Is there a spiritual revolution coming?  If you have to ask that, you might be surprised to know that it's here.

Revolutions do happen when the established order fails to meet the needs of a sufficient percentage of the people.  And if you are listening to this podcast, there is a good chance that your local religious establishment has not met your needs.  You might be looking for something else, but more likely you are looking for something more that will make you feel more fulfilled.  And that's what we're about.

As they said in that TV series "The X-Files", the truth is out there.  And, you can't stop truth. 

Look at the story of the Dead Sea Scrolls.  Found in about 1948, it was decades before folks like you and me got to read their contents.  It wasn't that they were waiting for translation, it was simply that certain people didn't want them circulating among folks like you and me.  But now, it is close to impossible to put a lid on truth.

What does this mean?  Let's do a little exercise.  We'll take a few words that you probably have heard many times, and let's see what those words might actually mean.  I believe that you will  be surprised. 

Some time ago, someone spoke about so-called "liberation theology".  What we have here is genuine liberation.

Look and see.  You'll see what I mean.

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Sorry for the delay.  The doctor had me spend Thanksgiving in the hospital.  Details in the podcast.

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What makes the Wiccan/ Pagan Sabbats so different from the mundane world's holidays?  It's a secret!

Of course, there are two kinds of secrets.  One kind of secret is the kind that people don't tell other people.  The other kind of secret is the kind that folks just don't bother to notice.  The secret of the Sabbats is one of the latter kind.  We know it if we've taken any kind of a look at the Sabbats, but most mundanes don't even know that there's something to find.

It's in the very nature of the Sabbats, individually and as the full cycle of eight Sabbats.  In fact, without the secret, the Sabbats would not be able to be what they are.

You can "sort of" find the basis of the secret in the mundane holidays, both the religious and the political/ patriotic ones, but most of the mundane folks have not bothered much about it.  In fact, most of them don't even know that there is anything to bother about.  Look at how much "Christmas spirit" there is on December 26th, and you'll see what I mean.  But we have it in our Sabbats.  And the more I see of it, the more I'm able to appreciate each and every Sabbat.

When you see what I'm talking about, you'll see what I mean.

Maybe the others can learn something special from us and our Sabbats.

 

November 11th is Veterans' Day in the United States.  In many other countries, there is a day set aside for honoring veterans.  And every country has veterans - those men and women who put on a uniform to serve their country.

They put certain aspects of their lives "on hold" for a while.  Perhaps it was for two years, perhaps it might have been for as much as thirty years.  And now, they have taken off their uniforms and become veterans.

I, Aidan Odinson, am a veteran.  So are several others that I know.  And I have a few things to say.

I have listened to Veterans' Day speeches my entire life.  This time I make one, and I make one from the viewpoint of someone who has experience as a veteran.  Don't expect flowery words.

Do expect to be reminded of the Threefold Law, because I find an implication of it in every celebration of Veterans' Day that I see.  You'll see what I mean.

 

I felt the need to say something about the Southern California wildfires.  If other tragic events are any indicator, I am sure there will be many railing from their pulpits as to why it came to be.

If you're old enough to enjoy this podcast without having Mom or Dad help you, you're old enough to remember 9/11, and you probably have memories of what you were doing when you got word of it.  And you might also recall on Pat Robertson's "700 Club" a few days later, Jerry Falwell made a statement that 9/11 happened because his God had "lifted the veil of protection from the United States" because the country had gotten too tolerant of gay people.  And Robertson agreed!

I can only imagine what pronouncements are going to be made about the Southern California wildfires.  From Malibu to the north of Los Angeles down to past San Diego and to the Mexican border they raged - and they're not really over yet.  So, there's some ripe sermon-fodder there.

So, what's the real situation?  If we go past any possible agendas to look at what really happened, what will we see?

The issue is summed up on one word, and it is a word that is repeatedly misused.  And it takes a while sometimes to see it.  But it's there.

We don't need to be told, we can look.  And when we look, what are we shown?  Let's see.

It's Samhaintide! 

Soon Samhain will be upon us here in the Northern Hemisphere, and those in the Southern Hemisphere are welcome to join in, too!

I get excited about Samhain.  And since you are your own Priest or Priestess, you have much to be excited about at Samhain, and for the same reasons.

We've got a wonderful - and powerful - group here, so let's do a Samhain celebration together!  There is so much that we can do!  This is when the veil between the worlds is at its thinnest.  That means that we can reach to the other side, and those who are on the other side can reach to us.  There is so much that happens at Samhaintide that there isn't room enough in all of cyberspace to list it all!  But especially, with the frequent focus of Samhaintide being what it is, it is natural to look at endings and beginnings at this time of the Cycle of the Year.

The thing some folks forget about endings is that they are paired with a beginning.  They also forget that every beginning is paired with an ending.  And so much of the magick of Samhaintide deals with endings and beginnings.  And what does that mean for us?  Endings and beginnings exist together as pairs.  If we seek an ending to something, we should also seek a beginning.  If we seek a beginning of something, we should also see what ends.  Some pairings are obvious, some are much more subtle.  But they are there.

And let's celebrate this together.  A place is prepared, and it's ready.  Watch with your third eye, and see what you might see!  And see what you might be able to take with you from the celebration!

Samhain is coming, and I'm excited!

It has so many meanings, but the one that means the most to me is the basic one that the veil between the worlds is thinnest at Samhain.  And that has a special meaning for us.

If a ritual is going to be powerful at anytime, it will have the most power at Samhain.  And so, if the wind is at our back and we're sailing with the current, let's make the most of it!

And so, some thoughts that can be used at any time, but especially now. 

Of all of the magical messes I've seen people make, they center around one principle - get that one principle, and you'll be ahead of many.  That's just one of a few things worth sharing as Samhaintide approaches.

I feel that this is going to be a most special Samhain.  Here's some ideas on how to "make it so."

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Next week: A Samhain Celebration!

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I came across an interesting statement by a Rabbi which begins with "If you had a small, cheap god that you bought in the dime store, then of course you can reach it, you can have him in your pocket, and you can even play with him and kiss him."

It reminds me of the song that used to play on jesusdance.com about the "plasic Jesus, riding on the dashboard of my car."

And that's one of the problems that some folks have.  Their god is actually that small.  For some people, that's all they want.  According to others, that's all they're going to have.  And let's not forget the folks who not only don't want to have any more god than that, they don't want anyone else to have any more than that, either!

There might not be a lot of dime stores left, but there are dollar stores, religious gift shops, Wiccan shops and other places where it is possible to find a nice small figure of a god, goddess, other deity, or other subject of veneration - and at a reasonable price.  Whether it is Jesus, Mary, Shiva, a Buddha, a Saint, or anyone or anything else, thay all have in common one basic factor, and one basic connection to each other.  And that is why that little figure you buy can become so powerful for you.

Take it in common with the infinite nature of the Divine, and you have a weapon for spiritual self-defense.  Not only that, it will show you some of the wonders of the Divine that are beyond the most powerful imagination.

And exploring this can be a lot of fun, too! 

Revenge.  That is a subject that needs to be addressed from time to time.  We live in this world, and we are human.  Anyone who has never felt the desire for revenge about something must have led an extremely sheltered life.  And that, too, might be an issue to be dealt with.

The trouble is, so often the desire for revenge results in some really stupid deeds that cause trouble and/or cause your adversary to want their own revenge in turn.  So, what to do?

We can learn from anyone, so long as we look at the lesson being taught and what is within the message being shown to us.  It might not be what the speaker actually wants us to learn, but nevertheless we can learn.

In this case, I found two sayings which I once considered to be Pollyanna-style advice to do nothing except be trampled upon.  But within them, there is something else - and it is something that we can use.  And there is the secret!

Never lose sight of the fact that what we think and say we want or need might not be what we really want or need.  Look within for the answer, and see what the answer is. 

And we can look at a few examples of how satisfaction was obtained without getting into too much trouble.

Are you wondering what I am driving at?  Download the show and enjoy it!

Eleven lines, that's all there is to The Emerald Tablet.  But what an eleven lines!

Then again, Wiccans know "An' it harm none, do what thou wilt" and how much debate and exploration that has inspired.

For this episode, many thanks to the Universal Gnostic Fellowship and their Presiding Archbishop, Dr John Gilbert.  We're looking at the translation found on their web site and I'll touch on some of the commentary that they include. 

But that is certainly not the only translation of The Emerald Tablet, or the only commentary.  Those who have translated and/or commented on it include Trithemius, Roger Bacon, Aleister Crowley, Albertus Magnus, Isaac Newton, and many others.  

There is a basic truth contained within The Emerald Tablet - and perhaps several basic truths, depending on how you count them.  And within it is a major secret, perhaps one which might be called an "ultimate secret."

Eleven lines is a quick read.  A few times through and you'll be able to recite it comfortably.  It won't take an excessive effort to memorize it.  But what will it take to master it? 

A few minutes of your time to read.  A lifetime to grasp, comprehend and discover.  Such is The Emerald Tablet.  And such are the secrets we find in plain sight.   

Every week, you've heard me introduce myself as "High Priest of The Temple of Gaia, and a Priest of the Universal Gnostic Fellowship".  So, some of you might ask: what is "Gnostic" about?  Some of you may know, and some of you may wonder.

There are some who might wonder how I can be both a Wiccan and a Gnostic.  After all, most people say that you can't be both a Catholic and a Baptist.  But, you can be a Gnostic and any number of other things.

I've even come across some folks who confuse Gnostic with agnostic - even though they are opposite.  An agnostic claims to not know if there is any sort of deity.  A Gnostic knows - in a very special way.

First off, there is the word "gnosis", which is one of two Greek words which can mean "to know", and the difference is very major.    Understanding the distinction is critical to understanding Gnosticism.

Then, there is what gnosis is and how it works.  And there you'll see why many religious leaders who want to have their followers "march in step" are uncomfortable with Gnosticism.

This is a very brief introduction.  Gnosticism isn't for everyone, but many have found comfort and strength in it. 

Know what?  Some people are Gnostics without knowing it.  Sort of like how I say that some people are Wiccan without knowing it.  Give a listen, check a mirror, and see what you see.  

I had something else to say, but then the news came and it was sad.  Someone passed over, and it seemed as if few noticed.  Upsetting, actually.

You'll see and understand what I mean when you listen.  If he held an equivalent position here in the US, things might have been different.  But he did not. 

I've said it before: When I was an Episcopalian, I was a traditionalist.  So much so that it got me into trouble.  I am still a traditionalist.  Different traditions, but I honor my traditions.

What is a traditionalist?  I can't give you a definition, but I can tell you what a traditionalist is not.  A traditionalist is not someone behind a pulpit screaming that his way is the only way.  A traditionalist is also not a government functionary whose definition of tradition is what most folks call blind, unquestioning obedience.  And it is easy and downright comfortable to be a traditionalist when one is part of the power structure.  But what if the power structure puts you on the outside looking in?

And so, I want to honor someone who spent half a century honoring his traditions.  His way might have been different from mine, but he had his traditions and he honored them.  And so, I wish to honor him. 

A breviary is, in essence, a daily cycle of prayers and "mini-rituals".  Many monastic orders have their own breviaries, and of course there are other published breviaries - including fancy four-volume sets that command a hefty price.

Of course, such breviaries are written by people that you and I don't know, and they take a "one size fits all" approach which doesn't work for most of us.

But, Wiccans have an advantage.  Instead of missals and breviaries, Wiccans have Books Of Shadows - and they are as personal as your athame or your toothbrush.

You already probably do a daily ritual of rituals, even if you don't know it.  Look and see.  And what are you doing with that ritual of rituals?  You are establishing and maintaining a relationship with various people and things.  The first kiss in the morning, the kiss goodnight, the hug when you come home, walking the dog at certain times, putting a baby or child to bed for the night - you're doing more than what you're physically doing.  And if you miss doing something, you really miss it!

And so it is with your prayer life, and this is where a breviary helps.  And it helps even more when you write your own.  And, it is important.  No matter how important your rituals are, this is how you maintain your relationship with the Divine between rituals.

Look and see.  You'll see.

Today, we open the Hall Of Honor at The Virtual Mission Chapel Of The Archangel Uriel.

Where is this chapel?  As near as your computer.  Just go to http://www.groveunion.templeofgaiainc.org/ and "follow the signs" and you'll be there. 

The first two to be honored in the Hall Of Honor are Jerome Birnbaum and Tempest Smith.  If you've listened to this podcast for any length of time, you know some of their significance.  If not, we offer a "quick sketch" of who they are on their pages in the Hall Of Honor.

This is something you might be able to do, too.  A special place to honor those who have made a special contribution to your spiritual life.  It can be done any number of ways: a bookshelf, a web page, a page in a photo album.  And, I'm sure yours might include some that the more major faith groups haven't bothered to notice. 

There's also some news about how President Dubya Bush snubbed Roberta Stewart.  And his apology.  But the apology has become a cheap commodity, hasn't it?  I'm offering a couple of suggestions as to how Dubya can atone so that his apology includes some credibility.

 

If you want to read a book that has the Christians upset, one of the best choices is the Gospel of Judas.  It's not that they weren't warned, there were many, many references to it in ancient writings.  But it wasn't until very recently that someone found a copy.

If it were phoney, an inconsistency would have been found, just like what happened with the infamous "Hitler War Diaries" of a couple of decades ago.  There would be an inconsistency in the ink, the paper, the language, or known historical facts.  In the case of the Gospel of Judas, it appears to fit perfectly.

Many times, I've pointed to places in writings associated with Yeshua Bar-Joseph and said "How Wiccan can you get?".  And there is a story here that has much bearing on Wiccans, Pagans, and anyone else who deals in magick.  It's the same warning you find in The Sorcerer's Apprentice and in Rumplestiltskin.  And it bears repeating.

There are other revelations in the book.  Taken in context with other evidence, there is a jealousy and rivalry going on among Jesus' disciples that's just like a soap opera.  There's also evidence that Yeshua (and his god) are more like us than your Sunday School teacher would ever allow you to think. 

But above all, there is a lesson here in dealing with magick and the Divine.

 

Explore any writings written before a certain time, and you find that they were "written" in poetic form.  And it certainly was not the kind of poetry that your fourth-grade teacher bored you with!

Why were they written in poetry back then?  Because they probably were not written down for some time.  This was how knowledge was conveyed - in everything from history to family lineage to practical matters like cooking or sailing a ship. 

It was also the way that some information might be passed on quietly, beyond the reach of prying eyes.  A poem could contain more than one message.  It could be more than a poem. 

And this is a tool, a portal, and a weapon that we can use today just as well as our ancestors could.

Here's one.  Maybe it's from 750c.e., or maybe it's from 1993c.e. - I'm not saying right now - enjoy it and see what it says.

Here's a door.  Look through and see what might be waiting to be found.

 

On the Web, you can now order a genuine, official, Michael Vick Dog Chew Toy.  Michael Vick, as we all know, is the football star who has been indicted for his alleged involvement in a dog-fighting operation.

Does this mean that Yuengling, along with your dog and all of the other dogs can have a part in that man's karma?  After all, most people who would listen to this podcast know about poppets and other representations of people used for magickal purposes.  Is a Michael Vick Dog Chew Toy anything else?

And then, there is the work of the Innocence Project, which keeps finding evidence which transforms Death Row inmates into free people.  And a man who briefly lived not far from me who spent two decades fighting for his life on Death Row until DNA proved him clearly innocent.

And, of course, we can't forget O. J. Simpson, can we?

What will activists on either side do when truth comes to the surface?  It will have its effect regardless of which side the newly-revealed truth helps.

So, what to do when there is a situation in which you're forced to take a side even though perhaps not all possible facts are in?

Yet another secret in plain sight, perhaps?

One thing I mentioned in the promo that would be mentioned here is "the latest book that makes the Christians cuss" - and none has done so much as the books about Harry Potter.

Harry Potter has done a lot of genuine magick in this world, beginning with transforming a single mother on welfare into a renowned author, and going on to transforming kids who thought that reading was "something nerds do" into eager readers.  Not bad for a fictional adolescent!

So, what's the fuss over Harry Potter?

Could it be that there is a secret in the Harry Potter books, waiting to be revealed?  Yes, there is!

And if you see some Fundamentalist Christians ripping the electric lights out of their churches and homes, you'll know that they listened to this podcast and decided that the real message of Harry Potter was really evil!

Go ahead, listen to this podcast!  See what kind of a message Harrry Potter has for you!

 

The Line.

I've talked about The Line before: sometimes you must not cross it, sometimes you may cross it, and sometimes it moves.  Let's talk about it in terms of what I call Real Theology.  Some people think of Theology as discussing ancient texts or the color of some saint's toga, nitpicking how to conduct a ritual, etc.  Real Theology consists of taking all of that (and more) and applying it in daily life.

And so, let's take a couple of items in the news recently and see how that applies to you and me.  In both of the cases I'm going to specifically mention, you just might find something to invest emotionally in both cases.  The question is: What do you do?

The "Monday morning quarterbacks" have an easy job, as do the people who don't "connect" emotionally and those who want to talk all in theory.  They're not there in the situation having to make the real decision.  You and I are in the situation of having to make the real decision.

An ancient Hebrew admonition to judges described "The sword of God at your head, lest you set the guilty free; and the fires of hell at your feet, lest you punish the innocent."  And there is where our puzzle begins.

I promised you "Spiritual calisthenics for those who are willing to think."  Welcome to part of my workout.

One of the favorite techniques of bullies is intimidation.  Really effective inimidation begins with a small kernel of truth, but it stretches into something beyond reasonable reality.  Like the child who tells a playmate that her daddy is a policeman and she'll have him come and shoot....

A form of intimidation that some of us remember from our childhood is The Boogeyman.  If mommy and daddy run out of other ways to influence behavior, there's The Boogeyman.  The Boogeyman comes after children who don't eat their broccoli, children who don't get to sleep by a certain time, and children who wet their beds.  Of course, if The Boogeyman were real, real mommies and daddies ought to do something to protect their children from The Boogeyman. 

In mundane life, do I really believe that allowing the government to read my emails or (as was once proposed) track what books I read is going to keep Osama Bin Laden at bay?

In your spiritual life, many of you have been told about another boogeyman - the Chrisitans' "Devil".  But what can we see about this theological boogeyman if we do a serious examination, including comparing their version of The Boogeyman to other deities - especially the ones who are known for getting nasty.  Some truths might have been stretched a bit.

As a child, most of us eventually figured out that there was a positive reason for getting to bed and sleep at a reasonable time, and that The Boogeyman had nothing to do with it.  In our spiritual lives, there is so much more that can be offered besides avoiding punishment. 

Bear with me on this, and I think you'll see what I'm driving at.

I'll have to admit that nothing gets some Wiccans more upset than to have to hear "the J-name".  But it's not his fault.  Take a look at what he taught and how he lived, and compare that with the stuff you find shouted from pulpits.  I wonder if he would even recognize that which was built in his name as being anything having anything to do with the points he kept trying to make.  Sort of like the story I told you a while back about a certain Air Force captain who kept going around saying "Colonel wants...." until a certain lieutenant asked the colonel.

And, do you know what else this is good for?  When someone tries to "save" you, this is some good information to let it be known that he probably would be more comfortable among us than he would be in the religious establishment built in his name.  Some good intellectual ammunition, I do believe.

Besides, our issues are not with deities or pantheons.  Our issues are with what mortals do while claiming to be serving their deity. 

Enjoy this. 

Today, people in countries such as Cuba, China, and Saudi Arabia will meet together in small groups in places where they hope they won't be disturbed by either the officialdom or nosey neighbors.  It doesn't matter what their spiritual path might be, what's important is that their spiritual path is so disapproved by their government that they have to take what they do underground.  And they meet to do a ritual.

There was a period of many years when Christians took their faith underground.  In those days, their churches didn't have youth groups, ladies clubs, or picnics.  They came together to say Mass, which remains the core ritual of much of Christianity today.

In between then and a few years ago, our own spiritual predecessors met in secret - and that was if they met at all.  And when they met, the did a ritual.

Does this offer a clue as to what is at the core of who we are and what we do?  And if it nurtured us through the times when we merely wanted to survive, how much more can it do for us now that we've come out into the open?

You never know what power we might already have!

In the course of the next week in the United States, we will have Independence Day on July 4th. That's a day of fireworks, picnics and, of course, speeches. The speeches take the same course, to the point that I think most of us have them down to memory. The speeches will be about our freedom, and our democracy. And then I read once more about Tempest Smith's death in February of 2001, and I wonder just how much freedom and democracy we actually have.

It can be fairly said that a prisoner in jail has freedom of movement - he may move anywhere he wants within his cell. Is our Religious Freedom that constrained?

Let us not forget that Tempest Smith died because of the non-stop teasing, ridicule and bullying she was subjected to. She was twelve years old, and a student at Lincoln Park Middle School.

Much can be said about her classmates who taunted her, and then made such apologies at her funeral. Much might also be said wondering how the faculty and staff at the school could actually claim to not have known what was being done to her.

Suicide is a favorite subject for "Monday morning quarterbacks," since the person most directly involved is not available for comment. But suffice it to say that Tempest Smith died from the torment.

Perhaps there is a lesson for the rest of us to learn from this.

The Jewish Defense League came up with a slogan some years ago which seems to fit this situation: "NEVER AGAIN!"

Yes, there was a time when I decided to quit praying. 

After becoming a Wiccan, I still didn't pray.  As a Wiccan Priest and for my first few years as a Wiccan High Priest, I did not pray.  There were many, many of other things that I was doing in relation to the various deities in my life.  I would give energy for or about something or someone, I would do rituals, and I would address Gods and Goddesses directly.  But I wasn't praying.

So what was I doing then?  I came to the realization that I was doing the same thing, but without the label.  When I was a Christian, I had issues with what seemed busywork while I was supposed to sit on my you-know-what and wait for their God to get off of His You-Know-What, and that was assuming that I was praying about something that I was supposed to pray about, and that also assumed that what I was asking for was in accordance with His Will.  See why I quit?  See why I did so much by getting rid of the label and its associated "baggage" for a while?

There are some things that do indeed get in the way.  Here's my list of the worst of them, and how to get past them.

 

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On schedule for next week:  Maybe I can stir something.  And it will be appropriate for the coming holiday.

 

This was one of the easiest shows I've ever put together, and also one of the most difficult.  It was easy because the words just came out.  It was difficult because I got emotional while I was preparing it. 

This weekend includes Fathers' Day.  At least, that's when it is in the US.  Something similar might be at other times in other places.  And if there is so such designated day where you are, you're welcome to borrow this one! ;->

If you've heard me mention my Dad before, then I think you know that I miss him.  And, I'm a Dad with two children who are grown and on their own.  And I miss them, too. 

Let me point out that if you think that my Dad and I spent the time we had together as some special incarnation of Ward and Wally Cleaver, guess again.  But we did come to share something that was priceless.  And I'll share some of that with you.

And so, a special offering on the subject of Dads.

Fathers' Day.  A special day to celebrate and honor Dads.  And for those of us who are Dads, a special day.

Thanks, Dad!

Seeing what causes most of the arguing among Wiccans and Pagans, this is likely to be the most controversial show I ever do!

You've probably heard my personal theory that a person's spiritual development can be measured in terms of what they fuss about.  What does that mean in a practical sense?

Is there a point that you have to "get" before you move beyond a certain level?  If so, is it something uniquely Wiccan, or is it something that applies to all fails, religions and spiritual paths?  Here, I'll break the usual "rule" and answer that question - it is a point that applies to anyone, regardless of their spiritual path, denomination or religion.  And so, now the bigger question:  what is this point that so many don't get?

That's what this episode is all about! 

For those who already get the point, this will be an affirmation that what others might be nit-picking you about is, in fact, only a problem because they don't get it and you do!

One of the perpetual complaints among Wiccans and Pagans is that of the books available, there are so many primers and so few advanced books. 

Meanwhile, I have a personal theory that one of the ways to measure a person's spiritual development is to look at the level of things that they fuss about.  If someone is fussing about the style of robe a priest chooses to wear while someone else is trying to tackle a real issue, might that be a clue?

If you want some advanced stuff, there is one author I will recommend to anyone who is ready for him.  One book in particular is a challenge - but it is worthwhile.  It opened my eyes.

And what would you look for in an "advanced book"?  And what makes it so advanced?

Some will think that there's a "magickal book" that separates the real ones from the wanna-be's.  On occasion, you'll come across someone seeking the "super-book" which will open new gateways to enlightenment.  They'll still be looking a long time from now.  That sort of accomplishment comes from within - not from a book. 

But, there is a book that helped me change the way I looked at things, especially spiritual things.  It let em see new doors to open and explore, and it also got me to go back and look into doors I thought that I had already seen - and re-open some that I had thought I needed to close.

Powerful - if you're ready for it.

 

May 28th is Memorial Day in the United States.  Over the years, it has become the day set aside to honor our fallen warriors and those veterans who have crossed over.

If you are outside the United States,  feel free to join in this one by honoring your own fallen warriors and veterans.

This year will be the first Memorial Day in many years that I see in a positive light.  Most Memorial Day celebrations that I've seen in the past consisted mostly of bigwigs utttering insincerities - and then proceeding to talk out of the other side of their mouth once the speech was over.  But this year is different.

For the first time in the history of the United States, memorial markers with Pentacles as the symbol of faith are being dedicated.  Some replace blank markers.  Others mark graves which went unmarked until there was an appropriate marker.  Some might be new.  It took a fight in court to make it happen. 

There is more to fight for, but this is the time to celebrate what has been won for those among us who stepped forward to answer their country's call.

 

Forgiveness.  If you went to a Christian Sunday school, the teacher probably said much about forgiveness.  Sometimes, the lesson on forgiveness sounded like I was supposed to become everyone's doormat - and that I was supposed to forgive no matter what.

I had a couple of opportunities to visit this subject in the last few days.  One came from someone I had not heard from in many years.  This person offered an apology for a hurt that I had received (and it still ached after all this time).  Given the circumstances, I was able to learn just how good it can feel to forgive and have an old hurt go away. 

And then there was another.  I had just gotten done telling a friend that now that we're offering rituals via podcast, Temple of Gaia now offers everything Jerry Falwell does except the hatred and bigotry.  And then I see the news that Jerry Falwell died.  Do I forgive that man, the one who claimed that Pagans, gays and liberals were to blame for 9/11? 

 

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News:  Three bulletins concerning our victory in the Veteran Pentacle Quest, and how the victory is manifesting itself.  Celebrations are being arranged and scheduled.

 

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Coming Soon: Next Week is Memorial Day Weekend.  Expect something special.  

 

It occurs to me that I've been saying that Temple of Gaia wanted to offer its members anything they'd expect to find in any other church, but in the past year this podcast has been me flapping my jaws.  So with this one, I'm adding something different.

A church should have a chapel that is available at any time, and now ours can be found at http://www.groveunion.templeofgaiainc.org/chapel_courtyard.htm.  If you want, go into the sanctuary while you enjoy this podcast, and if you want, you can join me in this celebration.

This has been in preparation for some time, and finally I decided I might as well try, and see how it goes.  Jerry Falwell has his Sunday services on TV, the local Catholic church has a Mass on TV and/or radio for those who can't go to church, so why not a try in that direction for Wiccans and Pagans?

Next week will be a show in the usual format.  But for right now, let's celebrate this, and see how this goes.

 

We won!  If you visit Circle Sanctuary's web site at http://www.circlesanctuary.org/liberty/veteranpentacle/ you can see photographs of the markers for Jerome Birnbaum and Patrick Stewart - freshly arrived at Circle Sanctuary, and still in their shipping containers.

Being right is a very good thing.  Agreement is also very nice.  But, there is definitely something that must be said for fulfillment - and that's what those pictures show.  It has come to pass.

What next? 

We've won one battle, but we have more to come.  And that's only talking about battles.  There's more to do than just fight.

What do we do now?

Perhaps there are some ideas!

 

The big news is that the US Department of Veterans Affairs agreed to a settlement.  Within 14 days of the settlement, the fallen who have been waiting in unmarked graves will have their markers.  And the Pentacle is the newest symbol to be added to the list of symbols of faith.

Many people contributed in many ways.  It was not the quality of individual threads, it was the fabric we wove from those threads that made the difference!

After all these years of fighting, waiting and hoping, it's done. 

And with every gift comes a responsibility.  The wise use of the gift and the wisdom in light of responsibility might be determining factors concerning what other gifts might be.

So, what next?

 

Here's a clue, for those who need one.  I'm providing it for the benefit of those who are confronted by the clueless. 

Atheists, agnostics, and people whose faith is so weak that they can't tolerate other people having different spiritual paths are forever asking for evidence.  It's staring them in the face, and they don't know it.

And then there's the one who just completed the class required for church membership (confirmation class, or its equivalent) who is all filled with knowledge and wants to spew it forth!  Or anyone who thinks that they've learned all that they need to learn.  There is more, and it's beyond the scope of anything that we've dealt with yet.  And there's proof that it's there.

"Seek and ye shall find" is something we're often told.  But there is no promise that we won't find that there's more still.

And it's pretty good evidence to stop doubters and debaters in their tracks.

 

Last time, I spoke of the cafeteria lady and the spinach she dumped on my tin tray in elementary school.  Imagine if someone from a spinach company had come to that cafeteria, gotten a tin tray of food, and gagged on the spinach too!  And imagine that person telling the cafeteria lady that spinach is not supposed to be as bad as what she served!

This is the third of three on reclaiming.  The first two spoke of reclaiming concepts which some of us walked away from because of how they were presented to us.  And now, let's talk about reclaiming that which always was ours, but others have mis-used and abused.

 

Imagine (or remember) if you will... if your only experience with spinach was what the cafeteria lady in elementary school pulled out of that big can to put on your plate.  That was my experience with spinach, and that was why I avoided spinach for many, many years.  Then, Lady Stormy came into my life.  One evening, she prepared a dinner for me which included - you guessed it - spinach.  I tried it, and was amazed!  The spinach that Lady Stormy cooked for me was not the same stuff as what the cafeteria lady dumped onto my tin tray when I was in sixth grade!  It was actually good, and I've enjoyed it regularly ever since.

Last week, I spoke of Ascended Masters - or saints, as they are known in some spiritual paths.  This week, I speak of Celestial Masters - or angels as they are known in some spiritual paths. 

Go into any story of mortals meeting the Divine, you'll find the deity has divine helpers.

So, there's more to this than the stuff that Mrs Whatzit tried to bore you with in Sunday School. 

Look, see, experience, use what you learn, and don't be upset if someone else sees something a bit different.

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SPECIAL NOTE:  This is the One Year Anniversary of The Secrets In Plain Sight!

Also, the technical problems appear to have been solved - at least for now.

What happens to people who have lived their life as one of our fellow mortals sufficiently well enough?  They become Ascended Masters!

What is an Ascended Master?  The same as what certain other spiritual paths refer to as a saint.  The difference is that the concept of Ascended Master is more omnidenominational. 

But, I can already see some folks beginning to wince.  And the expression might be similar to: "Ewwwwwwww....that's the stuff Mrs. Whatzit bored us with in Sunday School."  Not exactly.  Did you ever notice that the saints Mrs. Whatzit presented seemed too perfect to have been real people?  Sort of like the story of George Washington tossing a silver dollar across a certain river?  Or the kids in the Sunday School filmstrips?  And did you ever notice how some of the pictures and statues (especially the "gift shop" variety) make them look like wusses?

The fact is that they all had their beginnings as real people.  Gauthama Buddha, St Francis, and Mahatma Gandhi began as "poor little rich kids" enjoying privilege at a time when there wasn't much privilege to go around.  Some of the others include those who spent time as party-animals, atheists, criminals, and at least one unwed mother.  And after they started seeking their potential, not all of them saw poverty as necessary.  In fact, some of them "lived the good life" their whole life.

What they have in common is that the Ascended Masters were just as human as you and I, and they realized their potential.

  

There is one situation in which your magick is going to be at its most powerful.  It is also where you gather strength for all of the other magick that you might ever do.

It is also the situation in which you do some of your greatest learning.  As with any field of endeavor which requires developed skills, there is a time when you need to put the book down, walk away from the video, and actually do it.

We're talking about your private rituals.

Even in the best of covens, groups, churches, kindreds or families, you're most likely to encounter more advice and help that you actually need.  And in the larger, more organized churches, there is always the "self-appointed Pope" (even in denominations that don't have a Pope) who makes it their ministry to mind everyone's business but their own.  In your private rituals, they're not there.  What you do is between yourself and your deities.  That's because it's private.

This is where you learn.  This is where you can try things.

This is also where you can substitute.  If all you have for a robe is a blanket, if all you have for a chalice is a styrofoam cup, so what?  You have what you need for this.

There are limits, but the limits are broad, well-known, and the ones you should respect anyway.

And it strengthens all other aspects of your priesthood and ministry!

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SPECIAL NOTE:  The issues concerning FTP transfer speed and time-outs have not yet been resolved, but they have been reduced to the point that it is possible to transfer a file. 

Thank you for your patience while my own patience was being tested.

 

Putting it all together.  In any learning exercise, it's necessary to do that from time to time.

In elementary school, I often wondered about the sense of what I was being made to learn.  What use would I have for it was one question.  The other question was if the subjects were being presented as separate entities, did they ever come together?

And so, here we look at it from an "all together" point of view to see what is to be seen.  And do you know what?  There's a secret that some elementary school teachers didn't bother to share with me, but it became an important part of my research in graduate school.  The secret is this:  If you put them together, then even more is revealed!

And here in this episode is a quick peek at what I mean.  There will be more of it later, but here is the first peek. 

 

Coming out in private - a contradiction?  No.  You might "dress for success", but you probably do the actual dressing of yourself in private.  One of a few supposed contraditions which aren't so long as you look beyond the surface.

Some people think that the only way to deal with the world is to try to convert the whole rest of the world to their way, which is why you occasionally see someone trying to "save" you on the streetcorner or in front of a supermarket.  And then there are those who try to deal only with their own kind of people so that they can avoid the real world as much as possible.  And then, there are the people who try to keep anything spiritual in their lives a big secret - announce at work that you saw them in church, and see how they react.  There might be a better way.  I prefer to be who I am and deal with the rest of the world.

There are tools available to help accomplish that.  And most of them are basics that some other folks just don't grasp.  Here they are.

We've talked about coming out of the broomcloset.  Now, let's deal with the one occasion when outsiders are forced to deal with our existence - public rituals.

Most discussion among Wiccans about public rituals deals with how to officiate.  There's more to it than that, and there are some principles which apply whether you're officiating or merely attending.

If you've gotten the point about anything about The Craft, you already know that there is no such thing as "knowing enough" or "knowing all about" any subject that is of any consequence.  But in a public ritual, you sometimes have to deal with people who think that they know all that they need to know.

Four basic principles.  Actually think of them as tools.  Armed with them, you'll disarm those who would be your/our enemies.  Use them wisely, you'll do well for yourself and all of us.

Like so much else, those four tools have been hiding in plain sight.

 

Closets have always been in demand.  The demand for closets is at least as old as history itself, perhaps even older.  During the Babylonian exile, there were Israelites who busied themselves trying to show how Babylonian they had become!

In 1492, before his famous voyage, Christopher Columbus was the Spanish admiral who arranged for the deportation of all of the Jews in Spain.  There were exceptions - those willing to convert.  And there were enough last-minute conversions that a large number of people with Spanish heritage also have a Jewish heritage which they might find difficult to reclaim.

I, Aidan, won't live in a closet, especially the Broomcloset!

Gossips have less to gossip about someone who is up-front about who they are.  And being up-front about who you are opens a door.  When others find out that you are just like them, you'll find more people who are just like you!

The movements which have brought African-Americans, gay people, Jewish people and others more into the mainstream have one thing in common: they had differences which they set aside in order to work together.  But they had their beginnings with each and every individual involved taking pride in who they are.

 And, there is strength and power in being counted.  Just how powerful can a prayer or a ritual be from a broomcloset?

Besides, we're going to surprise even ourselves with how many we are.  My guess is that if we were all counted, we'd already be mainstream!

 

Sin and guilt.  Tune in a TV preacher, go into any of a number of churches, or even watch some commercials on TV, and you'll hear a lot about sin and guilt.

And, they have many definitions.  Is it really a sin to put less than a certain amount into the collection plate, especially for the sake of being able have money for food?  Or the other no-no's like ladies coming to church on Easter without a real fancy hat. 

And then, there is guilt.  Like how, according to one charity's TV commercial, a cute little girl in some other country will suffer unless you send them money.  Or the TV evangelist who once announced that God was going to "take him home" unless he raised a certain amount of money for the university named after him.

But there are a couple of other kinds of guilt, more evil and more common.  One is "guilt by pronouncement", such as the teacher at school or the supervisor at work who tries to blame you even for a rainy day.  And then there is "guilt by gossip", the most evil of the guilt-trip-generators.

I am not sure if the image of gossip being housewives at the back fence ever was anywhere near accurate.  But it does seem that in recent years, gossip has gone from "cottage industry" status to factory proportions.  This is especially true in schools, churches and the workplace. 

Guilt trip?  Yes, probably are innocent, but you were pronounced guilty anyway!

So, what are you going to do if someone manages to put you on such a guilt trip?   There are ways, and we'll discuss them.

And how to deal with the people who put others onto such guilt trips?  We'll make some mention of that, but one basic truth about such people is evident:  They are their own karma!

One of the secrets to be found in spirituality lies close to us.  In fact, it may be under your own roof! 

In my case, some of the keys for me to find this secret are not only under my roof, not only do they lay close to me, they lay on my bed at night when I'm sleeping!

I can't make a blanket statement for all animals, but I can say that the animals I've gotten to really know are very spiritual.  And why not?  They don't have most of the distractions we use to take our focus off-target, so they have no excuse not to have a good grasp of the spiritual!

Of course there are those who will argue against that.  And they are the spiritual descendants of the theologians who once claimed that women didn't have souls!  There were also those who claimed that people who didn't qualify as "white" weren't really human.  Since such people have been proven wrong on those issues, perhaps they missed on some others?

And what can we see when we take a look at our special friends?

I can say something of what I've experienced, and you might compare that with what you've experienced.  But basically, this is a question for which I can't write out the "right" answers, even though some of the wrong answers would be apparent enough.

Look, see, perceive, and understand.  Someone close to you might have something to offer. 

I've said before not to expect major visions and revelations in your meditations and rituals.  There are reasons why. 

Try to imagine your deities in their terms, and "on their turf."  If you and I pray to the same deity at the same time, that deity listens and responds.  But not only the two of us, but for everyone else in the world who might be praying to that deity at the same time?  That would be overwhelming.  And then not only listen, but do things and maybe have a life on top of that?  I don't know about you, but I'm not ready for that level of multi-tasking.

So, what are these glimpses and peeks that we get?  And what can we do with them?  Much!

But woe to the people who think that the peeks are a full picture.  They are really missing something!

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NEWS FLASH!

Some major news that needs to be shared!  Along with Al Gore being considered for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on global warming, there's a major story of significance to all who read this:

A federal judge has refused to let the VA stall anymore on the veterans' pentacle case, and the case is moving forward.

Aidan has also issued a challenge to Pat Robertson, as well as to every Catholic priest, bishop and cardinal to join in supporting the Veterans' Pentacle Quest.  After all, religious freedom means all religions if it is actual religious freedom.  If they want to talk about religious freedom, here's their chance to show what they mean.  Are you listening, Pat?

How many times have we heard the story of someone going around and telling people what some big-named big-wig wants, and then finding out that the big-named bigwig had said no such thing?  And how often might that have happened regarding a deity?

For many, if not most, overcoming such mis-information (read: spiritual garbage) is one of the most important tasks on a spiritual quest. 

Whether we're talking about a TV preacher, a college campus "guru", the nun who used to stand over your head with a ruler in her first, or the lady in church who devoted her life to minding other people's business, their interpretations of the Divine are not what a spiritual quest is about.

A spiritual quest is about your own relationship with the Divine!  Some folks miss that point.  Some other folks are afraid of that point.  After all, if you actually know the Divine, that might contadict their pre-conceived notions which they are pitching to you, right?

And so, how to overcome that and actually know the divine?

And what will there be when you do?

And why have we let so many people stand in our way?

 

On your quest, you will of course encounter words.  Written and spoken.  What do we do with them.

So many are intended to guide us.  But are we hearing what was intended?  Or are we hearing what someone between us and the original author wants us to hear?

An oft-quoted saying in The Craft is "One cannot be a Witch alone."  But, let's have a definition of "alone".  Does "alone mean not having membership in some group (or particular group), or does "alone" in this case mean being stuck so far into the broomcloset that even close friends of like mind don't know who you are?

When translation from one language to another is added, then the situation really gets muddy.  An oft-quoted verse in the Christian Bible (particularly the King James Version) has been the pretext for violence and even killings in the English-speaking world.  But is what King James said that it meant what the original writer meant?

This is one of the challenges of a spiritual quest, and one which must be met.  And once it is met, there are secrets waiting to reveal themselves. 

Reading a blog sponsored by a group which represents a viewpoint I once held dear and also reading what the mainstream media have to say about non-mainstream religions, I came to a realization:  how regularly the so-called mainstream misses some of the most important points!

The current rucus going on among certain mainstream religious groups would be hilarious if it didn't have to do with perhaps the most important thing we mortals might be involved in.  And if all of the fuss did not have such a high price on the spiritual paths of so many.

And in the middle of it all, there's one basic point which many of us get, but so many of the so-called mainstream misses completely.

Can a Christian be a Christian if he or she has a good time at Christmas and enjoys Easter candy and clothes, but avoids Lent?  Can someone be Jewish by celebrating Hannukah but avoiding Yom Kippur? 

If there are "pluses" and "minuses" in every spiritual path or tradition, how is someone supposed to deal with the "minuses"?

And is Aidan saying that we need to rigidly follow a path without question, or is he saying something else?

There's something basic here.

 

 

Gauthama Buddha (known to some as "the Buddha," although there have been several) taught that all we had to look forward to in this life are sickness, old age, and death.  Did he really mean that, or did he teach that as a way to spur us on to something more, something greater?

Most Christians have a teaching which is similar in its implications.  They teach that we are miserable, terrible creatures who would never "make the grade" without a savior.  Some of them take it further and make lists of demands of what we must do in order to be chosen for salvation, lest we find ourselves going to that "hell" which some of them love to tell us about.  Add to that their common teaching of "one chance in this life is all you get," and there's a wonderful opportunity for spiritual blackmail.

But even if there is a savior available for those who would not otherwise pass muster and those who insist on having only one chance, is this teaching all there is, or might it be that there is something more, something greater, that can be reached for.

In every spiritual path, teachings can be found that say that if you seek, you will find something worth seeking.  And they all teach that we have it within ourselves to do jsut that!  The Buddhists teach that there is a Buddha within each of us.  In Wicca, I learned that there is the spark of the Divine within every creature.  And so many, many more.  How many teachings of how many paths teach that we can claim what is already ours, waiting for us to claim?

Is there something waiting that transcends our artifical boundaries of sect and denomination?  If so, will we see something that we must preach from the rooftops and impose on each other, perhaps with baseball bats if necessary?  Or will we see something that is highly personal and individual, that each of us can take into our hearts and nurture?

There might not be much that's new, but there can be quite a lot that's next!

 

A recent comment about my podcast, which I much appreciated, said that I had given someone a new perspective on old ideas.  This person got the point!

How many new ideas have there been?  How much of what we are looking at in spirituality is so ancient that it is beyond ancient?  How much is so ancient that it was already ancient when the Ancient Ones were young?  Some ideas might be new to the beholder if they are newly found  by that individual, but how many are actually new?

And what's new?  Problems, mostly.  Things like forcing one particular path down someone else's throat, claims of spiritual superiority, the manufacturing of a spiritual elite for the rest of us to be dependent upon, and an "us against them/ them against us" mentality.

But the worst is a disease, an infectious disease with terrible effects.  I first heard it described by name by a political commentator, but in my opinion the disease infects religion and spirituality even more - with worse effects. 

What is the disease, and what is its name?  Listen to the podcast and you'll learn about it.

Get past such obstacles and spiritual diseases, and hopefully there will be a new perspective.  And perhaps some of the most infamous words might no longer appear to be limits, but a prod to seek something more and better.

At any rate, that's what I am hoping for.

 

 

 

If you choose to believe what certain Christians are claiming, there's a war on - and it's a war against Christmas!

There's a group that wants to boycott stores where employees wish customers "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas".  And there are those who are up-in-arms because some holiday displays are beginning to include symbols appropriate to Hannukan and Kwanzaa as well!  Is this a war on Christmas?

News Flash: Not everyone is a Christian.  Not only that, but most of those who are not Christian are just as satisfied with their own spiritual path as Christians are with theirs!

Does anyone take the time to look to the root of the celebrations going on at this time of the year?  Pagans and Wiccans in the Northern Hemisphere are celebrating Yule.  The Jewish celebration of Hannukah is under way.  African-Americans are celebrating Kwanzaa.   And Christians are celebrating Christmas.  Those are the names of the celebrations.  But what are the celebrations about.

At first glance, you might see the outer trappings and the things that are used and done to celebrate them.  But go deeper, and you'll find something that started each one of them.  Yes, the stories and/or histories behind each are different.  But what is the message and the promise conveyed with each of them?

And therein lies the secret.  Look at what each one promises, and the message of each one. 

If we can look, see, and admit to what we see, then perhaps one more reason to be more together than apart! 

 

If you are in need and someone says that they'll pray for you, how do you feel?  In some cases, you feel strengthened.  In other cases, it can be a let-down.  Consider the following words written by someone a few years ago:

"For I was hungry and you said you'd pray for me.  I would have rather had a sandwich.

For I was ill and you said you'd pray for me.  I would have rather been able to afford some medicine.

For I was in prison and you said you'd pray for me.  I would have rather that you testified in my defense."

See the point?  But what of the opposite, practical action without the spiritual?  If you have two hands to do a job with, are you going to want one of those hands tied behind your back?

And what are most of us taught about prayer?  Is it to some god way up in the sky, in hopes that he'll pick up his heavenly voicemail?  And what have we learned from those who have no business teaching?  So much spiritual garbage to get in the way!  Some people seem to actually want to out-Pharisee the Pharisees of biblical times. 

Is it any wonder that so many of us have had to leave one path to find what we need?  And what we have left is a bunch of people squabbling over who gets which scraps that fall from a banquet table - when each of us is entitled to a seat at that table!

So, how do we get to that seat and actually enjoy the banquet - that of genuine communion with the Divine? 

 

It's Happening!

Remember my very first podcast, when I asked the very basic question of why we can't all get along?  I see an improvement in that situation.

The one who seems to be leading the charge is someone who was once expected to be a sitck-in-the-mud!  But, rather than that, someone of major significance to all religious paths has broken with the past and moved to heal wounds which have been festering for over a thousand years.  While some might criticize Pope Benedict as not having done quite enough, what he did accomplish in a few days was more than his predecessors ever did!  And what does that have to do with us?

Well, something similar is happening for us!  The Pagan Headstone Campaign, the Veterans' Pentacle Quest, the Order of the Pentacle all have a couple of things in common.  Besides the fact that they came into being to right an injustice, they have also brought people together.

So, what's the big deal about a single-issue campaign?  The big deal is that people are coming together, putting any differences into perspective, and getting a job done!  And that's the point!  We're learning to come together when there's work to done without homogenizing ourselves.

In light of history, perhaps that's one of the more important things we can do!  The Aquarian Age is beginning and, as the saying goes, it's "a whole new ballgame."  And that means that coming together and working together when there's a job to be done will be all the more important.

 And it's coming to be!

So many times, I've heard the same complaint about Pagan and Wiccan books: so many primers, not enough of the "advanced stuff".

Then again, what is the "advanced stuff"?  And what is in something that is advanced which would not be found in a primer?

Or is the difference simply the subject matter being dealt with and the nature of the magick being done?  If so, then is there something common to all spiritual paths which is begging to be noticed?

Perhaps even more important: Is there something which sometimes is neglected and which might deserve more attention?

Then could it be that building an effective ritual is both basic and advanced at the same time?  Could this be one of the secrets which makes some rituals crackle with energy while others are mere exercises in motion?

A look, and perhaps this won't be directly addressed again for a while.  But it is also unavoidable.