Merry Meet

Whether they’re true or not, ghost stories often abound in places filled with history and drama. At risk of scaring the daylights out of the young Obama girls, it seems only fitting that there may be ghosts in the White House.

I’ve never been to the White House–I just walked by it. That said, there seem to be a lot of interesting stories of the paranormal in the White House, sometimes seen as a sign of the times, sometimes due to possibly real happens.

Haunted Places details the potential paranormal activity in the White House. Democrats and Republicans from the past and present definitely seem to agree on some sort of presence in the White House. Often, this is attributed to the Lincoln family, as the Lincolns often conducted seances in the White House in hopes of gaining contact with their deceased son. The site also suggests that Lincoln was the “most psychic” president–given the evidence, I tend to agree. Continue Reading »

This was hands down too cute NOT to share. Full view reads “Nice Pagan Girl.”

Prayer beads are commonly used in various mainstream and non-mainstream religions and paths, most notably in Catholicism. Rosaries can be in the traditional shape of one of Catholic origin, but they do not have to be. People of various faiths can and do use them.

Most pagans make their own jewelry when used for rituals. One can also wear prayer beads or rosaries, often in the shape of necklaces or bracelets. By making prayer beads into jewelry ourselves, we hope to imbue our own energy, reflection, and meditation into the beads. It is also traditional to provide a blessing to the object after it has been created. Continue Reading »

People. In one breath, some people will assume it is weird/Satanic/bizarre to practice witchcraft or anything resembling it. Imagine being a professionally dressed woman, telling a mainstream fellow that you happen to be pagan. The reaction is usually rather odd–a combination of surprise, horror, and a sudden lack of interest.

That same guy, however, might really be a fan of a show like Buffy: the Vampire Slayer. He might even like vampire porn (yes, there is vampire porn). Think about all the guys that are not goth whatsoever, but like goth chicks or Hollywood portrayals of teenage witches in short skirts. Continue Reading »

Many people find this blog because they are looking for information about how to cast spells, or they simply want to find text for spells. I don’t know much about the people searching for these terms, but I know it’s safe to assume that not all of them are responsible, educated practitioners of magic or energy. This is one reason I have not really posted specifically on this topic in the past.

Another reason is that this blog, unlike the other blog I maintain, is very personal and contains many introspective remarks; I post frequently about my feelings on here. Truth be told, my feelings on using spells are very wishy washy. While it’s totally fascinating for me to research and describe information about Voodoo and Vodun, for example, does it change my beliefs? No. The information simply broadens my perspective and offers me insight into how others view and use the spiritual world around us. Continue Reading »

Voodoo is one of the most controversial spiritual paths in existence, particularly for those of us living in the Western world. Originating in Benin, West Africa, it is now practiced, experienced, and noticed in many other areas of the world and in multiple forms. Because it has been spread about, Vodun/Voodoo has changed and evolved as its practitioners have done.

You will note that the below National Geographic video about Voodoo will affirm some common Western stereotypes about Voodoo (chicken sacrifice, spirit mediums). Taking an objective approach and tracing Voodoo back to its origins, I think National Geographic gives an excellent overview of the religion. In particular, the video makes mention of monotheistic worship, also noting the use of spirits to communicate with that higher power. Continue Reading »

A reddit post introduced me to this link: Witchcraft Growing Faster Than Religion’s Big Three.

I think that in this age of tolerance, Wiccans and other pagans will feel more open/less hostile about their beliefs.

What do you think?

The Witching Hour commonly refers to 12 a.m., 3 a.m., or the time between 12 and 3 a.m. I heard one of the guys on Ghost Adventures refer to it during an investigation, prompting me to do a bit of investigation of my own about its meaning.

Aside from a Wikipedia article with a serious lack of citations, there isn’t much out there on the web about the witching hour. Continue Reading »

Greetings and Merry Meet to all readers. I just wanted to let you know about the subscription feature. Clicking on the “subscribe” link at the top of this blog will allow you to subscribe to Merry Meet. Thanks!

I’ve always considered meditation to be key in centering myself. As mentioned before, I’m a very empathetic individual, and I pick up easily on other energies around me (natural, supernatural).

When most people hear the word ‘meditation,’ they think about Eastern religions, specifically Buddhism. However, other religions and spiritualities meditate as well. If you think about it, a “moment of silence” which is nondenominational, is essentially a brief meditation.

Various religious services, including those I have witnessed in some Christian churches, involve moments of reflection on meditation; in fact, many leaders of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam continually assert the importance of reflecting on one’s holy text.

While I’ve never thought of meditation as separate from my pagan or spiritual identity, I certainly haven’t thought of it as connected, and now I am finding that to be disconcerting. Both my spirituality and the act of meditation focus on the universality of everything around me, so why should there be a disconnect?

Further research turned up a meditation on Amergin, which fits in well with my Celtic path. While I have committed myself to the world as a woman and a warrior (at least in some sense), I consider my vow as a bard to be even more sacred. Following this vow, I attempt to receive, interperet, and re-tell information to others. In our modern day, I do this as a writer by profession, this blog being one of my many outlets.

After all, John Keats once wrote: “All writing is a form of prayer.”

What do you think about meditation? Do you also feel that it is universal among all religions and spiritualities?

The Book of Shadows is one of the most frequently misinterpreted items in paganism (or neo-paganism) as it exists today.  Part of the confusion comes from the fact that “book of shadows” has multiple meanings.

Pagans of various paths make such books for their personal use. Most books include rituals, spells, and information for present and future use. The act of copying down or creating one’s own ritual is very important to many people, as it personalizes the item being written down. Some pagans also journal a bit in their personal book of shadows.

The Book of Shadows itself derives from the Wiccan path. The concept of personalizing one’s own book is also strongly tied to Wiccan origins. Individuals and covens alike sometimes keep such a book.

Because of the title given to the Book of Shadows, many have assumed that it is Satanic or dark in nature. In fact, many neopagans keep such books full of poetry or nature-centric journaling. Furthermore, this is a great point to remind others that Wicca has a “do no harm” rule as its core tenet; therefore most of the spells contained in such individual and coven-created books are not meant for negative purposes, or to work with negative energy.

Admittedly, I definitely see a personal book of shadows being a source of spiritual power. However, this is tied less to its bad reputation and more to the fact that writing empowers me and that I have developed much of my identity through writing. To write on spirituality, therefore, allows me to grow as an individual and as a spiritual person. I suppose at this point in my life, Merry Meet (this very blog) is my own book of shadows, to which others are welcome to contribute.

I have received a blank book from a pagan friend in the past. The book was meant for journaling, recordkeeping, etc. For the longest time I kept it with my spiritual items and wrote down my innermost thoughts in it. I decorated the cover of it myself, making it more personal. If you are close enough to another pagan, she or he might find a blank journal a very worthy gift.

Do you keep a book of shadows? What are your thoughts?

Despite my openness to looking at various aspects of the world in a different spiritual context, there’s still one I haven’t wrapped my head around: clairvoyance. This might sound odd, since I proclaim to have experienced paranormal events or presences, but I think that’s just it–the lack of first person experience. With a haunting, I am open to others’ experiences because I have had my own, even though most paranormal experiences are different from what happened to me.

Do you think believers require a first person experience to even partially understand something?

There are examples of this in many aspects of spirituality. In Christianity, a personal relationship to God is often stressed, and the very appearance of Jesus Christ in the Bible confirms this very human connection between deity and human believer. In paganism, this can be seen by some practitioners’ desire to experience nature first hand; a thunderstorm, for example, is a live display of the elements.

Rituals in religion and spirituality further our desire to repeat and connect to each other and a higher power.

How does clairvoyance and prophecy fit into this? What do you think?