MultifariousBirdLady Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 Hi everyone! I just joined the site a few days ago, and this is going to be my first post! YAY!! To answer the opening post, I am an Eclectic Witch who converted from Roman Catholicism when I was 17. Blessed be, everyone! Welcome aboard, Nightangel! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shyone Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 Hi everyone! I just joined the site a few days ago, and this is going to be my first post! YAY!! To answer the opening post, I am an Eclectic Witch who converted from Roman Catholicism when I was 17. Blessed be, everyone! Welcome! Could you educate me? I'm not even close to "spiritual" except with respect to awe of the universe, but I'm interested in what an Eclectic Witch is. I would assume that it means you took a little from everything and forged a personal system. No? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightangel1282 Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 Hi everyone! I just joined the site a few days ago, and this is going to be my first post! YAY!! To answer the opening post, I am an Eclectic Witch who converted from Roman Catholicism when I was 17. Blessed be, everyone! Welcome! Could you educate me? I'm not even close to "spiritual" except with respect to awe of the universe, but I'm interested in what an Eclectic Witch is. I would assume that it means you took a little from everything and forged a personal system. No? Yes, that is exactly it I take what works for me, and I leave the rest. Of course, I am always reading, trying new things, and my faith evolves as time passes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurisaz Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Blessed be, everyone! Heya, and hail Thor! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vomit Comet Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 I will not take on any religious belief unless I can be convinced that it corresponds with reality. If Thor came down on a thundercloud and smashed the ground with his hammer, creating a magma-spurting fissure that nearly swallows me whole, I'd drop to my knees right then and there. If somebody could demonstrate that they had actual Jedi powers and could use The Force (as in, picking up my truck and lobbing it across the street using only their mind), I'd drop everything and beg them to take me on as their Padowan, because that would just be bad-ass as fucking hell. Until that or something like it happens to me, Asgard is as real as the House of Elrond. Or, for that matter, as the Star Wars saga. Makes for great reading/viewing/fantasizing, but that's about the extent of it. Unfortunately. Anything beyond that is wishful thinking right up there with the belief that Jebus will take us on up to hebbin when we dies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thechosenone Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 Yeah I just started with the pagan thing. I like it so far. Its a hell of a lot better than christianity.ha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurari Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 I'm not exactly sure what I am. I became a pagan after I deconverted from Christianity. But it didn't quite fit right either. I just don't see any evidence of an actual BEING that has any sort of agenda for the world or anything in it. I haven't the foggiest idea how the universe was made, and furthermore, I don't care. Don't have much opinion on what happens after we die, either. I don't know what happens after death so it's not worth wasting a lot of thought on. I imagine that our energy gets recycled somehow, like our bodies become food for animals and plants. I find peace in that idea. I like thinking that I can go to benefit other living things when I'm not anymore. I'm most at home outside in nature, living life according to the seasons and feeling a deep, divine(?) connection to all things. The Earth, the plants, animals, seasons, weather, stars, and so on, and feel that I belong here and with them. I'm buying a farm this Autumn so I can finally live and work where I feel I should be...caring for the land and animals as I would myself. I love archetypal images of gods and what they stand for. I spend a lot of time meditating on them (any kind of gods, ancient Greco-Roman, to Native American spirits, to Asian deities) as well as nature's natural cycles and having deep spiritual experiences that brings me a lot of peace and contentment and wisdom. It gets me in touch with being human, and not so stuck in my mind all the time. I live a good life. I have no idea what you'd call this sort of spirituality. If there is a word for it, I'd love to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shyone Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 I have no idea what you'd call this sort of spirituality. If there is a word for it, I'd love to know. Why do you need a word for it? You should probably write a diary and publish it, and then you get to name it. Except for the gods part, it sounds a lot like Taoism to me, but I'm an atheist who's read a book. That doesn't make me knowledgeable about Taoism or any other ism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evolution_beyond Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 I have no idea what you'd call this sort of spirituality. If there is a word for it, I'd love to know. Pantheism? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunaticheathen Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 I have no idea what you'd call this sort of spirituality. If there is a word for it, I'd love to know. Pantheism? Pantheism. Animism. Both of which are present in Pagan beliefs. Many Neo-Pagans don't consider deities to be "real", in that they are distinct personal beings. More like Archetypal energies or concepts as such. And really, the classical definition of "Pagan" is non-Abrahamic. But then, atheists and agnostics are Pagans. And Buddhists and Hindus. Really, labels aren't vital. You don't have to call yourself anything to be you. Though labels are sometimes useful when talking to others about this. May I suggest "Jungian Pagan", since you do like meditating on deities as concepts? I just made that up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurari Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 I have no idea what you'd call this sort of spirituality. If there is a word for it, I'd love to know. Pantheism? Pantheism. Animism. Both of which are present in Pagan beliefs. Many Neo-Pagans don't consider deities to be "real", in that they are distinct personal beings. More like Archetypal energies or concepts as such. And really, the classical definition of "Pagan" is non-Abrahamic. But then, atheists and agnostics are Pagans. And Buddhists and Hindus. Really, labels aren't vital. You don't have to call yourself anything to be you. Though labels are sometimes useful when talking to others about this. May I suggest "Jungian Pagan", since you do like meditating on deities as concepts? I just made that up! I always wondered if Pantheism or Animism meant that you had to believe in spirits and gods as if they were real things? Jungian Pagan, I like that! LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunaticheathen Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 I always wondered if Pantheism or Animism meant that you had to believe in spirits and gods as if they were real things? Well, depends on what you mean by "real." You expressed a love for connection with the Universe at large, even the possibility that it could be a "divine(?)" feeling or link. Yes, still doubt, but the will for and love of the communion is there. I believe that's spiritual enough to go with some kind of animistic or pantheistic view. The "Divine" doesn't have to have a singular being or personality, or any anthropomorphic distinction to make it to pantheism. In fact, I think that's what pantheism rejects, "God" as a "he", or distinct being you relate to like a person. It's the Universe. It's the Cosmos. Your relation to all of that is to BE. And glad you liked "Jungian Pagan." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 I will not take on any religious belief unless I can be convinced that it corresponds with reality. If Thor came down on a thundercloud and smashed the ground with his hammer, creating a magma-spurting fissure that nearly swallows me whole, I'd drop to my knees right then and there. If somebody could demonstrate that they had actual Jedi powers and could use The Force (as in, picking up my truck and lobbing it across the street using only their mind), I'd drop everything and beg them to take me on as their Padowan, because that would just be bad-ass as fucking hell. Until that or something like it happens to me, Asgard is as real as the House of Elrond. Or, for that matter, as the Star Wars saga. Makes for great reading/viewing/fantasizing, but that's about the extent of it. Unfortunately. Anything beyond that is wishful thinking right up there with the belief that Jebus will take us on up to hebbin when we dies. Me too. I'm waiting for an actual experience - something tangible. But I'm not holding my breath The gods have disappointed me so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AutumnWytch Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Wilyfem- I just have to ask- are you the same wilyfem that comments at Shakesville? Paganism- I am a pantheistic jungian neopagan with shamanistic tendencies. I don't regard the gods/goddess as necessarily literally existing (agnostic). Their value for me is in the lessons we learn about ourselves and humanity from them and their interactions. I do tend towards the "Gaia" feeling for our earth. If I am to revere anything, it should be the world I live on, and I think she could use a little more respect than she's been getting lately. The Jungian idea of Deep Self/Talking Self/Young Self is partially what I use in my shamanic practices, and my journeys there are likely of no use to anyone but myself and those I know very, very well. I believe it was in Starhawk's writings that I first stumbled onto Jungian psychology. I love pantheism, because it makes sense to me that everything is connected and dependent on each other for survival, humans, plants and animals. Every life has value, and lately I've been working on the concept of Ahimsa as found in Jainism/Buddhism. You don't have to have a god/goddess to be a pagan, and if you do have gods/goddesses, they don't have to literally exist. Sometimes I will focus on an attribute of a "deity" that I want to acquire for myself (like strength or patience or wisdom) and meditate on the god/goddess, but that doesn't mean I think they're real. I really feel connected to the ways of my ancestors when I practice paganism (a vague reconstructionist variety) and it keeps me grounded in the physical world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel790 Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 I have thought about it and looked into it. It does fascinate me and I think I am a very spiritual person even though I have come out of fundamentalism and think that's a load of total crap, but it scares me a bit probably because I've been brought up to think it was evil! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MultifariousBirdLady Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 Paganism- I am a pantheistic jungian neopagan with shamanistic tendencies. I don't regard the gods/goddess as necessarily literally existing (agnostic). Their value for me is in the lessons we learn about ourselves and humanity from them and their interactions. I started out in Wicca this way. I do find a lot of value in Jungian psychology and engage in shamanistic practices, too. However, over the past 20 years of being Pagan I've had a number of experiences with the "Gods" which cannot be explained through Jungian psychology alone since they involve other people, animals, historical records, physical events and so on. I'm not quite comfortable actually saying I definitely believe in the Gods' independent existence, but my experience does suggest to me that something more may be going on. What that something is, I don't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
♦ Fuego ♦ Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 I started out in Wicca this way. I do find a lot of value in Jungian psychology and engage in shamanistic practices, too. However, over the past 20 years of being Pagan I've had a number of experiences with the "Gods" which cannot be explained through Jungian psychology alone since they involve other people, animals, historical records, physical events and so on. I'm not quite comfortable actually saying I definitely believe in the Gods' independent existence, but my experience does suggest to me that something more may be going on. What that something is, I don't know. I echo this. I have encountered things for which I haven't yet found a satisfying explanation. Verbal yet bodiless responses to questions, specific information "spoken" to me which I followed up on and was accurate. But then the same voice doesn't speak 99% of the time when I ask for more, or for identification. So I don't know what to make of that. It could be me on some other level, I suppose. At the time, I was still a believer, so I assumed it was the Holy Spirit. Now I'm left with more questions than answers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MultifariousBirdLady Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 I echo this. I have encountered things for which I haven't yet found a satisfying explanation. Verbal yet bodiless responses to questions, specific information "spoken" to me which I followed up on and was accurate. But then the same voice doesn't speak 99% of the time when I ask for more, or for identification. So I don't know what to make of that. It could be me on some other level, I suppose. At the time, I was still a believer, so I assumed it was the Holy Spirit. Now I'm left with more questions than answers. I have found that some other people have experiences similar to these. It's helpful to know that because otherwise one can end up feeling pretty nuts. I've also had a few dreams about other people which were eerily accurate when I talked to them about it. In my case, the "voice" (heard internally, but not like the "sounds" of thoughts) I experienced which was strongest and most startling did actually identify itself when I asked "Who are you?", both verbally ("Artemis") and with a flash of an image. The image was not typical of her and this is what took a few years to confirm. No other internally-heard "voice" I have ever experienced in ritual space or otherwise has been so clear and startling. All the other internal "voices" have seemed much more similar to the sounds of my own thoughts and have conformed more or less to what I expect might arise out of my subconscious mind. And then there's when other people, animals, and other things in physical reality outside your own body/perceptions get involved... that's where it really gets puzzling. Again, I've had very few experiences along these lines, but they have happened. In my case, mostly in Pagan contexts, though one crossed over into Tibetan Buddhism as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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