Happy Ostara !!!!!! Pg17 Formerly Blessed Solstice and Merry Yule

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

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What!? They tried to forcibly baptize your daughter? How the heck could anyone justify that? No matter how obnoxious a person is in their attempts to 'save' another person, most realize that conversion is supposed to be voluntary.

I think that a lot of attempts to evangelize are based on a misplaced sense of love. The person is sometimes very terrified that anyone will burn in hell. Plus they believe that their faith commands them to convert others. If they don't evangelize then they don't feel that they are following their faith. Kirk Cameron-from that old show Growing Pains- uses the analogy that if you saw a person hiding toward a cliff, you would do everything in your power to keep them from walking off the edge. That type of thinking makes some people feel compeled to help others find what they consider is the only truth.

This is exactly how they feel. She was an infant and they felt that since I refused to baptize her she would go to h*** if she died. I said I refused to believe in any god that would be so petty as to punish a child for their parent's failings and thy ranted on about sins of the father stuff. DH and I finally sat them down and told them that we understood their beliefs compells them but that we also understood their own religion tells them that no one can come to know jesus unless their heart was open to him. SO I recommend that they pray for our hearts to be open to his word. I figured a prayer like that would be positive energy put out into the universe. They settled for that and now a church in NY prays for our family every single day. It a win win.

 

[Kanchii]

What are your guys' favorite pagan social websites? I'd love to find pages that show listings of pagan festivals and open circle events, etc, too

 

[CoopCrazy]

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http://www.circlesanctuary.org/

Here is a great one.. Selena Fox the owner is an awesome woman... I have had the honor of attending a few of her festivals.. And they are by far the best Ive been too.... BTW THEY ARE HUGE.... Pagan Spirit Gathering had over 1,500 people there when i went...

 

[deb1]

Quote:
http://www.circlesanctuary.org/

Here is a great one.. Selena Fox the owner is an awesome woman... I have had the honor of attending a few of her festivals.. And they are by far the best Ive been too.... BTW THEY ARE HUGE.... Pagan Spirit Gathering had over 1,500 people there when i went...

I have heard the name Selena Fox before but I don't know where.

Are there any books on pagan ethics? I understand that Wiccans have the rede. For a personal code of ethics, I like it very much. But I am curious how pagans explain the fact that some people are simply evil(like serial killers and child abusers)

My husband, despite being a religious Christian, is very open to my searching. He suggested that I spend sixty dollars on books.

But where do I start?

Don't worry. I am a nerd, a huge nerd. I love information. So give me a bunch of suggestions, please.

At first I thought that I would go with some original sources, like translations of some of the Roman philosophers who were speaking about their concept of Gods/ Goddesses. Cicero has a discourse on the nature of the Gods. But now I wonder if I shouldn't save that for later and look for some more modern works.

 

[CoopCrazy]

Quote:
http://www.circlesanctuary.org/

Here is a great one.. Selena Fox the owner is an awesome woman... I have had the honor of attending a few of her festivals.. And they are by far the best Ive been too.... BTW THEY ARE HUGE.... Pagan Spirit Gathering had over 1,500 people there when i went...

I have heard the name Selena Fox before but I don't know where.

Are there any books on pagan ethics? I understand that Wiccans have the rede. For a personal code of ethics, I like it very much. But I am curious how pagans explain the fact that some people are simply evil(like serial killers and child abusers)

My husband, despite being a religious Christian, is very open to my searching. He suggested that I spend sixty dollars on books.

But where do I start?

Don't worry. I am a nerd, a huge nerd. I love information. So give me a bunch of suggestions, please.

At first I thought that I would go with some original sources, like translations of some of the Roman philosophers who were speaking about their concept of Gods/ Goddesses. Cicero has a discourse on the nature of the Gods. But now I wonder if I shouldn't save that for later and look for some more modern works.

The Golden Bough is a good one... I still say A Witches Bible by Janet and Stewart Farrar is a must have on Paganism.. they did an amazing job researching and fact checking.. Wicca is a branch of Paganism, so the Wiccan Rede does have deeper Pagan roots. unfortunately because soo much of Paganism was passed down word of mouth it is difficult to find information and history.. Another really great book is the "The Alphabet versus The Goddess" It show how much was lost when man turned to the written word... Good Book.. Also for Newbies I do recommend anything By Silver Ravenwolf.. Yes her spells are kinda silly sometimes, but she teaches that anything can be used for magic and that energy is all around us, its just how we use it that defines who we are... Sorry my fingers just cant slow down today...

 

[CoopCrazy]

Oh and Selena is a big Ethicical Rights Activist as well.. She worked with getting the military to accept Paganism/Wicca as a religion for our troops and helped to get Pentacles on the tombstones of our fallen Brothers and Sisters in arms... Awesome Lady and very down to earth....

 

[deb1]

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BINGO! Now I know where I heard her name! My hubby was military so her name must have stuck with me.

 

[CoopCrazy]

I just keep getting goosebumps everytime I see this a new posting on this thread... Thanks again everyone for your willingness to share and your amazing open minds....

 

[sred98]

Yeah, Silver Ravenwolf is pretty good at explaining things to new people, but some of her things have just gotten so commercialized. I kind of lost respect for her with the whole Teen Witch kit.

But, that being said, "To Ride A Silver Broomstick" is in my library, where it shall stay.

Laurie Cabot is good. You might be interested in "The Witch In Every Woman". I also like Anne Moura's series on Green Witchcraft.

I think if someone is genuinely interested, you need to do research on the web before you commit to a book. Ask yourself a few questions:

What exactly am I interested in?

A new way of life?
Something that is far outside the Judeo-Christian aspect of religion?
Something very structured with rituals similar to Catholicism?
Something very loose and eclectic?

What is my heritage?

Sometimes, you can have a connection to a part of your heritage that you were never even aware of! I am adopted, and was always drawn to Native American ideas and myths. Being blonde haired and blue eyed, I never thought I had Native in me, until I met my birth family. I am 1/16, which is more than enough to be recognized legally. Finding your heritage and looking into their traditional beliefs is a good place to start.

Why am I searching for a new belief system?

Is this a rebellion against your parents, religion, school, or for shock value? If so, do some research, it doesn't hurt, but don't go into this with a rebellious attitude. That is not what this is about.

Did something happen to make you feel "let-down" by your religion? If so, that happens in every belief system. Nothing is going to give you everything you want, all the time. That's impossible. Reassess what it is you want from your religion and deity(ies), then go from there.

Have you just not ever connected with the religion you grew up with?

Maybe you always felt "out of place" in your church? Been a little more sensitive to signs and nature?

Are you just broadening your horizons and trying to understand other people's belief systems?

BRAVO!!! Start slow, and go to religioustolerance.org It explains a lot. This is how we end confusion and fear! Another good site is witchvox.com although they are a little political for my taste, sometimes.

Sorry to get into teaching mode, here...

I just want you to clarify to yourself what it is you might be looking for.

Good luck!

Shelly

P.S.- I just wanted to clarify, that I am not focusing this on Deb1, this is to other lurkers that might not have posted, but are curious and might do some searching on their own. Particularly the teens and 20-somethings.

 

[deb1]

I thought that your questions were excellent.

I am not in rebellion. At 43, I think that I am too old to rebel. LOL

What am I looking for? A way to connect with the divine. Truth. Although I have already figured out that no religion has a hold on absolute truth. I think that every faith has bits and pieces of truth.

What don't I like about my original/birth faith? Slowly, issues that have always bothered me have become a roar. Problems that I tried to explain away or lessen with logic have simply added up for me. Although I still have a respect for many aspects of Christianity, I was finding myself disagreeing so much with its basic tenants that I realized that it was impossible to call myself a Christian.

I am of Irish descent and I like much of what I read in Celtic reconstructionism. But that also seems more rigid then I like. So I guess that I am eclectic. I do need rituals. I don't know why, I just do.

My great grandfather was half Cherokee. His mother's name is only listed as Mary. I don't know what her last name is, so it is impossible to verify that she was a full Cherokee but family history says that she was.

I am also an information hog. So, anything that I have to read and read and read, just makes me happy.

Really, when I was younger and was no single religion I felt much closer to something bigger then myself then when I became a Christian. I have always felt closest to God when I was outside.