Weekly Linkage
First off, Tanisha la Rosa on The Lure of Beauty has a post on ways to keep yourself from falling into despair in tough times.
We are not so very special that we are going to experience something that no one has never felt before.
Silence Maestas, ‘Private sorrows, future perceptions‘
Priestess of Aphrodite wrote on bringing magical practices into your daily life.
I quite enjoyed this post by John Beckett. One thing that stood out to me was the idea of not assuming someone is mentally ill because they are experiencing something you have not or do not believe is possible. Often within our various communities (Pagan and polytheist) I have found a dismissiveness, if not outright hostility, toward those who have ‘odd’ experiences. I believe such a hostile approach does no one any good. I also liked Beckett’s post on removing curses we place on ourselves.
This post on genius loci serves as a great introduction to working with them. I first remember learning about these spirits in a dusty little text on Roman religion back in high school. The concept of the genius loci impacted my growing spiritual practices heavily.
Cyndi Brennan’s post on assumed familiarity reminded me of some reading I’ve done recently regarding cults and cult identity.
Scarlet Magdalene reviewed John Beckett’s latest book, Paganism In Depth.
Finally, I loved this post on house magic by Camelia Elias.
Results from First Canonization Poll
In order to establish a solid canon for the Otherfaith myths, I’ve begun a series of polls to allow the community to decide what will be considered canonical going forth. It’s important to note that the options that do not become enshrined as canon will not be considered ‘bad’, ‘wrong’, or ‘off-limits’. The main goal of establish a clearer canon is so that we can include the stories in printed materials and begin delineating between canon and headcanon.
These are the results from the first poll, focusing on the creation of the Westernlands and beginning of the mythic storyline.
(As a note, I did not vote in this poll. I was able to see the results as they came in and felt it would be unfair to submit my own votes when the purposes was to gauge the community’s perspectives.)
Origins of the Clarene & Ophelia
The Clarene’s fairy mother has not been named previously, so the results of this question were not surprising. Going forward there will not be a canonical name for the Clarene’s fairy mother. This will likely not be an issue, as her mother is not included in any devotional or religious practices in the ‘faith.
I had written in older posts on the Clarene that her mythic origins were in Germany or France. Having now lived in Western Germany that impression has only increased. This question was a bit more split but ended with a preference for the Clarene’s birthplace being on the border of the two countries. What impact this will have upon devotional practice remains to be seen.
Originally the fairy princess in the Clarene’s origin story was not named, but in the community she is commonly called Irene. We will be polling regarding what name to use going forward as well. Having a name allows us to include her more easily in prayers and rituals.
Within official documents and writing for the Otherfaith, the Clarene and Ophelia’s meeting will not be assigned a specific location. Individual worshipers can assign a specific location in their own private practice, however. As an example, I might live near or visit a river that splits two very different environments (maybe one side is more developed by humans and the other more wild); I might perform a prayer or ritual and refer to the meeting of the two first gods as I pray. Keeping it unspecified in canon allows for more variance in our own practices, as we won’t feel the need to refer to a specific place or visit a specific locale.
Similar to the above question, though an official real-world river will not be assigned to the Ophelia, Other People should definitely use their own local landscape to connect with the gods. The Ophelia seems to resonate with the majority of rivers, but most especially those around which major cities have been built.
The Fall of Pallis
The first question were I differed from the majority vote! We will go into Pallis’ story in future polls. I’ll have to adjust some prayers I’ve written, but apart from that I’m not sure what else will change with this canon.
Pallis is trapped by the other stars, eventually breaking out of his prison to fall to the Westernlands. His prison has never been assigned in past stories, and going forward the prison will remain vague.
For these multiple choice questions, answers that got the most votes would become canon. Mortality being gained when stars fall will become canon; the two others are, again, perfectly fine for headcanon but won’t be included in official texts.
This question does impact the myths quite severely; the way the stories play out and the themes change a lot without Mircea involved. We’ve largely treated Mircea as a given in the mythology for years now; I was pleasantly surprised to see a dissenting vote honestly!
The Mortal Falls into the West
Arabella and Asier are essentially the same core personality, just with a different gender, so either one could have worked as the first mortal to fall into the West. With Arabella being the origin mortal, Asier will be the mortal who returns with Pallis to restore the West after its destruction.
Again, the multiple choice questions, answers with the most responses become canon. Changes will occur to mortals that fall into the West, mythically, but it will be dependent on the individual and not a universal/static change.
Finally, we get to the question that resulted in a tie. We will be discussing which option will become canon in our community areas, in order to break the tie. (This will take place on the Discord but discussion is also welcome in our FB group, Reddit, and the forums on this website.)
Songs of the Week
looking nothing like it.”
For the Laetha, and the Verszou Triad.
Weekly Linkage
…I cannot deny that there is a hole in my heart that can’t be ignored.
Treya, ‘The Literary Pagan‘ on Nature Bound Pagan
That hole is for books. Being surrounded by them, being in awe of them, inspired by them – it just isn’t the same when I’m not around them constantly…
Here’s a fun write-up on the Mystic South conference, over at Priestess of Aphrodite.
I recently found out about this CD of songs from the UK Pagan community that aims to fight fascism, thanks to Nimue Brown.
An interesting post on the values of the Rokkatru, from Tahni J. Nikitins on Divine Multiplicity.
Laurie Beth Dawe has a series of Youtube videos on Rekindling Devotion. I haven’t had a chance to sit down and watch them all, but I like her other work.
Pursuing a Goddess is a very experimental process, but one thing that became very clear to me early on was that I had to show devotion and dedication. That manifested in a lot of ways, from small things like saying more frequent prayers to larger things like more rituals and offerings.
Priestess of Aphrodite, ‘Reclaiming Worship as a Modern Pagan‘
[…]I started doing things to honor Her that weren’t in the traditional Pagan offering palette. I devoted myself to learning about love in both the mundane and spiritual realms. I reveled in the tiny beautiful moments in my days, thinking of Her and honoring Her as I did so. I began paying more attention to the way I dress, and I went out of my way to wear beautiful things that made me feel sexy and empowered. I started exploring sensual movement and devotional masturbation. I wrote songs and rituals, choreographed dances, and cooked delicious food. All in honor of Her.
These are a few musings about Pallis-in-exile and how he found his way back to the West. If not viewed as purely a result of determination and/or luck (though in general he certainly does seem to have those things working for him), I imagine that maybe a proto-version of the compass rose of the West […]
Songs of the Week
For the Liathane.
so what you running to me for?‘
Weekly Linkage
…a devotee of any Power that exists in a shared field with any other devotee […] is likely to get fucked up if they can’t cope with the idea of that Power having private time with other people. They share unique and complex expressions of relationship with each of us; They have to, in order to suit our often highly individual needs. Although some of our interactions and experiences will line up in interesting and perhaps even meaningful patterns, many will not and we have to be OK with that, and not worry about that or second-guess ourselves or prod too much at one another.
Silence Maestas, ‘Patience with the Broken Things‘ on Walking the Heartroad
Nicholas Haney, on The Thought Forge, has a variety of posts on spirits: spirits of the forest, of the dead, of the waters. He also wrote a post on the spirits of Michigan State University and the spirits of Michigan.
The point is, if you’re constantly waiting for the perfect moment, the perfect experience, the perfect explanation – you’re literally never going to be satisfied.
Sara, ‘On Satisfaction‘ on Lightning Struck
This post on KALLISTI hits a lot of my own personal interests, namely clothing and textiles. I’m hoping to get back into sewing my own clothes again. Frankly, clothes shopping has always been a frustrating experience for me, sometimes bordering on tears. As much difficult as sewing my own outfits brings I prefer it to struggling to find clothes I like that fit me and fit the styles I like.
We are all human, and the limit of human rationality is the human brain itself.
Kaye, ‘The Machines We Built, The Nightmares They Make of Us‘ on KALLISI
Lastly, here’s a lovely post by Yvonne Aburrow on instinctive witchcraft.
Songs of the Week
For Hawthorne.
Weekly Linkage
I found Nyx in a poster.
Kaye, ‘The Cosmos — Void — Night — Radiance’
Who knows what I thought,
a child, as I saw her floating,
all good things edging
along her body as she drove
her nightfall over the Earth.
I really enjoyed this post on ritual and sacrifice in Hellenismos. One quote I especially like from the article is, “We can base our practices off of the ways of the ancients, but household worship is intimate, personal, and routine. That routine you will find yourself, and it will change through the years. What matters most is that it follows the basic steps of ritual, and that it’s conducted with the beauty and greatness of the Gods in mind.”
Our word is the most palpable thing we have in a devotional practice. Nothing binds us more than it.
Sara, ‘On Oaths and Promises to the Gods‘ on Lightning Struck
Another post from Kaye on Kallisti, this time on terminology and identity. Because I link to Kaye rather frequently on this blog I figured it would be remiss of me to not include ‘A Positional Statement on Some Recent Twitter Things‘.
Are we persecuted? In some form or fashion, isn’t just about everybody? I’m not convinced witches and pagans have a corner on that miserable market. That doesn’t make it right or OK by any means. What persecution can do, however, is spark in us a commitment to have compassion for whatever (whoever) the “other” is for us.
Marthy Kirby Capo, ‘The Persecuted Modern Witch‘ on Agora (Patheos Pagan)
Is that possible? In some cases, no. I could list exceptions but I think most of us can figure out what they are on our own (and some of us don’t need to figure it out; we know from excruciating personal experience). Some persecutions are truly unforgivable. And yet, can compassion be an outlook that informs our actions even as we do not forgive? I actually think that’s doable. Not easy, but doable.
Here’s a short post by Steven Posch, which has a lovely evocative line: “For the witch-hunters were right about this much at least: the Sabbat demands everything. The Sabbat demands your soul.“
We need to return to an ancestral way in which nature is not an Other, but an Us. If we truly love nature, if we consider ourselves friends to the animals, then we need to know nature itself, through books and observations, through science and questioning. We need to know the rest of nature as well as we know ourselves.
Lupa, ‘Our Deadly Lack of Nature Literacy‘ on Humanistic Paganism