Merry Meet

Thank you for coming to read Merry Meet. I am traveling this weekend, and have limited time to write extensive entries. However, I wanted to post at least a tidbit every day, so today I offer the following link for your consideration:

Pagans Among Us, from CUUPS

This sermon, presented by R. Tom Dixon III at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbia, reflects on reticence and misunderstanding of non-pagans when faced with an “openly pagan” individual.

Dixon calls on Emerson, in particular, and does so in what I think is a very applicable and appropriate way.

What do you think? 

Like most holidays, Valentine’s Day has pagan origins. Today, most people celebrate either Valentine’s Day or Anti-Valentine’s Day. If you are celebrating the latter, consider purchasing one of GaelSong’s suggested gifts for yourself–they’re too catchy to pass up.

GaelSong is always phenomenal about promoting products which have colors that embody the season. This Valentine’s Day, GaelSong is promoting items listed up to 75% off the original price. Featured items for males of the pagan path are particularly notable and include pocket watches.

One of the most thoughtful gifts offered are tarot bags (pictured). The burgundy and gold dragon bag brings out the passion and warmth of the holiday, while showing respect for one’s energy by offering a place of protection for a tarot deck.

When I started this blog, I selected the phrase “Merry Meet” as its title due to the meaning of the phrase. Several people have since asked me about the meaning or have found the blog through search queries in which they were trying to determine the meaning of Merry Meet.

I’d like to think that this blog reflects the very meaning of Merry Meet, which can be taken quite literally. “Well met,” in other words; a friendly greeting. When I made Merry Meet, I wanted it to be a friendly place for people of various spiritualities to gather and discuss pagan-centric topics. Hence, the comments are moderated–however, I’m glad to say I haven’t encountered too many trolls.

I’d even venture to say that the internet has become a more tolerant place in the last decade or so…or perhaps it’s just the world that has done this.

“Merry Meet,” sometimes abbreviated online as “MM,” is simply a way for pagans to greet one another in a friendly manner. I find it also to be a somewhat disarming phrase, as it is hard for anyone to misinterpret the meaning, whether they are pagan or not.

The phrase also comes in handy at renaissance faires, and some people use it as a ‘code phrase’ of sorts–one can greet with the phrase, and if the recipient is also a pagan, might understand that one is on a pagan path and receptive to discussing such issues.

What do you think when you hear the phrase? 

I remember when I was growing up in the 1980s. My mother didn’t want me to be around any of that Dungeons & Dragons stuff or even fantasy novels. Star Trek was okay–that was wholesome enough–but there was something about the fantasy genre that scared her. Maybe it was the way almost every talk show featured guests describing horror stories of their children being sucked into “devil worship” by role playing games.

In retrospect, the whole thing seems absurd. That’s like saying a child can watch The Wizard of Oz and start really believing in flying monkeys. Kids need some parental guidance to help them distinguish between fiction and reality at first, but once they learn, they know.

Back to my mom. She was never really religious or even spiritual, so she wasn’t scared of any sort of sin per se. I think she just took these stories to heart instead of thinking critically. Who can be a ‘critical thinker’ when their child’s safety is in question?

As I grew older, I was allowed to (and encouraged) to read whatever I want. However, I still have that nagging feeling about the whole issue. Had I been a boy (I was to be named Michael instead of Tara were that the case), I don’t think it would have been a problem. Boys like dungeons and boys like dragons; therefore boys should play D&D.

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Reflecting Your Need

Depending on your path or need, your altar can vary. Many people choose to set up a basic altar, but change it for the seasons and for different festivals. If you feel like you need to focus on a specific area of improvement, mood, or deity, it is always acceptable to change your altar.

Building an altar for a deity can strengthen one’s personal relationship with the divine. This also allows the worshiper to contemplate specific aspects of a deity, as they will be included in an altar. If you are creating an altar layout for a specific deity, consider her or his shapes, colors, and traits. What does the deity represent in general? What does the deity represent to you?

These questions should also apply to seasonal or ancestral altars. You may even choose to create a pagan altar as a simply peaceful place; perhaps the act of organizing and arranging the altar calms you. It’s not uncommon to include spiritually unrelated but otherwise meaningful items on an altar, such as trinkets, jewelry, or pictures, and you may wish to play some of your favorite music while you arrange your altar or design it. Here are some musical suggestions.

Overall, your altar should make you feel centered and balanced. It is a place meant to center and use your energy. The very act of designing and making your altar should exhibit this primary use; you may also learn things about yourself as you make the altar.

What is your ideal altar design? Does it change or remain the same?

Come back for more information on pagan altars.

Introduction
Making an altar is one of the most reflective, meaningful things one can do with her or his spiritual energy. Altars do not have to be ornate, though most pagans opt to include specific elements in an altar arrangement. Most importantly, an altar should reflect your personal style of devotion and expression; you should feel comfortable before it and not intimidated, seeing it as a tool through which you can guide your energy and thoughts.

Rather than confining yourself to limits, think of possibilities. Pagan altars can be:

• Located inside or outside
• Hidden or displayed
• Many colors or one
• Private or public
• Frequently functional or meant as an honorary display
• Meaningful to the practitioner
• On a rock, on the ground, a round table, a square table, etc.
• Devoted to a deity, season, path, festival, holiday, or for general use

Before you begin or find yourself limited by others’ ideas, think about your own goals for your pagan altar. What are they?

Please feel free to leave your comments here, and check back in the coming days for detailed tips.

The other day, I came across a post from last year, written by Albert Mohler. Mohler explores how pagans have allegedly infiltrated the Religious Society of Friends due to the Friends’ policies of tolerance. Mohler seems to believe that this can indicate a paganization of Christian organizations.

While I don’t fundamentally agree with many of the things posted on Mohler’s site, I agree that he does of course have the right to examine this supposed trend. It is a truth that Quakers are openly non-judgmental whenever possible, which technically goes along well with mainstream Christian doctrine.

The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship is not exclusively or in any part affiliated with Christianity unlike the Religious Society of Friends, though both openly exhibit a moral obligation to embrace diversity. Because of this, it is possible for those of virtually any non-harm-doing belief system to be accepted by members of both the Fellowship and the Friends–my personal experience certainly provides me with a strong agreement.

The Christian criticism tends to remind me of politics–the way in which John McCain, a moderate affiliated with the GOP, initially lacked support of many far right supporters who leaned more towards politicians like Bush and Huckabee. Similarly, it would seem that more conservative Christian groups might be interested in pulling Christians away from the more liberal Quakers.

There certainly seems to be more than a bit of information to support Mohler’s assertion that there are in fact pagan Quakers out there. Here are some links to help you examine the situation.

• Quaker Pagan Reflections
• The Wild Hunt: Looking at Quaker Pagans
• Great Waters Pagan Friends Gathering
• Christianity Today: Are the Quakers Going Pagan?
• Musings of a Quaker Witch [a blog]

What do you think? Is it possible to be both pagan and Quaker? Should Quakers direct a pagan interested in community worship to the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship instead? Is it right for other Christians to judge this wave of acceptance? Why or why not?

I’m liberal and I’m pagan.

This pairing never seems to surprise anyone. Most tend to assume that all pagans have to be liberals. After all, liberals focus on protecting religious freedom (pagans are a minority) and the environment. Liberals tend to be more accepting of eccentric individuals or personalities; mainstream society considers pagans eccentric.

On the other hand, it’s not like I go around wearing a big I AM PAGAN sign. It’s something people can probably figure out once they get to know me. As an editor by trade, I work in the publishing industry in an office consisting mostly of women. Sometimes it seems like the entire publishing industry (particularly the author segment) just expects me to be weird in one way or another. In fact, I feel I won’t do as well at my job if I don’t know that I’m somewhat bizarre to the core.

I used to wonder about segmentation and demographics. I didn’t think it made sense for pagans to be conservative. I also felt the same way about African Americans. My liberal mind couldn’t possibly see a way in which an African American would willingly join the GOP in the US.

I later came to realize it was more complicated than that–the demographic and the preference. A wealthy black pagan large business owner might see a lot of logical regions to vote in a conservative capacity. Furthermore, some of those might be spiritual reasons. Take reverence of nature, for example–this is a trait cultivated by many pagan and nontraditional paths (even for Catholics, abusing the environment is now a venial sin).

Because of this view, some pagans might see it as their duty to protect the environment. I used to find it very in line with vegetarianism, and was in fact a vegetarian for eleven years. Other pagans, however, might see the path of humanity as a natural thing, or global warming as a course of nature. Therefore, to maintain nature’s chosen balance, we should accept the way things are. If this is a dealbreaker issue for a pagan voter, that might mean the difference between candidates–not only liberal or conservative, but Green Party versus Democratic Party.

There is, of course, the notion that religion has nothing whatsoever to do with politics. I think this is very different than the prayer in schools/separation of church and state debate. Morals certainly guide our actions. In my case, I would definitely agree that my desire to assist others and a moral compulsion to do so leads me to a pro-universal health care path, and therefore to a specific affiliation.

In the end, therefore, we can only know that each person has to make his or her individual choice regarding political affiliation–not have his or her spirituality dictate it.

Further resources: If you’re interested in exploring this further, check out one of the following sites:

Oak Grove Conservatives

PaganSpace [Note: this is not a liberal site, but seeing as most pagans tend to be on the liberal side, I’m pointing you to this general social networking site]

It’s easy to see that Stevie Nicks is a powerful woman. I’ve seen her in concert both as a solo act and with Fleetwood Mac. Her stage presence is extremely different than that of her band mates; she exudes a sense of mystery, but still comes across as approachable. Nicks is a rare, confessional soul: her lyrics tell her story in a clear and reminiscent way. Her costumes catch the wind in a witch-gypsy dance.

Her voice is far from typically feminine–it’s rough and bold. She expressive and open, exploring the vicissitudes of her own life and her career choices right before the hearts of her audience.

Inspired by a novel which included elements of Welsh mythology, Nicks wrote Rhiannon, a haunting and immensely popular tune inspired by a Welsh goddess bearing many similarities to Epona, including an association with horses. Possibly due to a negative perception of paganism, Rhiannon is often thought to be a witch or nymph, though in fact she is a far more regal deity, her name more likely translated as “queen.”

Nicks wrote the song in ten minutes. Just as soothing and spiritual author Paulo Coelho draws parallels to the Greek goddess Athena in The Witch of Portobello, Nicks creates a strong connection between a pagan deity and her own identity by masterfully creating and performing this song.

Fleetwood Mac just announced some Unleashed tour dates, including an April tour date in Philadelphia. Check out their official website for more information.

Athena has always been one of the most inspiring elements of history and spirituality for me. Revered in Greek culture for her wisdom and prudence, I began to see the importance of confidence in femininity because of Athena. The most wonderful detail about this long-lasting Goddess involves her evolution. As times changed, so did the culture’s myths and stories about Athena, making her truly timeless.

Therefore, it is no surprise that a goddess such as Athena speaks to many of us today. Because she is an ancient Greek deity, people of many religions feel that it is “safe” to study her in a historical and mythological context. From a pagan perspective, radiant Athena is revered as a wise face of the divine Goddess. Some pagans, females in particular, devote themselves to the worship of Athena.

In contemporary times, Catholic author Paulo Coelho takes a very tolerant and universal perspective on spirituality.  In his book The Witch of Portobello, Coelho describes the journey of a young woman, aptly named Athena. After the book’s publication, Coelho approved an interactive film project known as The Experimental Witch, asking his readers to make their own version of Athena’s story. In the final project, clips from numerous films are used, and protagonist Athena therefore looks intentionally like a different woman in every scene.

The point is so: Athena is the everywoman, and from a universalist perspective, a part of every woman.

Coelho also addresses the manner in which others perceive Athena. Athena is not really a witch by any normal standards, but she communicates with the divine through dance and inspires others around her to do so, causing fear against her in her London community. Coelho reminds us that others are often drawn to or fear empowered individuals, especially those who have realized their dreams.

Below is a particularly relevant piece of this story, which deals with others’ perceptions of “witches” (and real witches) as well as discussion about outcasts. This excerpt also deals with the relationships between empowered women and family. This also demonstrates Athena’s maternal, intuitive nature.

 ”…I became a better person by witnessing your journey.”

The dear Saint Bridget known and loved by Catholics today (especially in Ireland and in Irish America) has very ancient and extremely pagan origins. Imbolc celebrates the beginning of spring, hope, renewal, regrowth, and fertility.

This is embodied by the pagan goddess Brighid, who is forever tied to this holiday. Today in the contemporary Republic of Ireland, people still celebrate Imbolc or at least lift a glass to the day, and still devote the holiday to Brighid in Christianized form–as a Catholic saint.

Many pagans in general celebrate Imbolc, though it is specifically important to those following a Celtic path and/or calendar. Most people celebrate Imbolc on the date of February 2nd, but some pagans, particularly Celtic Reconstructionists, may opt to celebrate on the 1st instead as it was the original date of Imbolc before Christianity.

Many choose to celebrate renewal and welcome spring by using symbols associated with Brighid, such as fire (she was a blacksmith). Irish fishermen traditionally see Imbolc (or St. Bridget’s Day) as a sign to resume fishing after a harsh winter. Because Brighid is also the goddess of poetry and healing, one may consider honor her by writing or reciting poetry or volunteering time in a hospital.

During President Obama’s inauguration speech, he said the following regarding religion:

“For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.”

Although Obama didn’t (or didn’t have time to) list every religion and spirituality, I was deeply moved by the fact that Obama chose to include multiple mainstream religions and to acknowledge athiests within his inauguration speech. I sincerely hope that he has set a new precedent for tolerance among all Americans.