C A U L D R O N A N D C A N D L E #90 -- May 2008
A Publication of The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum
website: http://www.ecauldron.com/
message board: http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/
newsletter: http://www.ecauldron.com/cnc/
shopping: http://www.ecauldron.com/mall.php
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In this Issue:
[00] Editorial Notes: Cancer Treatments Delay Newsletters
[01] Cauldron News
* New Bookmark Feature on our Messageboard
* New Rules List Feature on our Messageboard
* News Category Boards Open to Posting from All Members
* How to Post Readable Messages
* Teens and Paganism FAQ Project Revived
* SIG Web Sites on The Cauldron
* Chat Schedule Changes
[03] Interesting Recent Cauldron Discussions
* TC, RetroRoleplaying, and Self-Appointed Pagan
Community Spokespeople
* Eclectics
* Warlork or Male Witch?
* A Question of Magical Ethics?
* What's Wrong with Staying in The Closet?
* How Do You Know Magick is Working?
* Is the Occult Dangerous?
* Altar Problems: Open Floorplan and Small Children
* Questions You Use in Tarot Readings?
* Amalgamated Deities?
* Pagan Bumper Stickers?
* Why Did Paganism Fail?
* Do You Miss Church?
* Do Pagans Really Believe in Greek Gods?
* Interpretation of Greek Myths
[04] Flamekeeping: Life and Cycles
[05] Support The Cauldron
[06] Newsletter Information
(Including How To Subscribe/Unsubscribe)
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[00]
=========
========= EDITORIAL NOTES
=========
It's been a long time since the 89th issue of this newsletter was
published -- back in December 2007. As mentioned in the December
2007 editorial, my wife (and co-Host of The Cauldron: A
Pagan Forum) Donna (aka Lyricfox) was diagnosed with oral cancer
in her tongue at the end of October. She was scheduled to have
part of her tongue cut out in late December.
That operation was a a success, her doctor was able to remove all
the cancer that he could find. Unfortunately, the cancer had
spread to three of the twenty-some lymph nodes he removed from
her neck. This moved radiation treatments from a possibility to
something definite.
After her tongue healed enough, she had all her lower teeth
pulled (as radiation weakens teeth). Once that healed up enough
she started 6 weeks of radiation treatments, 5 days of treatment
every week. At first the side effects were not too bad, but by
the fifth week there were getting bad and by the end of the sixth
week her throat was so sore she had trouble even getting liquids
down. Her last treatment was April 4th and only now is she
beginning to be able to eat something other than Ensure -- some
creamy soups and scrambled eggs.
If you want all the details, you can read more on Donna's Cancer
Diary at
http://donnacd.blogspot.com/
Now we are just waiting for her to heal up enough that she is
able to eat and get some strength back. Then there will be tests
to see if they got everything. If not, she'll have to undergo
chemo. Needless to say, neither of us have had much time to
devote to The Cauldron in recent months -- and it shows in little
ways: the message board is not as active and this is the first
newsletter in what probably seems like ages.
If you would like to help, there are a couple of things you can
do:
1) Prayers and Healing Thoughts/Magick -- LyricFox welcomes all
prayers, healing thoughts, healing magick, etc. regardless of
your religion or path.
2) Post messages and start interesting threads on The Cauldron's
message board to help keep it active and interesting while the
boards' active Co-Hosts are away dealing with medical issues.
The message board has slowed considerably the past few months
and there is really no excuse for this. We have lots of
knowledgable members who are quite capable of holding
interesting discussions without our constant input. Please do
so.
3) If some lucky reader has just won a huge lottery and wants to
pay off our medical bills we probably would not stop you. We
won't expect you too, but we won't stop you. (Hey, it never
hurts to mention it.)
Thanks for your understanding and prayers over the last few
months. They have really helped. We hope they will continue.
I'm going to try to return this newsletter to a monthly schedule.
However, due to lack of time (and energy), issues will remain
small and lite for a while. I hope to phrase articles and
features back in as time goes on, but given the number of people
who have asked when the next issue is coming out, I think
regularity rather than length might be more important. I'm going
to try my best.
Randall Sapphire
Editor and Publisher, Cauldron and Candle
Co-Host, The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum
[01]
=========
========= CAULDRON NEWS
========= by The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum Staff
=========
=====
===== NEW BOOKMARK FEATURE ON OUR MESSAGEBOARD
=====
We've added a new feature to this messageboard: bookmarking
threads. You can now bookmark threads you find interesting so you
can easily find them again on future visits. Using this new
feature is simple:
To Bookmark a Thread:
When you are reading messages in a thread you want to bookmark,
you'll see a blue menu bar at the top right of the first message
on a page which will read something like:
Add Bookmark | Notify | Mark Unread | Send this Topic | Print
Click on "Add Bookmark." SMF will bookmark the thread and take
you to your Marks page to show you it has added the thread to
your list.
To View Your Thread Bookmarks:
Click on the MARKS button in the top blue menu line. This will
take you to your list of bookmarked threads. You can go to a
thread by clicking on its name. You can remove a thread from
your bookmark list by checking the checkbox on its line, then
clicking on the Delete Selected Bookmarks button at the bottom of
the bookmark list.
=====
===== NEW RULES LIST FEATURE ON OUR MESSAGEBOARD
=====
We've made the list of all rules and guidelines related posts
much easier to find. Just click on the RULES item in the top blue
menu line. This will take you to a page listing all the general
rules posts in the Rules and Regulations board as well as rules
post in other boards with special rules for those just for those
boards.
=====
===== NEWS CATEGORY BOARDS OPEN TO POSTING FROM ALL MEMBERS
=====
As an EXPERIMENT, the three boards in the News and Politics
category are now open to posting by all members. Posting on these
three boards had been restricted to Full Members.
Regular members are now welcome to post in these boards. Please
remember, however, that topics on these boards are often heated
debates. If you do not like people tearing your position apart,
don't post. If you don't what to have to support your statements
with well-supported facts, don't post. Please reread our general
Cauldron Community Rules and Policies and be sure to read our
Political Discussion Guidelines BEFORE posting to be sure you
understand what is and is not acceptable on these boards.
* Cauldron Community Rules and Policies
http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=16.0
* Political Discussion Guidelines
http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=32.0
=====
===== How to Post Readable Messages
===== by Catja
=====
The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum is a debate and discussion board,
not a term paper -- heaven forbid! Moreover, attacking posters
for grammar/spelling mistakes is explicitly against the rules.
However, our rules also ask that posters make their posts as
readable as possible. Here are some tips for making your posts
more readable; the more readable your posts, the easier it will
be for others to understand you -- and therefore, the better the
discussion!
1. Read the rules regarding posting style. Spacing between
paragraphs, proper punctuation, ALL CAPS, netspeak, and eLiTe
CaPiTaLiZaTiOn are explicitly addressed.
2. Spacing between paragraphs: Please hit the "return" key
twice after every few sentences, because long, unbroken boxes of
text are difficult to read.
3. Proper punctuation: more than one period, exclamation point,
or question mark is unnecessary. In the case of exclamation
points and question marks, you *never* need more than one, unless
deliberately exaggerating for humorous effect (which should be
rare). Three or more periods together are called "ellipses," and
they should be used sparingly. Too many ellipses make a post
difficult to read; they also make you look like you can't make up
your mind, or are talking... very... slowly.
4. ALL CAPS: Don't do it, unless it is *very* limited and used
for humorous or emphatic effect. (Some people use all caps,
rather than italics or *, to emphasize words; this is fine, as
long as it isn't excessive.)
5. Netspeak: "r u Wiccan," and other word replacements like
this, are *expressly* forbidden. As for interjections such as
"lol," "teehee," and emoticons, the occasional one is fine, but
don't stick them in every other sentence.
6. eLiTe CaPiTaLiZaTiOn: Just, no.
7. Capitalization in general: Capitals are used at the
beginning of sentences, for proper names (people, organizations,
religions), and for "I." Just as a general note.
Again, no one here is expecting you to write perfectly, or even
formally. But if you bear these tips in mind, your posts will be
far more legible; people will be far more inclined to talk to you
if they don't have to spend an inordinate amount of time simply
deciphering your post.
One last tip: If you don't know what you want to say, sit down
and think about it first; that will keep your sentences from
becoming unnecessarily convoluted. Also, it always helps to hit
"preview" before posting -- it catches many errors.
=====
===== TEENS AND PAGANISM FAQ PROJECT REVIVED
===== by Moon Ivy
=====
Remember this project?
I know its been about 6 months since we came up with the idea of
a Teens and Paganism FAQ. I took responsibility for moving the
project forward, and then got benched by health problems. Things
are a little better at the moment, so I'm ressurecting it.
I've developed a draft outline for the FAQ (below) based on all
the input people gave me in this thread. It's very thorough.
Cheesy
Here's my idea for a plan:
1. If you're interested in participating in this project,
please review the outline. Then, reply to this post and tell us
what number(s) you're interested in drafting a response to. I've
divided the FAQ into sections, which are lettered. The questions
in each section are then numbered. So, if you're interested in
working on the question about "What is pantheism", f'ex, you'll
post that you're doing question D3. If more than one person is
interested in working on a question, please communicate with each
other to determine if you can work on it jointly or if one will
take it.
2. Also let us know if you're interested in being part of the
review committee. (More on that in #6.)
3. Draft your section(s) and email them to me at
moonivy53@gmail.com.
4. I will put it all together and edit for typos and style to
try to make the whole document as consistent as possible.
5. When the editing is done, I'll post some way of sharing the
whole document. (I need to investigate something like Google
documents to find a way for multiple people to be able to access
the document.)
6. The review committee will then review the document and send
me comments -- or whatever system of group work we can figure out
(I'm not sure how things like Google docs works, but will find
out). I'll revise based on that feedback. If there are comments
that are in disagreement, the committee will discuss them and
we'll find a consensus.
7. Once we have a finished FAQ, I'll submit it to Randall for
his approval. Then it'll be up to him to decide how to use it.
I hope that a lot of people will want to participate, so we can
have the benefit of many people's perspectives and experience. I
particularly hope that some of TC's teens and recent-teens will
participate in drafting and reviewing.
It seems to me that the questions about specific paths will be
best answered by people who practice those paths. But if someone
feels differently, let's talk about it.
Also, I think -- wherever possible -- we should try to write with
humor. Obviously, not everything lends itself to being funny,
but a little humor can go a long way toward making reading
material accessible and interesting.
Oh, and if anyone thinks of a question that should be included,
let me know and I'll add it.
I hope this process will work for everyone.
For more information, an outline of the FAQ, and to volunteer to
help, see this thread on our message board:
http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=
3343.msg89011#msg89011
(You will need to join the above two lines into one before
pasting it in your browser's address bar.)
=====
===== SIG WEB SITES ON THE CAULDRON
===== by Randall
=====
I have created a way for members to create their own SIG areas on
The Cauldron's web site using only (nearly) standard HTML and not
having to worry about working within our standard header, left
menu, and footer as they are automatically added.
Here is a sample, the start of a web area for the Cauldron Cill:
http://www.ecauldron.com/sigs/cauldroncill/
The HTML for this page was very simple, anyone with basic
knowledge of HTML could create it. Here is the code for this page
which is stored in a file called "index.html":
Code:
Cauldron
CillA Cauldron Special Interest Group |
The Cauldron Cill is a Brighidine Flamekeeping group, where
members tend Brighid's flame in rotating shifts. Our purpose in
Keeping Her flame is to bring Brighid's energies and blessings
into our lives, as well as honor Her in our own ways.
The Cauldron Cill is open to all Cauldron members; while
Brighid's flame has been traditionally kept only by women, many
modern cills, including our own, have both male and female
Keepers. Members can request a shift by sending a PM to Juni or Moon Ivy, and any shift preferences or
restrictions should be noted. Shift schedules are posted by Moon
Ivy or Juni, and can also be viewed using Google Calendar; shifts
begin at sunset of the listed date, and continue until sunset of
the following day. If a Keeper is unable to keep on their
scheduled shift, they should let the cill know at their earliest
opportunity, so the shift can be covered. Also, if a Keeper would
like to change their shift, or take a temporary or permanent
leave of the cill, they should let Juni or Moon Ivy know via
PM.
Recently, The Cauldron Cill has begun discussing group
projects, such as healing requests and meditation themes; the
cill has also done Group Keeping on several occasions. All group
projects are entirely on an opt-in basis- no Keeper is required
to participate in any such activity.
The Cauldron Cill has its own SIG
board: a place for Keepers to share their experiences during
shifts, collaborate on projects, and share poetry, artwork and
prayers, amongst other things.
More information about Brighid, Her flame, and Flamekeeping
Cills can be found at The Cauldron's
Cauldron Cill information page.
If you write HTML, you'll notice that things like ,
, , , and which normally
wrap the main context of the page are not present -- they are
wrapped around the HTML fragment by php code so one does not have
to use them.
If your PUBLIC SIG would like an area on the TC web site to
publish sig-related information, one can be arranged. (Private
SIGs are not eligible, although if you need a private web area
one could be arranged, but would work much differently than
this.)
Your SIG will need to create a volunteer "committee" to write and
edit articles and convert them to HTML. Your SIG will also need
at least one FULL MEMBER volunteer who knows HTML and is familiar
with uploading and downloading files via FTP to check over the
HTML articles produced, upload them to the SIG's web area on TC's
web site, and then modify whatever pages need to link to the new
page to actually do so. This person will hold a non-staff
"Assistant" position and will be responsible to TC staff for the
project.
I am not going to hold people's hands on this. A special private
Assistants board will be available for questions and startup
assistance, but the entire point of this is to let members do
things on their own instead of staff having to do things for
them.
Comments, questions, etc. are welcome in this thread. If your SIG
wants to participate, you need to start a thread to discuss
possible participation in your SIG board.
http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=5304.0
=====
===== CHAT SCHEDULE CHANGES
=====
There have been a number of changes in our chat schedule
recently (yes, again), you can view the current schedule here:
http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=
b5gvadoju1i4rp37ddogkkl8gk%40group.calendar.google.com
(You will need to join the above two lines into one before
pasting it in your browser's address bar.)
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[02]
=========
========= INTERESTING RECENT CAULDRON DISCUSSIONS
========= Recent Discussion Topics on our Message Board
=========
In an average month, over 200 new discussion topics are started
on The Cauldron's message board. Here are a few of the more
interesting recent discussions. It's not too late to join in.
Thanks to Feedburner, you can now receive an email every night on
days we post new site news items to the main page of The
Cauldron's web site. These emails contain a link to the new item
and the first couple of lines of the news text. You can sign up
for Feedburner's free news delivery via the form at the end of
the site "News and Updates" section of The Cauldron's main web
page.
=====
===== TC, RetroRoleplaying, and Self-Appointed Pagan
===== Community Spokespeople
=====
I received the following message from someone who did not
identify themselves via our problem report email system:
QUOTE: I have noticed your new roleplaying web site,
retroroleplaying.com. You should be ashamed of yourself. The
public associates roleplaying games with satanism and being
out of touch with reality. Paganism gets enough bad press
without the owner of a major pagan message board being
connected with d&d. We don't need more bad press and more
people who believe pagans are out of touch with reality. Shut
the retroroleplaying.com site down now before it harms the
pagan community.
I'm tired of this crap. I don't give a damn that some in the
Pagan community think Pagans should not have anything to do with
roleplaying games because some people associate rpgs with
Satanism, demon summoning, people who can't tell fiction from
reality or whatever. I don't care if my association with
roleplaying games gives some fundie loudmouth yet another reason
to think that all Pagans should be burned. Said fundie loudmouth
would think that no matter what I do or don't do, so why should I
let it limit my choices?
I've been involved in roleplaying games in one form or another
since I started college in 1975. That's almost as long as I've
been Pagan. I have recently begun to work on a web site on the
older rpgs that I enjoyed. I'm not going to shut it down because
some Pagans reading this message board don't like the idea of
someone who runs a "major" Pagan web site also running an rpg web
site. And yes, it has to be someone reading this board because
the only way to easily connect the two web sites is my signature
here on TC.
Heck, I've already been warlocked by a total stranger (along with
all past, present, and members of this board) -- see ALL Cauldron
Members Warlocked?! on our old DelphiForums board:
http://forums.delphiforums.com/CUSTOM7999/messages?msg=10257.1
-- because TC is a discussion and debate board and not an "accept
whatever is said as true" board, so why the heck would anyone
reading this board think I care that they don't like what I'm
doing on something like this?
To whoever wrote this: Just go away. RetroRoleplaying.com is here
to stay. I'm enjoying working on it. In fact, if I was forced by
some type of law to choose between closing RetroRoleplaying.com
and The Cauldron, I'd be closing The Cauldron. Deal with it. Go
play personal interest/personal lifestyle nazi someplace else.
* Read (or join in) this discussion:
http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=4548.0
=====
===== Eclectics
=====
I am interested in hearing from individuals who identify
themselves as Eclectic practitioners. What exactly makes up your
practice from the standpoint of deities, ceremonies, beliefs,
etc. and how did you go about forming it? How do you incorporate
new things into your practice as it evolves?
Basically, I'm just trying to find out about Eclecticism from
first-hand accounts..
* Read (or join in) this discussion:
http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=5402.0
=====
===== Warlork or Male Witch?
=====
I know the term "Warlock" has been given a bad rap over the
years... but I've done a little research on Wiki and found out
that the term refers to a Male Witch. However, today's views is
that a Warlock is an oathbreaker or one who is banished from a
Coven.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warlock
I was wondering, is it taboo to refer to oneself as a Warlock or
is it permissible?
I'm just curious because in the past I've experienced a lot of
the Witch-fluff that's been going around these days... and quite
peeved about it.
Just want to know your views on this... Thanks!
* Read (or join in) this discussion:
http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=5371.0
=====
===== A Question of Magical Ethics?
=====
I know people often debate the ethics of certain spells. Some are
cut and dry. I mean, I know not everyone cares about using morals
with their magic at all, but for those of us who do consider the
ethical side, most of us can agree that a spell should not
interfere with another person's free will, and that a spell
should cause no harm. A love spell, for instance, should simply
draw love to a person by helping them to meet people that would
naturally care for them (and then letting nature take its
course), and should not force another person to love them.
However, some things are not quite as simple. Is it wrong to help
a person realize the full extent of what they are capable of
naturally feeling for you? I mean, let's say that under the right
circumstances, if I knew a person, and got to know them well
enough, I would be madly in love with them naturally, but things
keep getting in the way of me getting to see the true them or
something else like that, would it be wrong if they cast a spell
to cause circumstances to be right so that I would realize how
deeply I could feel for them? Is that interfering with my free
will? I suppose perhaps it depends on the wording. It depends on
if they ask to make me feel the full extent I am naturally
capable of feeling for them (probably wrong), OR if they simply
cast a spell to say that if it causes no harm and impedes no
good, that the circumstances should be made right, so that I can
naturally, and of my own free will, discover how deeply I could
feel for them. Thoughts?
What if a person has already loved you, but they have pushed you
away and put a wall between you. Is it wrong, in your opinion, to
cast a spell to cause them to realize their true feelings for
you, if they are suppressing them? I suppose that would be
interfering with free will, huh?
Also, another thing I was wondering- what about this. This isn't
about love, but rather, about desire. If someone desires you and
you want that flame to stay bright, instead of growing dim, is it
wrong to cast a spell to keep that flame alive? I mean, if the
person feels it naturally, is it controlling them to try
magically, to keep the flame alive? Is there some way to word the
spell that would not interfere with their free will?
Also, what if any of the above spells could potentially cause
harm to a third party (or multiple parties) who are not directly
involved in the spell?
Also, I know glamour spells are generally frowned upon, but I
don't have a big problem with them personally. What do you think
about glamour spells? I know they are not the loftiest of spells,
but I don't think it is necessarily worse to ask for beauty, than
prosperity. My question is this- is it wrong to make yourself
appear differently to others? Is it, in a sense, a lie? What
about a spell that merely makes your good traits more easily
noticeable? Would it be wrong, however, to make your faults
harder to notice? Would it be deceitful? Or does it matter, since
it is only appearance, which is mostly perception, anyway? Yet,
in some ways, appearance is corporeal, is molded by the flesh, so
perhaps it is a lie? What do you think?
* Read (or join in) this discussion:
http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=5372.0
=====
===== What's Wrong with Staying in The Closet?
=====
As the years have rolled by me, I've noticed what I see as I
disturbing trend in the Pagan community: to marginalize and even
belittle people who want to stay in the closet about their
religion, their sexuality, etc. Some people are naturally very
public about their beliefs and activities (whether those
activities are controversial or not). Other people are pretty
private about such things and would be even if they were
Christian hetero virgins (or whatever else is the desired norm
culturally). Yet according to many Pagans every Pagan has some
type of obligation to the Pagan Community to be "out" (and
preferably very out) about their religious beliefs.
I fall into the private person category. I have no desire (nor
need) to wear my religion, my sexuality, or even my taste in
music on a badge in my shirt for all to see. It's none of the
average stranger's business. Heck, some of it isn't even the
average co-worker's or acquaintance's business either.
I'm very tired of extroverted Pagan activists trying to force
introverts and people who just prefer not to make their private
life and private beliefs public into be "out" for the "good of
the Pagan community.". I don't give a damn that they think the
world would suddenly be better if such info were public
knowledge, I (and others) have every right to parts of our lives
private even if that does not futher the needs of an activist
plan to "improve" things for the Pagan community.
What do you think on this issue?
* Read (or join in) this discussion:
http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=5335.0
=====
===== How Do You Know Magick is Working?
=====
My friend and I were discussing the the effectiveness of magick.
How do you know if the magick actually worked, or if the event in
question or the desired result, happened for other reasons,
particularly if the result happens years down the road? I hear
people saying magick may work immedieately or it might take
weeks, months, even years. If you did a spell for your chronic
depression to ease and suddenly felt some relief 4 yrs later,
might that be unrelated to the spell? So how do you know when it
is the magick?
* Read (or join in) this discussion:
http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=5322.0
=====
===== Is the Occult Dangerous?
=====
I grew up attending a Theosophical Lodge. I was taught that the
occult is as real as the material world, that ghosts exist, and
that astral travel is possible.
I was also taught that this is all well and good, but that modern
man should avoid exploring the occult because without strong
ethics and guidance, the occult is a very dangerous place. In
fact, that most people are several (hundred) lifetimes away
ethically to being able to 'handle' occult gifts. I was taught
that if you come into contact with an other worldly presence,
this presence is just as likely to be malevolent as to be
benevolent.
Nowadays I don't really believe in what HPB (founder of
Theosophy) said anymore, but I am sort of like the ex-catholic
who doesn't believe in God but but still feels guilty about
having sex before marriage. So, what do you think, and what do
the various Neo-Pagan traditions say about dangers of magic and
the occult?
* Read (or join in) this discussion:
http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=5288.0
=====
===== Altar Problems: Open Floorplan and Small Children
=====
I've been working with a little portable altar, but I'd like to
move on to something more permanent. The problem is that I have a
very open floor plan and lots of small children. I don't want my
things damaged, or the kids hurt. Is there a particular room in
the house that you have your altar set up in? Is there a reason
for choosing that room? In order to keep things out of the reach
of the littles, I'd either have to set it up in my bedroom, or
the loft. I don't like the idea of doing it in the loft because
that's the office/sewing room/general place to hide stuff that
needs put away. I don't think the mess in there would be
conducive to ritual work. So that leaves the bedroom.
* Read (or join in) this discussion:
http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=5236.0
=====
===== Questions You Use in Tarot Readings?
=====
What sort of questions do you use in Tarot readings? Do you ask
very specific ones like 'How will project x of my firm go in the
next three months?' or more general ones like 'How will my life
develop in the next couple of months?'
I always ask very general ones, not even specified on any field.
Also I don't really use it for telling the future, but to mirror
my life at the moment and show where it might lead to. I'm not
sure it's the right way to work, but it feels more comfortable to
me. Maybe it's because I like to have everything in one big
picture, but the few books I've read on the topic say you should
ask a specific question.
What's your opinion? Or do you use different kinds of questions,
specific and general ones?
* Read (or join in) this discussion:
http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=5206.01
=====
===== Amalgamated Deities?
=====
I have been thinking about this for a while and after reading a
thread on Lucifer i thought id ask. Given that a number of
deity's as we might know them are the result of the amalgamation
of other earlier deities, how dies this effect your worship?
If they came about because of a misinterpretation of old texts or
through the absorption of other religions does that make them
less valid? I would think it would be less of a problem for soft
polytheists, but what about hard polytheists who believe each
deity is a completely separate and individual being?
* Read (or join in) this discussion:
http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=5193.0
=====
===== Pagan Bumper Stickers?
=====
Would you?
I passed a parked car the other day with a bright yellow sticker
in the window which left me ( and anyone else passing) in no
doubt that this car belonged to a witch.
I'm quite used to seeing cars with the fish symbol and various
versions of "Jesus Saves" around.
Leaving aside the practicalities (driving a Miata my rear view is
heavily restricted anyway with the roof up) but I am not sure
that I would ever want to display my religious convictions quite
so overtly although it's no sec
* Read (or join in) this discussion:
http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=5185.0
=====
===== Why Did Paganism Fail?
=====
A long time ago, the world was dominated by religions we would
now classify as "pagan". Today, the Western world and big swaths
of the East as well are dominated by the monotheistic Abrahamic
religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam).
So what happened?
I'm not so good at history--science is my forte--but I recognize
that there probably isn't any one answer for how paganism was
displaced in primacy in disparate cultures in disparate eras.
Nonetheless, it's striking how thorough the change has been in so
many cultures with so many different situations.
I don't buy "evolutionary" arguments--that monotheism is more
"advanced" than the various types of paganism (obviously, or I
wouldn't be pagan). Yet I'm also leery that it was solely a
matter of conquest (adopting the religion of the conquerors
either at the point of a sword/gun or out of convenience), though
that was a big factor in some cases. And I recognize that in many
instances, paganism just took on a subtler guise (e.g., santeria
and the other syncretic religions).
Ye Cauldronites who know your history backwards and forwards--and
there are a lot of you!--please shed some light on this for me,
if at all possible.
[And then there's the inevitable follow-up question: Why the
pagan resurgence, however marginalized we may be, and why now?]
* Read (or join in) this discussion:
http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=5084.0
=====
===== Do You Miss Church?
=====
I have considered myself a pagan for about 16 years now although
I didn't formally leave the Catholic church until about 10 years
ago. I was raised by a Catholic family and attended church very
regularly. When I decided to stop attending church I was living
in Los Angeles and thought I would take advantage of my location
and seek out people like me to replace the community of people I
lost when I left the church.
In the following years I drifted in and out of online groups,
meet-ups, covens, regular workshops, etc. always looking for the
sense of community I got with the Catholic church. I found that
generally the pagans I met were a bit flaky, unreliable, not
grounded, fake, and just not really the sort of people I could
depend upon. Not to say that all the Catholics I knew were
perfect but my experiences with Catholics were that if you needed
help in your life, you went to the church and they would help
you. Not so with the pagans I met in Los Angeles. I never felt at
home with any of the groups or covens I joined and I eventually
became discouraged and disillusioned and decided to be a
solitary.
When my husband and I moved to the small town in Oregon that we
currently live, I started an online group to form a pagan
community here in town. There are about 80,000 people in and
around this town so I thought there would be some pagans among
them. Sure enough, about 65 people joined my group. I was
thrilled! I decided to have monthly potluck gatherings to
socialize, network, and to build a pagan community that was akin
to the community I had when I was Catholic. But lo and behold,
three gatherings in and people started to flake out, talk trash
about other members, disappear, and soon the group fell apart.
Once again, just like my experiences in Los Angeles, the pagan
community let me down.
So now here I am, searching for community once again, missing the
community found at church, and wondering if I'll ever find that
kind of strong support I have been looking for. For the pagans
here who were church members in their past, do you miss the
community feeling of belonging to a church? What has been your
experience in the pagan community of having that same support
system? Any advice for helping me deal with this?
* Read (or join in) this discussion:
http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=5041.0
=====
===== Do Pagans Really Believe in Greek Gods?
=====
Do all pagans believe in the greek gods. I have been reading and
studying about paganism, specifically wicca, and is really
resonates with me. The greek gods are the one aspect that really
confuses me. I am looking for an alternative to catholicism, not
to replace one god for many gods. I get the whole goddess and god
thing and yes it makes so much sense. But do pagan's really
believe that Zeus is in the sky throwing lightning bolts- do they
really believe that the seasons change based on a mother that
misses her daughter? I first thought that these stories were just
ideas or symbols to help focus your energy and intentions, which
i could work with. BUT after reading "The outer temple of
witchcraft", the author makes it very clear that he believes
these gods are REAL.
Can someone explain?? Thanks!
* Read (or join in) this discussion:
http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=4761.0
=====
===== Interpretation of Greek Myths
=====
I'm curious to know how members and other practitioners of
Hellenic Polytheism understand and interpret the myths. Do you
take them as they are, or do you believe they point to higher
meaning?
I guess I envision a Christian asking the same question to a
Hellenist, only to be told, "Well, how do you view your own
central story of your savior being born of a virgin, who
tradition says conceived when the spirit of God entered her ear?"
But it is a valid question. Modern-day Christians are faced with
similar questions. Some take it literally, others are quite happy
as Christians who believe Jesus was born as any other man and yet
had something unique to say to humankind.
I mean, how do Hellenists treat the stories of Zeus' adventures
outside his marriage to Hera, or the apple contest between the
Goddesses that started the Trojan War? And I ask this with
complete respect to this faith and its teachings. I suppose it's
sort of a silly question since many ancient Greeks themselves
interpreted their sacred stories symbolically, but they just as
well posited that some of them happened just as they were told.
Not sure if this has been asked on here. I looked but didn't find
anything. Would be interested in seeing what you all have to say.
* Read (or join in) this discussion:
http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=4713.0
[03]
=========
========= FLAMEKEEPING
========= LIFE AND CYCLES
========= by HeartShadow
=========
HeartShadow is following her own religious path. She calls it
FlameKeeping. This regular column will present articles on
FlameKeeping, many taken from HeartShadow's FlameKeeping blog at:
http://flamekeeping.blogspot.com/
=====
===== Life and Cycles
=====
Life moves in cycles and in a continuum. We are part of rippling
history, created by what has come before and constantly creating
what will come. The universe is not created once and done, but a
constant process of creation that flows through us. We create our
future through our actions, and we create the futures of those
around us as they create ours.
This does not mean we create everything in our reality. Some
things we cannot help, because someone or something else has
already made that choice. Not everything is changeable. But we
are still responsible for dealing with the reality that is
presented to us and for creating a future we want to live in.
We are part of a continuum, not simply individuals. And we cannot
live solely as individuals, either. What we do ripples throughout
time, sometimes small ripples, sometimes big ones. We are the
Universe made manifest, we are the eyes and hands of the Divine.
What we do, how we perceive things, these things have effects. We
cannot see ourselves as an end point, our lives beginning the
Universe, our deaths ending it. Life is circular and flowing,
births and deaths and beginnings and endings all flowing into the
greater whole, each affecting each other.
We owe it to ourselves and to the Universe to be mindful of our
future as well as our past, to see the continuum and to look to a
better future rather than a worse. We see this most clearly in
our children, our genetic and mental replication, pieces of
ourselves replicated generation after generation. How we raise
our children, how we replicate ourselves, replicates for as long
as our descendants continue to replicate. What we do with our
thoughts and minds ripples out faster and replicates even more,
in ways we can never see. We are responsible for the beginnings
of both.
When we see our lives as cycles, we realize how our lives affect
each other and see more clearly how our lives should be. When we
are our own futures, what we do clearly affects everything we
care about coming into existence. Nothing else creates our future
but ourselves and those we live with. We do not create the world
as it is. We create the world that is to come.
=====
===== Questions
=====
* What does the concept of creating one's world mean to you?
How do you think your previous choices have shaped your
present and will shape your future?
* What cycles are you enmeshed in? Did you choose them? Would
you choose them now?
* How are we individuals? How are we part of a greater whole?
What happens when those two views get confused?
[05]
=========
========= Cauldron Info
========= SUPPORT THE CAULDRON BY VOLUNTEERING TO HELP
=========
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Here are some of the things members and supporters can do to help
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If you are a regular user of the US version of ebay, you can help
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To do this in Internet Explorer or Firefox, find ebay in your
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=====
===== Have Questions or Suggestions?
=====
If you have specific questions, proposals or other ideas we
haven't mentioned here, please email them to
rssapphire00@ecauldron.GETRIDOFEME.com. (Unfortunately, Randall
has to answer general "Tell me more?" type questions with a
request for a more specific question. He's not trying to be rude,
he just can't think of anything general and useful to say that
isn't said here.)
[06]
=========
========= NEWSLETTER INFORMATION
========= (Including how to subscribe and unsubscribe)
=========
Cauldron and Candle is a free publication of The Cauldron: A
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=====
===== SUGGESTIONS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME
=====
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usual, courtesy of the Goddess Eris.
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