They may be against plagiarism, but they sure aren’t against censoring! I no longer recommend that people join that group. They’re paranoid and overbearing jerks.
![victoriousvocabulary:
PANDORA
[noun]
Greek mythology: (ancient Greek, Πανδώρα, derived from πᾶς “all” and δῶρον “gift”, thus “all-gifted” or “all-giving”); allegedly the first woman, who was made out of clay. As Hesiod recounted, each god helped create her by giving her unique gifts. Zeus ordered Hephaestus to mould her out of earth as part of the punishment of mankind for Prometheus’ theft of the secret of fire and all the gods joined in offering her “seductive gifts”. Her other name, inscribed against her figure on a white-ground kylix in the British Museum, is Anesidora, “she who sends up gifts,” up implying “from below” within the earth. According to the myth, Pandora opened a jar (pithos), in modern accounts sometimes mistranslated as “Pandora’s box” , releasing all the evils of mankind — although the particular evils, aside from plagues and diseases, are not specified in detail by Hesiod — leaving only Hope inside once she had closed it again. She opened the jar out of simple curiosity and not as a malicious act.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m30wk5mwPK1r47bczo1_500.jpg)
PANDORA
[noun]
Greek mythology: (ancient Greek, Πανδώρα, derived from πᾶς “all” and δῶρον “gift”, thus “all-gifted” or “all-giving”); allegedly the first woman, who was made out of clay. As Hesiod recounted, each god helped create her by giving her unique gifts. Zeus ordered Hephaestus to mould her out of earth as part of the punishment of mankind for Prometheus’ theft of the secret of fire and all the gods joined in offering her “seductive gifts”. Her other name, inscribed against her figure on a white-ground kylix in the British Museum, is Anesidora, “she who sends up gifts,” up implying “from below” within the earth. According to the myth, Pandora opened a jar (pithos), in modern accounts sometimes mistranslated as “Pandora’s box” , releasing all the evils of mankind — although the particular evils, aside from plagues and diseases, are not specified in detail by Hesiod — leaving only Hope inside once she had closed it again. She opened the jar out of simple curiosity and not as a malicious act.
(via skepticalwitch)
Aphrodite, Pan, and Eros made from Parian marble.
National Archeology Museum in Athens, Greece.
(via skepticalwitch)
My grandmother (Mamaw) is surrounded by angels. Well…statues of angels, anyway. Resin angels, porcelain angels, ceramic angels—I think we might’ve even unpacked a crystal angel or two during the move. There are angels inscribed with blessings of home, angels guarding the preparation of food in the kitchen kitchen, an angel bedecked in glimmering seashells perched on the lapping foam of tides rolling in. There’s an angel for every possible occasion.
The angel outside in the site of Mamaw’s future garden once stood next to my grandfather’s (Pop) gravestone. It kept getting knocked over and it’s so brittle we decided to take it back home to keep it from getting ruined.
There’s a small resin statue of a farmer holding rabbits that sits by her new back door. She’s named him Dan the Man and gave him the specific task of watching over that part of the house.
A photo of Pop is hung up in the living room, and underneath it, a certificate from the military that was given to us after his death. The specially folded flag is in a shadow box near by. Mamaw dusts these lovingly each day, and—when she’s feeling emotionally strong enough—talks to Pop as she does it.
Unwittingly, my Christian grandmother—the daughter of a Baptist preacher— has filled her house with things that closely resemble fetishes as well as created a space to interact with and venerate her dead husband.
And that’s the problem.
These things make her no more pagan than my first aid kit makes me a doctor. Just like my work with (some) Saints doesn’t make me a Christian, her unknowing foray into slightly ‘mystical’ shit doesn’t change the fact that Christ is her Savior.
Which is why I get so goddamned irked when I see these lists of shit “Real Paganz” (tm) do/should do. As far as I’m concerned, the only thing that needs to be on that list is “educate yourself”.
So let’s just stop it, aigh’t? Instead of trying to paint a large, diverse group of people with a broad stroke in a color you’re comfortable with, look inwards and figure out what it is that you believe. That will be much more helpful for you to know than it is for me to know that I’m not a Real Paganz (tm) to you because I don’t work with crystals or follow the three fold law or whatever is in vogue right now.
Shove and Blight,
Zee
Bridger presents a very interesting conceptual model of deism within Contemporary Paganism. In its simplest design, Bridger presents the model of a triangle with a red, blue, and yellow side. The triangle is situated with the red side on top and the blue and yellow sides at the left and right of the base. Each of these sides represents a unique view of deism.
Red: This is the “orthodox deist position” in which the gods are personal, individual, and objectively verifiable. They exist beyond human comprehension, but communicate with us. In keeping with the orthodox position, these are people of faith who do not queston the existence of deity. “They believe the many gods are facts of the universe, impossible to question or doubt without doubting one’s own version of reality. Belief is not a question, it is a cornerstone from which all else of religion springs.”
Blue: These people posit that deity exists, but as an ineffable mystery, which we cannot comprehend. As a result, they anthropomorphize deity into “human-like metaphors and masks upon the faceless Face of the Ultimate.” This is the mystic of the group who views the universe in a holistic manner “where all things are part of one great pattern.” Life, and the individual by extension, has meaning and purpose and ritual is deigned to allow one to more consciously participate in the rhythms of the universe. “The purpose of a religion is to explore, and more actively participate in, the pattern which is the sum of these many parts.”
Yellow: These people view deity as abstractions of truth with no verifiable objective existence. The utility of the deities lies in “the valid ways of making sense of human thought and experience, personifications of abstracts that might be too slippery for the human mind to grasp. They enrich our lives and are worth believing in.” This individual is naturelyskeptical and has an innate need to know the truth. “This person cannot believe without doubting and cannot reconcile belief without doubt. They usually view deity as symbolic and as a chief metaphor in the quest for self-knowledge.
Read more at The Pagan Perspective
There’s a nice little feel-good piece from the Shreveport Times, taking a look at how a Christian and a Wiccan can still manage to find the balance required for a happy marriage. The article profiles Michael and Cindy Diaczynsky. She’s a Christian, and when they married, he was too - but eventually he began studying Wicca, and realized that his spiritual journey was leading him away from his Christian roots.
Cindy says her friends and family have come to accept that she’s married to a practicing witch - Michael is an ordained high priest in his local coven - but what I find really telling are the comments made by the couple themselves. Michael says, “I always tell people, I’ve never met a better Christian than my wife… She is what true Christianity was meant to be.”
Read more at About.com
I accept requests and please don’t remove the credits. Every new post I’ll update this list.
~
Amphitrite: 1
Ares: 1
Asclepius: 1
Asteria: 1
Atlas: 1
Cyclopes: 1
Demeter: 1
Dionysus: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Erinyes: 1
Eros (protogenos): 1
Gaia: 1
Ganymede: 1
Hades: 1
Hebe: 1
Helios: 1
Hemera: 1
Hephaestus: 1
Hera: 1
Hygeia: 1
Hypnos: 1
Iris: 1
Kharon: 1
Mnemosyne: 1
Nemesis: 1
Nyx: 1
Pandora: 1
Persephone: 1
Poseidon: 1
Priapos: 1
Prometheus: 1
Rhea: 1
Selene: 1
Semele: 1
Silenus: 1
Thanatos: 1
The Moirai: 1
The Three Graces: 1
Typhon: 1
___
Some hymns (credits to madgastronomer): 1 2
___
⁵ ⁶ ⁷ ⁸ ⁹ ⁰¹Gaia and Ouranos.
²Apollonides
³ Titanides
⁴ Nereids
I want to talk about something that’s been bothering me.
When we talk about neopaganism, the giant in the room is generally Wicca - it’s the most well known religion under the neopagan umbrella, the one that gets the most positive press, and it dominates the bookshelves in the ‘alternative religions’ section. Thankfully, Wicca and Wiccans tend to be inclusive and welcoming toward other religious traditions such as Asatru, Druidism, Hellenic Polytheism, and so on, so I (loosely a Hellenic Polytheist) have never had a reason to feel marginalized within my own religious community. That’s one of the things I love about being pagan, that I am included even if my beliefs don’t mesh with others’ in the community, that we can meet and agree that the important things - love for deity, love for each other, love for the earth, love for ourselves - are the same between us.
I do tend to sway heavily toward the Goddess side of the equation as many do, but like most Wiccans, I believe that the balance of God and Goddess is important, and that it does not do to overlook the other half of my personal coin. Thus, I worship Hecate and Hermes. Thus, I pray to Dionysus and Ariadne. Thus I revere Persephone and Hades. And if I skew toward the goddesses in my personal invocations, I trust that the gods understand my reasons.
But when we speak of duality in paganism, when we speak of The God and The Goddess as two sides of the same coin (as I just did), we may be unconsciously participating in a social construction that actually does not suit us.
Read more at Witchvox
This is the Wiccan Rede.
“An it harm none, do what ye will.”
A simple, but deceptive, statement that doesn’t quite mean what you probably think it means.
This is the long form poem The Rede of the Wiccae that was penned by Gwen Thompson.
Read more at Adventures in Witchery
I’ve been feeling a bit “out of sorts” lately. Some of it could be attributed to the seasonal cabin fever that we all tend to get around this time of the year, although in reality this has been a rather mild winter here in the Midwest. I think it’s just that I’ve been a little bored and a lot lazy of late, with the result that I’ve been dawdling around the house, wasting my time on Facebook and snacking on unhealthy food – which of course doesn’t do anything for my health or my waistline.
But yesterday was a beautiful day – the sun was shining, the sky was a bright blue, and the temperature climbed into the 50’s…still on the cool side, but warmer than average. I was determined to get out and get some exercise…and with a large park near my house, I had no excuse. So I donned my exercise clothes, laced up my New Balance sneakers and drove over for a hike.
This particular park is over 700 acres, and is built on a large knob covered with old growth forest. After parking my vehicle, I headed off into the woods.
It turned into one of the best decisions I’ve made recently.
It gave me the chance to do a bunch of RE-ing: rejuvenating, renewing, reconnecting and reaffirming. I was able to rejuvenate my body with some needed exercise; renew my relationship with nature; reconnect with the Goddess in her role as the Earth Mother, and reaffirm my spiritual beliefs.
Sometimes all it takes is a walk in the woods to remind oneself why you are a Pagan.
As I strolled along the trail, my senses took in all that was happening around me. I couldn’t hear the birds, of course…but I could see them fluttering around the branches. I could feel the sun’s rays upon my shoulders, smell the rich fertile earth beneath my feet, see the small green shoots of plants poking up through the soil. Mother Earth is indeed awakening, and we are now witnessing the promise of rebirth, the continuation of the cycle of life that is celebrated in the Wheel of the Year.
Read more at Deaf Pagan Crossroads
9. Loki kvað:
“Mantu þat, Óðinn,
er vit í árdaga
blendum blóði saman?
Ölvi bergja
lézktu eigi mundu,
nema okkr væri báðum borit.”
Auden and Taylor translate L9 thus:
“Remember, Odin, in the olden days
What blood-brothers we were:
You would never have dreamed of drinking ale
Unless it was brought for us both.”
Thorpe offers this interpretation:
“Odin! dost thou remember
when we in early days
blended our blood together?
When to taste beer
thou didst constantly refuse,
unless to both ´twas offered?”
This is Bellows’ take:
“Remember, Othin, | in olden days
That we both our blood have mixed;
Then didst thou promise | no ale to pour,
Unless it were brought for us both.”
I liked this video, it is about her point of view about being openly pagan with people and the way to deal with it.
The 16-year-old, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, consistently provoked the female member of staff over her beliefs in what is understood to be the first case of its kind.
A court heard how the defendant discovered through friends that his victim was a Pagan - a legally recognised religion - and then “jumped on the bandwagon”.
He pleaded guilty to religiously aggravated harassment over a period of more than six weeks while she was at work at the restaurant.
Simon Newell, prosecuting, said: “The defendant has found out others have called her (the victim) a Pagan and he has jumped on the bandwagon.
“He was soon made aware of the effect it was having by the victim and senior staff. He knew this was unacceptable and then continued. He accepted in interview he did it to annoy her.
“Religiously aggravated harassment is an unusual offence, the first I have dealt with, especially one where perhaps not everyone would consider it a religion, but it is deemed to be so.
“He did not know it constituted religious aggravation and pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.”
Read more at The Telegraph
So you want to start a pagan organization on your campus, but you are not sure what steps to take. Well, you’ve come to the right place. This post will hopefully guide you on all the basics.
Credentials (in case you don’t trust me to guide you on this journey): I’ve been part of one of the older college pagan group’s for 3 years, vice president of that organization for 1 year, set up and ran my own student organization, did a recent grant/research project on leadership within pagan organizations with a focus on campus organizations, and am one of the first members in a national student pagan organization.
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Pagan articles and views from around the internet, focusing on helping the Pagan community move forward instead of hang behind in ideals, morals and practices. The articles posted here do not reflect the viewpoints of those who run this Tumblr, as we try to post a wide selection of opinions, thoughts, and traditions.
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I need someone to write a story based on black mermaids...
Metallicar?
That’s badass!
