Passages, ordinations, and initiations.  Similar, yet different.

Is it something that happens anyway, which people have chosen to mark as a milepost?  Is it the result of a quest and a process of learning?  Or, it is something that happens - perhaps even when you are unwilling - that causes a change?

Are we acknowledging a change which has already come to pass, conferring something on someone who has achieved something, or is it something that actually causes a change in the person?  Is it an acknowledgement by society or a group of people, or might it be something that is at least partially secret? 

Those are some of the distinctions.  And therein lie the differences.  But therein are also some of the similarities.

But they have one thing in common: they are signposts on your spiritual journey.  Some might also mark your mundane journey.  Some of them, you can see ahead of you, or at least anticipate them.  Some of them, you can see behind you.  In some cases, you might only recognize them when you look back at them.  Some initiations are especially like that. 

To recognize where you've been is one of the secrets to knowing where your spiritual journey will lead you.

On your spiritual journey, you will find boundaries.  Or at least, you will find them if your journey is to take you where you need to be.

Some boundaries are there to be crossed.  And, in fact, some boundaries must be crossed if you are going to get anywhere that is worth going to.  They are the same boundaries which hold so many others back from having a real spiritual journey.

There are other boundaries which must not be crossed.  Why?  Because if you cross them, you might find yourself distracted or on a "side-trip" which will prove either non-productive or even counter-productive.  But, these boundaries can move over time.  In the same way that you don't go to the high-dive on your very first swimming lesson, but you might well do so when you've become a more accomplished swimmer, some boundaries do move.  But, you need to know how to define those boundaries.

Once you know the boundaries, you can chart the course of your spiritual journey so that you can seek what you need and want, and get there!  And that path is moving forward, but on the path that is right for you.

Much of what so many of us did at Samhain was to honor and reach out to those who have crossed over to the other side of the veil.  But what about the rest of the year?  Surely we don't only miss them and honor them one day a year!

There is an old saying: "There is nothing new under the sun."  That seems to be especially true where spirituality is concerned.  Find any spiritual or religious practice, and you will find that its current practitioners "borrowed" it from someone else's tradition.  Follow the history of that tradition, and you'll see that they learned it from yet someone else's tradition - and so on through history until you finally reach a point where you run out of records and even folklore.

And this gives us something that we can do to reach across the veil the rest of the year if there is reason to and it is appropriate - and to help the people on the other side reach out to us.  The veil may thicken, but it does not become a brick wall!

Of course, the common rules of common sense, reasonableness, and the like do apply. 

And with this, we can begin to look at some of the secrets which have been waiting for us.

Samhain has come and gone.  And what of it?  Does having celebrated Samhain make any difference now?

What do I mean?  Look at how the Christians and others deal with Christmas.  From approximately the time of the US Thanksgiving holiday until the time when it's OK to open presents under the tree, those people are so nice, aren't they?  And then, suddenly and for the next three months or so, watch your back!

Is there something we can take from Samhain and use throughout the year?  What might it be?  How would someone go about doing it?

For Wiccans and most Pagans, Samhain is a major holiday as well as a Sabbat.  It is one of eight sabbats in the cycle of the year.  If we take something from each sabbat to use during the course of the year, we'll have gained something.

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***Special Announcement ***

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At the end of the podcast, there is an announcement and invitation concerning November 11, 2006 (Veterans' Day).  Expect some other announcements to be coming from Circle Sanctuary and others.

Samhain is a most special sabbat, but it's possible to make it even more special.  How?  By using some basic principles that can apply to any sabbat or, for that matter, any day of special observance.

That's a point that a lot of folks miss, especially those who follow the so-called "mainstream religions" .  They have their cycle of the year too, and they follow it.  But if they "punch the divine time clock" every Sunday morning, give up something they enjoy for Lent, fast when they are supposed to fast and don't do all of the things they're not supposed to do, can they tell you why?  Or is their answer something to the effect of "we're supposed to."

And so, what does that mean to us?  By making a Sabbat more personal, we make it more meaningful and a genuine part of our lives!  What is more, you give yourself a personal, and affirmative, reason for doing it!

And so, some thoughts on making Samhain more personal.  Samhain is an end and a beginning.  That's a good place to start.

As of today, Samhain is only ten days away.  It is known by several names, and in some cultures the date maight differ, but the root is the same, and the roots are as old as humanity's realization of the spiritual.

We can speak of various rites, customs, and celebrations, but so many have done that.  Instead, let's take a look at what's at the root of Samhain.

According to the ancient Celts and many others, Samhain is the time when the veil between the worlds is at its thinnest.  This is the opportune time to reach across to those who have crossed over, and for them to reach out to us.  It is also a good time to consider what crossing over is all about. 

We will all die.  If you have lived any life at all, there are those who are dear to you, those whom you love, who have crossed over.  Samhain is a good time to think about how each of us deals with that.  Some are able to deal with it readily.  Others, especially cowans and those whose spiritual learning is limited, will suddenly plunge into the spiritual when someone crosses over and they can't handle the separation.  If you've been called upon to give spiritual help, you may have encountered such a situation.

Samhain is a time to celebrate those who have crossed over, and to reach out to them to let them know that they are honored, remembered, and loved.  For me, this is a good time to look at the roots of Samhain so that my celebration will have even more depth and meaning. 

Here's some ammunition, but not in the mundane sense.  Rather, the kind of factual ammunition that you might find handy when faced with the inevitable debate with someone who wants to "save" you, and bring you to a "right" path.

There's no legitimate "winning" or "losing" in such a debate.  The only outcome worth having is that both sides respect each other and honor their differences.  But that can be an elusive goal in dealing with those who think that they represent the so-called "only way".

This "ammunition" can help in other ways.  By seeing how many important threads can be found in paths which are different from my own, it strengthens my own path and helps me to respect other paths. 

I won't give you all of the answers, but I'll show where some of them are.  And we can begin with two of the questions which some faiths seem so smug about: reincarnation and whether there might be more than one god.

You've heard their arguments, I'm sure.  One is the claim that one chance at life is all you get, so you'd better get it right - and right now.  The other is that the god which they worship is the one and only god.

What would you say if I told you that their own Bible speaks of reincarnation as a fact?  I'm not talking about someone returning in the form in which they left, as some expect (a proper Passover Seder always includes a place for Elijah), but someone coming back the way Wiccans and Pagans expect: coming back by being born.

Is there really only one god, or does their own Bible show that there are others?  Did their god demand to be their only god, or did he only demand "top billing" from the people Moses led?  And what else can we find that speaks of other gods, and might even imply some respect toward them?

This is but one tase of an entire banquet. 

When I speak of "Secrets In Plain Sight," I mean it. 

Some people get really upset about books, and this one has been a bother to the so-called mainstream Christians for centuries!  In fact, it might even be said that one of the more accepted gospels, the Gospel of John, has much of its content dedicated to countering this book.

This controversial book is short and to the point, devoid of stories and other "fluff", since the author appears to have intended to have it contain only teachings.  It's a quick read, and fairly easy to grasp.  What is more, when the learning in there is taken with the context of the time and mixed with some common sense, the lessons are revolutionary.

For those who had to leave Christianity because of various issues and for those who had too many questions that the preachers and teachers did not want to answer, many of those answers are in this book.

For those who are on other paths (Pagan, Wiccan, or any other), what is taught here can be applied to any spiritual path - any spiritual path.

The book is the Gospel of Thomas.  The Gospel of Thomas is one of the books you never found in the Bible they read from in church.  Why was it excluded?  Does it contain something that someone didn't want known?  Is there something you can do for yourself in spite of others claim that you have to go through another mortal "more chosen"?  Is there an issue that people today are raising a stink about that really is a non-issue?  Are people being intimidated while being told to wait for something coming "soon" when it is already here for them to claim and enjoy?  Is there a group of people keeping others from drinking at the best well - and they refuse to drink from it themselves? 

If it weren't for the name of the person quoted in this book, it could pass for learning in any of many other spiritual paths. 

It's not what you might think.  And it is one of the secrets hiding in plain sight.

How many gods are there?  That's a tricky question, almost as bad as that old one of "How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?".  And the answer can seem elusive. 

So how many gods are there?  Some will say many goddesses and gods.  Some will say many, but leading back to one.  And, of course, there are others who will claim that there is only one, and has never been more or less than one.

But if we look at what the monotheists are teaching, why is it that different groups seem to have the same "one god", but with a completely different personality.  While one has a god whose current activity seems to be little more than watching and keeping score, another one's god is actually able to do things and open doors.  And yet another has a god whose "will" can seem downright arbitrary and capricious, if not outright erratic.

Add to that, some of the so-called monotheists appear to have a second god.  At any rate, some of them give so much power and attention to their "devil" that an outsider might wonder whom they actually worship.

Assuming that the monotheists' god is not schizophrenic or suffering from Multiple Personality Disorder, is there an explanation which would make all of these viewpoints more rational?

Let's take it one step further.  If we look to the other spiritual paths, the ones which might have more than one god or goddess, and perhaps those which don't even address the issue of gods per se, will there be something which they offer which might reconcile them, and also reconcile them to the monotheists?

And if there is an answer there, what can we do with it?

There is an answer.  The application of that answer takes this topic from being something that might be explored in a late-night debate in a seminary basement to something that can be downright exciting!  Not only that, but it puts much of past history and current events into a perspective worth examining!

This is just possible one of the more powerful secrets that have been hiding in plain sight, waiting for us to discover.

The One True Enemy!

There are some armchair philosophers who will claim that there is no such thing as a "one true" of anything.  But there is one "one true".  It's the enemy. 

Look beneath the surface of any of history's long list of humankind's inhumanity to their fellow humans, you will find supposed root causes too numerous to list.  Yet at the root of the roots, you will find one common thread connecting them all, and that is the One True Enemy.

As often as not, it is the first thing that starts problems between people, and it continues to encourage the festering until there's some sort of an eruption.  And that is what makes it The One True Enemy.  It's something that you and I face every day of our lives.

It might even be said that if The One True Enemy can be finally defeated, most of our other problems would probably go away by themselves.

And what is the One True Enemy?  That is one of the Secrets In Plain Sight, waiting to be seen for what it is!

Of all of the rites one might conduct in the public eye, there is one which is the real test of priesthood.  Other than pre-printed rites that someone might recite, there is little written about how to deal with the rite and the situations which make it needed.  And yet, it is the one rite which every human being will be in the market for sometime.  That one rite is the funeral.

If you stumble while officiating at a wedding, they might laugh when they see the video and perhaps even invite you to the 20th anniversary party to be the butt of some jokes.  But if you do a questionable job officiating at a funeral - about all anyone can say is that you did have your chance to do it well.

There's a saying that "funerals are for the living," but that's not entirely accurate.  If you believe that death is not the absolute end, a well-done funeral in which some good farewells are said, at the very least you give the deceased a better chance to rest and move on.

Weddings are important too, and most states have qualifications which you must meet if you are going to officiate at a legally binding wedding.  But almost anyone can officiate at a funeral.  Yet a funeral is the last chance people routinely have in this lifetime to deal with someone they've known.  It needs to be done right.

Marketing, you ask?  We're talking religion and spirituality, aren't we?  Yes!  And we're talking about making all of our ministries as effective as possible!

Priesthood is something that you have.  Such things as ordination and lineage mean that someone has agreed with that to the point that they are willing to put their "seal" on it, but the fact remains that priesthood is something that you have.  If you didn't have it, you wouldn't be reading this.  Ministry is what you do with your priesthood.  And if your ministry extends anywhere beyond the door of the room where you keep your altar, this subject is important to you.  Of course you might have put a different label on it, but it's marketing your ministry.

Nothing irritates me quite as much as a news report in which one of our priests or priestesses is referred to as "self-styled".  And that's quite a statement to be made by a self-styled journalist whose qualifications might include literacy and a glib enough tongue to get hired.  And if you catch my drift in the latter, you've got my point about the former.  And the "self-styled" description is but one issue.  But I do love to point out that there's more reason that I am a priest than my claims.

And this is one of the ways to prepare for that and other challenges which I promise that you will face.

For all this time, we've talked about principles, practices, and the general field of applied theology and practical spirituality in today's world.  Due to circumstances which should never have been allowed to be, there is a situation which is begging for these principles to be applied.

When a member of the US armed forces dies on active duty, or when a veteran comes home honorably and lives out the course of his or her life, one of the basic entitlements is a memorial marker provided by the US Department of Veterans Affairs.  Religious faith is important to men and women who go into harm's way on behalf of their country, and the memorial marker can include an appropriate symbol representing the individual's religious faith - unless the person happens to be Wiccan or Pagan.  Why?

Applications have been "pending" at the Department of Veterans Affairs for nine years.  In that time, several other faiths have had theirs symbols approved.  In one case, approval came withing a matter of a few weeks!  Meanwhile, the Pentacle remains "pending".  Of course they can't disapprove of it!  To disapprove of it would be as wrong as racially segregating the cemeteries!  So, it remains "pending."  For all of the officials who claim to be "invesitgating" and others who claim "their hands are tied", two political appointees are in a position to take immediate action to correct the situation. 

It's time to take spiritual action, to call upon the Divine - in whichever names or forms each of us addresses our deities, and call for those two individuals to have the wisdom and courage to do what is right - and stop this daily insult to those of our spiritual paths who have served their country. 

A basic application of all the stuff we've been talking about.  And a time to apply it.

Blessed Be!

We've all heard of miracles, especially religious miracles. 

Some of us have experienced them, others of us want to experience some, and still others wish that they could. 

We've heard of those who have visions, those who are told things, and those who are healed when even the most expensive doctors have given up.  How does this happen?  More importantly, what can someone do to see one, and benefit from it?

There are some who claim to offer formulas that usually consist of prescribed prayers and other things to do, almost as if it were a recipe on the box of some sort of spiritual bisquit flour.  Then again, some of those folks are the same ones who speak of "faith" almost as if it were a measurable commodity that might be obtained at some sort of spiritual supermarket. 

But how does it really happen?  Is it like some of the movies and the Sunday school filmstrips?  Or something else?

And, theres an even more important question.  When it does happen, how do we recognize it and make use of it?

That's a secret that is waiting for all of us to find!

I've made much emphasis on the Priesthood of the individual, and how much can be done by one Priestess or Priest in the privacy of their own altar.  But that is not to degrade or belittle what can be accomplished in the rituals a Priest or Priestess might be called upon to do in a public or semi-public setting.

In that sort of situation, the "rules" (for lack of a better term) are a bit different, and there are some "do's and don'ts" that can make a major difference.  And with each type of public/semi-public ritual there are some specific points to be aware of.  But they also generate a special kind of magick that can't happen in private.  You just have to know how to bring it about.

What do I mean?  People come together for a reason, and you're there to help them with their focus and to help them meet the need that caused them to ask you to come.  And there's more.

It's also one of my favorite things to do.  I, Aidan, am a priest.  And what I find here are some of the reasons I love being a priest. 

What do I mean?  I think you'll see!

Every faith teaches something about forgivness.  The problem is, it can be hard to do.  Face it, some people and groups of people make anyone feel like there's an absolute right to get mad.

There is a lot written on forgivness that sounds like it must have been written by someone who hasn't had to forgive very much.  Either that or the person is being used for a doormat.  How many times do you "turn the other cheek" until you've run out of cheeks?

Of all of the obstructors that can get in the way of spirituality, there is none harder to deal with than "anger-based baggage."  This is especially true since you might be carrying this "baggage" around long after the people who caused it have become irrelevant to your current life.  Some of those people might not even still be alive!

And how can you forgive if the hurt won't go away?

 So often, some of the standard advice you get sounds ridiculous.  It's easy to tell someone to ignore the hurt if the person giving the advice isn't hurting, right?

So, here's another way that works for some, when nothing else would work.  But it must be done carefully, and with wisdom.  Anger, hurt, and their remedies have one thing in common:  they should be taken seriously.

And we are talking about the kind of "baggage" which does need to be put behind you so that you can move forward to where you need to go.

Stepping forward from the previous episode, let's see where we can go once we get past the obstructors.

I added "101" to the title because in a college catalogue, the 101 courses are the ones that are for beginners with no prerequisites or presumed knowledge of the subject.  Not that you haven't heard the terms before, but because we need to understand some more proper definitions.

"Sin" comes from an ancient archery term meaning "to miss the mark".  That's different from some definitions which connote breaking a rule.  And if sin is missing the mark, we could call sainthood the state of completing our lives on this plane on-target.

And by that definition, sainthood is not the exclusive domain of Christians.  What of Stewart Farrar, Doreen Valiente, Scott Cunningham or Lord Serphant?  Why not!

Let's look at it from that perspective and see if we discover something hiding in plain sight, waiting for us to discover.

If you have any kind of a spiritual life, you will encounter obstructors.  Beginning with the obstructors which attack from within and going to those who obstruct from without, there are plenty of obstructors to go around.  To make matters worse, the more spiritual you are, the more obstinate some of those obstructors might become.

Obstructors have been mentioned before, but this time we deal with them head-on, so that you might have a chance to recognize them when you see them.  If you haven't met some of those mentioned in this episode, then you must have led an extremely sheltered life to this point.

And yes, you have to recognize them to deal with them.  And you have to deal with them to put them in their proper place, which is behind you and out of your way.

And how do you put them in their proper place, behind you and out of your way?  The answer is something that we've discussed before, but this time we'll see it in this specific context.  Yet another secret that is hiding in plain sight.

If I were to claim this episode was about ethics and morals, you'd have a pre-conceived idea.  To some, "ethics and morals" brings to mind the image of a schoolmarm or Sunday school teacher wagging a finger, or perhaps a nun with a brass ruler aiming for your knuckles.  For others, it sounds like an opportunity to have a juicy debate over some point that is probably either obscure or far-fetched. 

To me, this concerns how to get what you want or need with a clear conscience and no bad karma.

Let's take a real-life situation and see how it applies. 

The US Department Of Veterans Affairs has been "in the process" of approving the Pentacle as a religious symbol for grave markers for nine years.  During the same time period, several other faiths had their symbols approved.  Of course they know better than to deny the applications, because that would be a religious version of "Jim Crow."  So, they simply keep it "in the works".  In the meantime, Sgt Patrick Stewart, a hero who fell in Afghanistan, is one of many who are waiting for the recognition which would have been theirs as a matter of course if they had not been Wiccan.

There are doubtlessly Wiccans on the VA payroll who are unfortunately not in a position to act on this.  And would we want to phrase our prayers in such a way as to affect a Wiccan nurse in a VA hospital?  But it would be nice to have our power felt by those who can and should act. 

I cannot presribe answers for you, but I can show how I arrive at answers which meet my needs.  That process is one of the secrets which are hidden in plain sight.

Now and then, even the most advanced find it good to review the basics.

Rituals are a part of our lives, even the mundane lives.  From office staff meetings to children going to bed in the evening to family holiday dinners such as Thanksgiving in the US, there are mundane rituals.  And where our spiritual paths are concerned, even more so.

Each ritual can be seen as consisting of a certain set of parts, each of which has its importance in the effectiveness of the ritual.  Certain specified components might be in one part of one kind of ritual and in a different part in another type of ritual, but the parts are there, and each component will fit well into one of them.

The six parts of a ritual are there for a reason, and they're pretty much unavoidable.

Let's look at them, and see how they fit together.  And from there, we can move on to making stuff happen.

You have one magickal tool that is more powerful than all of the rest combined!  I can say that without even knowing who you are.

Everyone on any kind of spiritual path has magical tools, whether or not they want to admit it.  And those who admit it usually have a few - or quite a few. 

But there is one tool which you have which is more powerful than all of the other tools combined, to the point that if you had no other tools, it would not really matter.  But without it, none of your other tools matter.  And that's why some people try to mess with it, to keep you from using it to its full potential.

But some people let their most powerful tool get messed with by not focusing it, by aiming it at targets that are unimportant - or might not even actually be there anymore!  And then there are those who shoot it off in most any direction, like a cowboy in an old low-budget Western movie shooting his six-shooters into the air.

Regardless of the spiritual path you are on, regardless of the names you use in addressing deity, This one magical tool makes all the difference.

And here are some observations on insuring that it is able to be its most effective.

Once upon a time, when Aidan was a Christian, a college sophomore and wanna-be philosopher referred to him as a "zombie-worshipper" because his pantheon included someone who was dead for a period of time and returned to life.

Then, there is the story in which Jesus ascended into a cloud in a scene which, in modern terms, would be reminiscent of "Beam me up, Scotty!"

Christians are not alone in this.  Look at the number of doors in Valhalla and the number of warriors who will go out of each door when the call comes to fight the battle known as Ragnarok!  Interesting how that number relates to Armageddon.

If we stay at the level of the literal words in the stories, we will be left to wonder at the fantasy.  Baldur was killed, and he was cremated, so how will he return after Ragnarok if his body was turned to ashes?

Or is there something more?  And if there is something more, can we see what we're being told at a much higher level, and perhaps unlock the secrets hiding within those words we've seen so often?

Is this a way to unlock some secrets which have been hidden in plain sight?

Let me show you what I've built!  Take a good look, and see why I built it and why it was built that way.  And you might be able to see what it really does.

What do you want to build?  The same tools are available to you, and you can build something at least as good as what I've built.  In fact, from your point of view it will be even better because it will be your design to meet your needs.

And on the way, you'll learn one of the greatest tools to bring major power to your spiritual life, especially your prayer life!

Come and look!  Then start sketching what you want to build!  It's been waiting for you all this time!

This is where it can start getting exciting!

Much is said about cults.  But what is a cult?  What makes a cult different from any other group of people who come together for a reason, especially a religious reason?

There are many definitions of cults.  According to some, a cult is any religious group that does not agree with the person speaking.  And, there might even be some who will want to claim that you are enmeshed in a cult.  After all, you're listening to this podcast, right?  A cult does not have to be a group of robed fanatics chanting at an airport or shopping mall.  It might appear on the surface to be very mainstream. 

But what is a real definition of a cult?  We'll take an evaluation frame authored by someone whose name might be familiar to most, and we'll see. 

More than that, let's take a look at a more important question: how to tell if a particular group might fit the definition of the word "cult", especially one that is actually dangerous.

Dangers of divine inspiration?  Yes, no kidding.

Remember that commercial for a brand of audio tape? "Is it real, or is it Memorex?" as the glass broke. 

We listen for inspiration and guidance from the spark of the Divine within each of us. 

But what of the TV evangelist who claims that his god tells him that in retribution of our "errant ways", there will be hurricanes this year - in hurricane season, of course.  Or the leader of an isolated church who is becoming nationally infamous for the way he and his followers are preaching what their god hates?  Or the one who tells someone that a tragedy is their god's (or godess') will?  Are such people listening to the Divine, or are they listening to their own ego?  Or are we speaking of a situation in which perhaps a doctor might help?

But there are times when the Divine has spoken and things have happened.  People have indeed been healed of cancer and other diseases that doctors had pronounced untreatable.  There have been those who found their special niche in life because they listened.  What's the difference?

Knowing the difference, and knowing how to escape the pitfalls, will make a difference. 

"The DaVinci Code" has caused a ruckus.  Even more so than Mel Gibson's "The Passion Of Christ", or even "The Last Temptation Of Christ".  Why?

Might it be, as Shakespeare might have said, "someone doth protest too much"?  And if so, why?  What's in "The DaVinci Code" that would cause such controversy?  And there are other writings.

The Gospel Of Judas caused controversy since its existence became known, and the Dead Sea Scrolls have been available to ordinary folks for only a relatively short time, in spite of their having been "studied" since their discovery in 1948!

And this has led some mainstream Christians to suddenly be up-in-arms about the whole of Gnostic scripture.  Once upon a time, Gnosticism seemed only to be a long-forgotten sect that would be briefly mentioned in college and seminary classes about early Christianity, and now it seems much more than that.  And suddenly, it is possible to buy quite a lot of very good Gnostic writing at almost any decent bookstore.  Why?

What are the differences between the more orthodox Christianity and that of the Gnostics.  Did Yeshua Bar-Joseph have something else in mind instead of what came down to us as Christianity?  There's an excellent book available which provides some powerful insight into this.

And why would such objections be raised?  No answers, but some places where those with questions can ask.  And the principles used here can be used on any spiritual path to find the answers you seek.

Spells and magic or magick, as the Crowleyans and some others prefer. 

 Every spiritual path that's spiritual has them.  A priest transforms bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, that's magick.  And for those who say that they don't do magick - then does a Baptist get nothing from being baptized except wet?

And so, what do you need to know to make your own magick effective?  What are some of the basic rules?  Are there lines not to cross?  Are there some basic points that will work for just about anyone working magick, whether they call it that, or if they insist that they are simply praying? 

In a Buddhist temple, a Synagogue, a church, a monastery or a covenstead, what might the common points be?

Before we get into the heavier stuff, let's look at this.

Scripture.  One of the words that can either raise smiles or hackles, depending on who is talking and who is listening.

What is scripture?  It depends on whom you ask.  But, in essence, scripture can be defined as written-down words which contain some of the basic precepts of a particular spiritual path.  And based on that, even some traditions who claim that they don't bother with scripture can be shown to have scripture.

Christians have their Bible, the Buddhists have their Sutras, the Hindu have their Gitas, Islam has the Koran, Judaism has the Torah, Asatru has the Havamal and some others, et cetera.  There's lots of scripture out there.  And most of it is not from the path that you follow!  What can you do with it?

To show what I'm trying to do, let's look at a particularly excellent piece of scripture from a spiritual path in which many followers shy away from claiming to have any scripture.  Let's see if there's something in it that anyone from any path can use. 

And what about the parts we don't agree with?  I'll touch on that a bit, too.

If you are on a particular spiritual path, it behooves you to know the scripture associated with that path.  If you are dealing with someone who is on a different path (especially if the "dealing" can be best defined as hostility, opposition, debate, or some other sort of negative, if your opponents are involing their religion on you, knowing their scripture can be helpful for you!

Regardless of your spiritual path, you deal with scripture - possibly your own, or perhaps some other person's that gets thrown into your face. 

If we've got to deal with it, we might as well think of how to deal with it.

Aidan recently visited a pow wow, a Native American gathering hosted by a nation which has some major significance for his wife.  More than a vacation, the pow wow proved to be a profound experience, loaded with learning!

What has that to do with you?  Part of your spiritual learning could very well include visits to other spiritual paths - not to stay, but to experience them and to see what they might have to teach.  This is nothing like so-called "cafeteria religion" in which someone takes only what they have an appetite for, and perhaps that might change from one day to the next - this is a quest to see what another path might be able to teach which might be hiding too subtly in your own path.  This is not the first such visit that Aidan has made, and he looks forward to more.

Of course, like visits to fellow mortals on the material plane, there is a right way to visit. 

Most such visits will include some learning, and included in that learning might be some basic truths.  That's discussed here, too.  Unfortunately, there are those who don't appear to know such basic truths - and then we all lose as a result.

But their is a way to visit another spiritual path - and come home to your own path with something very valuable.

Bread and wine.  To most of us, in a religious context, that brings to mind one particular type of ritual - and a Christian one.  But is there more to that?

What is the significance of bread and wine?  Do they figure in any other rituals?  Or are there other parallels?  And how many possible meanings can we find in bread and wine from a spiritual point of view?

Based on Aidan's basic premise that there's really little pretext for all the disputing between spiritual paths, is there something in common?

No answers, just questions.

What is priesthood?

Let's begin by saying what it is not.  It is not a job.  It is not something you get merely as a reward for completing a course of studies. 

Some of the best priests and priestesses have some of the least significant credentials, and some of the worst have some of the most impressive credentials, and for every one that supports those two statements, there are many others that support the opposite view - or somewhere in between.

So, what is priesthood, then?  What is it that so many find themseves either desiring to attain, or find themselves being dragged "kicking and screaming" into it?

In 2004, Aidan published an essay on The Witches Voice titled "Priesthood Is A State Of Being".  A couple of years and more study and experience later, his ideas have evolved even more.

One priest's viewpoint on what a priest or priestess might expect, and what might be expected of them.  And why, for some, priesthood seems to be even more unavoidable than taxes.

There are tools needed on any journey, in either the physical plane or the spiritual.  Even if you are walking to the convenience store at the corner, you dress to protect you from the elements and take with you something to use for money in order to conduct business at the store. 

On a spiritual journey, there are also tools that you will need.  These tools are not physical implements per se, but at a higher level - but they are things that are there and waiting for you at this time.

Let's explore the four main spiritual tools you'll be using.  Almost everyone does use them, including people who do not consider themselves to be spiritual and who don't think that they have a spiritual journey.

What are those tools, and how to use them?  With that, we can move forward.

On your spiritual journey, there will be doorways, windows and paths which will offer themselves to you. There will also be people who will try to stand in the way of those doorways, windows and paths.

Nowhere does this happen more often than in regards to books that you might read. After all, they are the way that you might be able to take a peek behind a doorway, look through a window, or see what a path entails.

As an example, let's explore a couple of theological bombshells that are disturbing a lot of people, beginning with one bombshell that hit the major mainstream media in the last few weeks.

There's more here than exploring the contents of some writings that cause a fuss. There's also what to look for and why, both in the positive and negative. If it is necessary to "separate the wheat from the chaff," it's best to be able to do it yourself rather than someone else doing it for you. It's part of finding your own answers to your questions.

Now that we've determined that you're going on a spiritual journey, what about the journey itself?  It has a beginning, it will have a final destination, but what of the journey itself?

There are some good examples of spiritual journeys, and some of those stories are well worth knowing.  But no matter how much you might admire and wish to emulate someone (if you do), there is no way that you will be able to step into their shoes for your spitirual journey.

No matter the destination, no matter the nature of your spiritual journey and quest, there are some basic principles to use as a guide, and they can help make your journey more productive and perhaps even pleasant.

A spiritual journey, like any journey, begins with the first step.  As with any other journey, how well you do the first steps might be important throughout the journey - and this is a long one! 

But what is that first step?  Is there something you need to have to really begin?  What is it? 

For the first show, I want to cover the question that has been bothering me longer than any other question having to do with religion or theology.  That question is simply:

Why can't we all get along with each other?

The answer to this is perhaps the biggest secret hiding for us to find!