially just a bunch of people gathered together loving and worshiping the earth and reflecting upon their inner selves. They're not judgmental for the most part and don't seek converts. It's very benign and not something that should be feared. What we should fear religiously is the rise of extremists in the major world faiths, especially in Christianity and Islam, which have weapons and/or political power. They pose an infinitely greater threat to humanity than a group of women gathered together to celebrate nature and talk about their feelings.

I would definitely return to OOLS for another service.

Until next time, peace be with you.

We're off to see the Wiccans, the wonderful Wiccans of Utah

This week, I'll be stopping in on a public Wicca ceremony held by The Order of Our Lady of Salt in Salt Lake City. Wicca is a fascinating religion to me as it's a modern religion based on ancient and modern elements that is heavily misunderstood by mainstream society.

Because of this, I'm starting this blog out with a list of things Wicca is not based on misconceptions about the religion

Wicca is not:

• It is not Devil worship. Wiccans don't believe in the Devil. Most Wiccans actually don't believe in absolute good or absolute evil. So a Devil has no place in their beliefs.
• It is not like the movies or TV shows. Witches aren't engaged in a cosmic battle to protect the forces of good from the evil, dark magical forces. Again, battles of absolute good and absolute evil are foreign concepts to Wicca. Wiccans don't hurl fireballs, shape shift, etc.
• It is not just a teenage fad. For many it is often a phase of adolescence that comes and goes. But for many, including teenagers who practice it, it is a lifelong religion. You will find practitioners of it in every age and background.
• Wiccans do not perform animal sacrifice at all.
• Wiccans don't seek to indoctrinate children, destroy Christianity, or convert the world. Wicca is viewed as a personal choice and they don't believe in missionary work or converting others.

A bit of background on Wicca:

Wicca is a modern religion started by a man named Gerald Gardner in the first half of the 20th century. While Gardner claimed to have been initiated into an old pagan order called "Wica" that had survived through the centuries, most believe he took elements of Norse and other European pagan traditions and infused them with ceremonial magic, Gardner himself having belonged to the Rosicrucians, a ceremonial magic system based on Kabbalah which also influenced Thelema.

Whether you believe Gardner was initiated into an old world order and added his own elements, or created the religion, it nonetheless continued on as a spiritual system based on covens, magic, and worship of two main deities, the Great Mother Goddess, and the Horned God.

Originally Wicca was only practiced in small groups called covens which were ruled by a high priestess who was assisted by a high priest. However, several authors, Raymond Buckland and Scott Cunningham primarily, took what they had learned from the covens and wrote books allowing individuals to practice the religion alone. This led to the religion spreading much faster and easier as people no longer needed to be initiated into a coven to practice, but could do so on their own using the materials from the books.

The exact number of Wiccans is unknown as there is no formal centralized bodies and many people practice in secret and no great census of it has been done. It's estimated there are more than 140,000 in the US, possibly more.

Wicca is a largely personal religion, and it's hard to say what is essential for someone to be a practitioner of Wicca. Individuals are encouraged to find their own path and discover what makes sense for them and what doesn't. There are some unifying themes found among most practitioners of Wicca.

Beliefs and practices most Wiccans share:

• Belief in a supreme spirit which is beyond human comprehension. This deity is expressed through its male and female energies, called the God and the Goddess. Neither is greater than the other, but essential to the existence of the other. Most Wiccans see all the other gods mankind has worshiped as different aspects of the God and Goddess and will worship them as such. Thus, Wicca has elements that are polytheistic and monotheistic.
• The Goddess is often represented usually as a lunar deity with three primary aspects: maiden, mother, and crone. She acts in these roles at different times in the lives of mankind, and in different seasons of the year.
• The God is represented usually as a horned god of the forest, representing the primal nature of mankind, or as a solar deity to compliment the Goddess. He is seen as the child of the Goddess, her lover as the maiden, and the slain God who dies to continue on the cycle of life.
• Wiccans have eight major holidays called the Sabbats. These correspond to the equinoxes, solstices, and four other holidays between them. These holidays are taken from various ancient European pagan cultures and most correspond to a holiday celebrated by the Catholic Church. These holidays mean different things to different Wiccans, so the list below is a guideline. They are:
• Yule - The winter solstice, corresponding closely to Christmas. It celebrates the rebirth of light and the rebirth of the slain God.
• Imbolc - February 1st, often celebrating the Goddess Brigid and the returning light. Corresponds to a lesser known Catholic holiday called Candlemas or the Purification of the Virgin Mary.
• Ostara - The spring equinox corresponding closely to Easter. It represents the emergence of the Goddess as the maiden and the beginning of spring.
• Beltaine - May Day. Not a Catholic holiday, but the old European celebration of Spring. This holiday represents fertility to Wiccans and is often seen as the mystical union between the God and Goddess bringing fertility to the earth.
• Midsummer - The summer solstice, corresponding to the Feast of John the Baptist. This feast represents the God at the height of his power, the day being the longest of the year. In some traditions he is the Oak King replaced by the Holly King at this time.
• Lughnasadh - August 1st with no major Catholic equivalent. It is the first harvest festival.
• Mabon - The fall equinox. Corresponds closely to the Catholic holiday of the Feast of Michael and All Angels or Michaelmas. This is the second harvest festival and a time to celebrate the abundance of the harvest.
• Samhain - October 31st or November 1st. This corresponds with Halloween and All Saints Day/All Souls Day. This holiday honors the sacrifice of the God and his death so to continue the circle of life. The Goddess also becomes the crone on this day. It is one of the biggest holidays for Wiccans and many believe the veil between the living and dead is thinnest at this time.
• Wiccans also celebrate the cycles of the moon and full moon ceremonies (in some traditions new moons as well) are held called Esbats. (Interesting to note, Esbats and Sabbats are both derived from the word Sabbath which corresponds to the Hebrew word Shabbat.)
• Wiccans have one commandment most live by, called the Wiccan Rede, "An it harm none, do what thou wilt." In other words, "If it harms nothing, do what you will."
• Wiccans believe in the classical four elements: earth, air, fire, and water. These are united by a fifth element of spirit.
• Most Wiccans use the pentacle (a five pointed star) as a symbol of their faith. This symbol to them has nothing to do with Satan, but rather symbolizes the universe or the Gods, each point representing one of the five elements mentioned above.
• In addition to the pentacle, there are ceremonial objects that represent the elements to them as well: a wand representing air, a dagger (called an athame) representing fire, a chalice representing water, and a plate or pentacle representing earth. The element of spirit is often represented by images of the deities, a special candle or flame, or some other item.
• Most Wiccans believe in magic and perform spells or practice forms of divination. Most Wiccans don't curse others as they believe whatever they send out comes back to them three times.
• Most Wiccans revere nature as part of the God an Goddess and thus seek to preserve and celebrate nature. Many are involved in environmentalism.
• Most Wiccans are fairly positive on sex and human sexuality. Thus sex is seen as something to be enjoyed and celebrated. Most have no issue with homosexuality, bisexuality, or transgendered people. Many are fine with polyamory as well.
• Most believe that people should be free to explore their beliefs and forge their own path. As such, they do not discriminate based on religion nor how others live their lives unless it harms another.
• Most believe in some form of reincarnation, though it varies as to the degree and type of reincarnation.
• Most believe life and nature run on endless cycles of life, death, and rebirth.

Again, Wicca is a very diverse religion with many expressions and beliefs within it. The above mentioned items are general things most believe, but many don't believe in all of these things.

It should be interesting to see, I will let you know how it goes.

Until then, peace be with you.