paganism without deity

The Great Glyph of the Sidhe

/ Twist the Leaf / 3 Comments

The prompt for this reading came from one of my Discord servers and is as follows:
“What’s a symbol you’ve felt really strongly to when it comes to your craft. Like a rune or tarot card or sigil or so?”

I considered mentioning the Hanged Man and the Ten of Swords here as a response to this question. But I went with something from my early childhood instead.

SidheSpiralThis is the Spiral of the Sidhe (aka the Great Glyph of the Sidhe).

It was introduced into mainstream by an archeological writer named John Matthews in his 2004 book “The Sidhe: Wisdom from the Celtic Otherworld” who has written that it was given to him by the Sidhe as a symbol of welcome and a bridge between humanity and the world of the Sidhe.

Since this publication, it has popped up in a number of places, such as on the back of the cards in the Tarot of the Sidhe deck and being featured prominently in the Moon Oracle of the Sidhe.

Interestingly, I don’t know where I first saw this glyph, but I suspect that it was not through John Matthew.

I have been drawing this symbol all of my life, first as a child in the dirt and then incorporating it into spells and rituals as I got older. As I was born in 1988, I can’t imagine that I saw this symbol through John Matthews influences… and I have absolutely no idea where it came from to take up its place within my life.

I would be remiss not to note that the Great Glyph of the Sidhe looks a lot like what I understand to be one of Reiki’s most powerful symbols, the Cho Ku Rei. And yet, the Cho Ku Rei does not create the tightening tug in my solar plexus that the Sidhe spiral creates each time I see it.

A side note on John Matthews – I can’t say that I’ve ever read any of John Matthew’s books, although from looking through those he’s written, I don’t think I would necessarily consider him an authority on the Sidhe and the Fae. His writing is eclectic at best and seems to wander here and there and everywhere on an array of (seemingly unrelated) topics.

#31DaysofWitchcraft Prompt 28 (non)VR to Heather Carter

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Heather Carter on YouTube put together a series of prompts titled #31DaysofWitchcraft that she’s been working her way through since the beginning of May. I really like this idea, but I can’t handle the responsibility of any more daily posts, so I thought that for the next few weeks, I would do one (or a few at a time) for the end of week “My Pagan Perspective” posts and work through them a bit at a time.

acorn

Today’s prompt is #28, and is about how I was raised and the path that it lead me to be on now.  This is a topic I’ve probably posted on before and definitely one that I’ve discussed with you… but I didn’t want to leave it out.

28. What belief system, if any, were you raised with? How has that impacted your personal practice?

I was raised in a Wiccan/Buddhist household.  My mother is Wiccan and was pretty much almost solely responsible for the spiritual upbringing of my sister and I.  We were raised to follow the wheel of the year and worship the god and goddess and their cycles.  We were taught spellcraft and ritual from a young age, and I do not have a memory of a time when we were not participants in my mother’s sabbat rituals and often participants in her spellcraft as well.

Much of my mother’s path in Wicca resonated… but much of it also did not.   When my sister and I were around nine years old, my mother introduced a pagan parenting mentor to our family unit.  This person helped in mentoring our mother on different ways to include us in her practice and guide us in her beliefs, bur in truth Z (that is the mentor) really ended up taking over a huge majority of our spiritual upbringing herself, as well as teaching us about independence, autonomy, and the development of ethics and a moral compass.

When I moved out on my own at 16, I took those beliefs I had been raised with along with me into my independent life, and Z encouraged me to adjust my practices to fit what felt right for me.   The first thing I dropped was deity, as the god and goddess part of things never really felt right to me.

From there my personal practice was born.  I already had a vast amount of experience and knowledge in spellcraft and rituals, and I took that forward with me into my path and practice, weeding out the things that didn’t work for me, and planting the seeds for those things that did fit.

For this reason, although sixteen years have passed since I’ve been under my parent’s roof, there are still traces of Wicca and Buddhism in my practice.   These lingering bits and pieces are those things that still “fit”.

#31DaysofWitchcraft Prompt 5 & 8 (non)VR to Heather Carter

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Heather Carter on YouTube put together a series of prompts titled #31DaysofWitchcraft that she’s been working her way through since the beginning of May.

I really like this idea, but I can’t handle the responsibility of any more daily posts, so I thought that for the next few weeks, I would do one (or a few at a time) for the end of week “My Pagan Perspective” posts. This is the third installment!

Coffee

5. Have you had a teacher in the craft? Have you ever taken a course or classes to help you learn witchcraft? What were your experiences? If you haven’t, how are your thoughts and feelings on such courses?

I have had a teacher in my craft.  In fact, I’ve had a couple. The first was my mother, who raised my twin sister and I in the Wiccan path, while my father provided influences from his Buddhist beliefs.

When we were around the age of nine, my mother reached out into the pagan community and welcomed a pagan parenting mentor into our lives to help with better teaching us the Wiccan path and incorporating us into the rituals and celebrations of that path.

What really ended up happening is that the mentor (Z) ended up being our main teacher and guide concerning not just our spiritual path, but also our moral compasses, learning self worth and independence, and many other things.  She cared for us a lot, and we spent a great deal of time at her house and attending different rituals and celebrations with her throughout our youth.

When I emancipated from my parents, she was there to help encourage me to find my own path.  A path that would fit me and feel right to me.   Even now, she is a part of my life and I consult with her often.   In fact she’s currently living with my sister and I because she’s stuck abroad while things are closed down and restricted due to the pandemic.

I have never taken a class about witchcraft.  I actually wasn’t even aware that there are classes available for witchcraft.  Apparently there are, but I’ve never seen them or heard of them before.  This is probably because I am primarily solitary, though.

I don’t really have a lot of thoughts and feelings concerning the idea of classes and/or courses on witchcraft.  Primarily, because I haven’t taken one and have no idea what they cover or if they would encourage individualization… or require conformity.  I lean in the direction of individualization… obviously.

8. Do you refer to yourself as a witch? If not, why not? If so, what does the word mean to you?

Okay so, yes.  I refer to myself as a witch.

In my opinion, the term “witch” is just another label for “person that does spellcraft/magic”. So therefore, whether you call yourself a witch or not is pretty irrelevant. A duck is a duck is a duck… call it a mallard (witch)? It’s still a duck.

As I do not live in a place where calling myself by what I am puts me in any real danger, nor am I in the closet or trying to hide myself in some way, I see no reason not to use the term.

I do understand choosing to not adopt a label tho. Labels can be problematic if taken the wrong way by family, society, etc and can even create personal safety issues. I think it’s okay to not use the label… but important to acknowledge that you are a part of the underlying group that includes that label, even if only to oneself.

 

Impact of One’s Path

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So… I think that Pagan Perspective is taking a week off this week, as there’s no new question to work with.   Due to this, I decided to snag a question from one of the pagan/witchy type groups I’m a member of on Discord and use that instead.

sun

Topic for the Week of 12/16: How has your religion impacted your overall well-being? Has it changed how you see the world and other people?

The first part of this question is immeasurable for me. I get a great sense of peace and overall well being from connecting with nature, and the communion of that practice. It is a part of me at my very core, a part of not just who I am but of my internal makeup and my soul.  Because of that, it’s impossible for me to differentiate myself from that enough to really clearly delineate my path from myself and my well-being.  They are simply too integrated to be able to separate them.

I also can’t really say if my path has changed my outlook on the world or other people, as I’ve been (essentially) on the same path my entire life.  Yes, I transitioned from Wicca to a non-theistic Paganism when I left my parent’s home, but not a lot of my inner beliefs really changed in that shift, as I never really connected with deity in the first place.

What I can say is that the deeper I go into my spirituality, the healthier my emotional and mental health become… which in turn improves my outlook on just about everything.

 

The Right Path

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This week’s question from the Pagan Perspective YouTube channel is about finding your path.

Topic for the Week of 11/25: What let’s you know you have chosen the right path?

Is it strange that I’m having trouble formulating a reply to this question when I am so certain of my (somewhat unconventional even in the pagan community) path?

The thing is… it’s my heart and my gut that tell me I’m on the right path. I feel it deep inside where the soul lives.

I think that to get to that point, though, you have to get to a point of acceptance of the knowledge that everyone’s path is going to be different. Spirituality isn’t a “cookie cutter” experience, but rather highly individualistic. There is no right or wrong other than what is right for you (and of course, you know, legalities).

Once you can accept that each and every person is a unique snowflake and their spirituality is going to echo that individuality, then as you start exploring different practices, beliefs, faiths, and dogmas… you will find that some just feel right… and others don’t.

Take what resonates with you instead of trying to fit into a mold someone else had decided should be yours, and you will find it easier and easier to identify those things that work for you.

Deepening Experiences of Deity

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This week’s question from the Pagan Perspective YouTube channel is about connecting with deity.

deity

Topic for the Week of 10/21: “I have recently been getting more focused on spirituality in my practice and have since discovered that I feel greatly called to follow and to learn all I can from the Goddess Hekate. My problem is that I am having trouble finding any source of information on her. Outside of meditation and exploration of what little I can find of her in mythology, I don’t know how to deepen my relationship with her. If you have any recommendations on how I could get closer to the Goddess with the limited resources I have, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.” – from Arlin

Okay, so this is going to probably be a pretty short one. I’ve been kind of sitting on this question all week this week, and because I’m a non-thiest, I’m having a bit of difficulty coming up with a response.

That said, I’m all for seeing things from different perspectives.  And, in this way, I don’t see this much different than my own quest to get closer to nature and the energies I work with and revere.

So my advice on this would be to seek out the activities that better connection to the deity (or entity) in question that you want to work with.   For me, this is deeply incorporated in my life from the gemstones I work with in my jewelry designs to the farm work I do at one of my jobs, the nursery work I do at another of my jobs, the hikes I regularly take out into the rainforest to spend time in nature without distraction, etc.

I would say that most deities have certain things they are known for and enjoy.  If you want to worship Hekate, for example, she is known for her associations with magic, witchcraft, the night, moon, ghosts and necromancy.

So this reasoning mentioned above, therefore, would indicate to become closer with her and connect stronger with her, you would do things such as syncing up your magical workings to the moon’s phases, exploring (or at least educating yourself in) mediumship, practicing your magical workings at night, or focusing on the death aspect of her representations and incorporating things like dead leaves, corn husks, and other representations of death into your worship and workings.  One of the hosts for the Pagan Perspective also suggested composting, which I think is brilliant.

Meditation, as well, is an excellent way to connect to the ethereal.  Using Hekate as your focus in meditation and/or incorporating the things she is associated with into your meditation practice may also assist in a closer connection to your deity of choice (in this case, Hekate).

I think it’s also important to remember that if you are doing these things and working to find that connection, and you feel that perhaps you just are not getting anywhere?  This may not be the deity for you and you may want to look into others that may suit you better and be more interested in working with you.