I'm an agnostic Buddhist Pagan deist :-). More on this later.

Legend of Frigiving

Since we don't celebrate Thanksgiving at my house.... :)

Legend of Frigiving

 

Once upon a time, two people got married. They both came from families that weren't real big on holidays. When they decided to buy a house, the wife said, "Hey, let's start our own traditions with our own family". The husband agreed. November rolled around and they were excited to prepare for Thanksgiving dinner. But alas! They both worked jobs that required them to work that day. Furthermore, the husband worked days and the wife worked nights. The husband lamented, "what are we to do? our first Thanksgiving dinner is ruined before it began!" The wife thought for a second and said, "Husband, don't fret. Aren't we both off from work tomorrow? We can have our dinner then". The husband said, "Awesome! Is it still Thanksgiving?" "No", the wife said, "we'll call it Frigiving since it's the next day." "But," the husband realized, "all the turkeys will be gone". "no biggie," the wife replied, "we'll have fried chicken."

 

So the couple and their children started the annual ritual of Frigiving. Anything but traditional Thanksgiving food is served. The dinner is held when it is convenient in the 4th or 5th week of November.

 

Does your family have special holiday or do you put your own twist on existing holidays?

Pagan Prompt - Your Beginning

I'm neglecting my blog. I feel so bad. The Pagan Prompt theme from 11/10/11 is "Your Beginning". I'm sure I've answered this before but here it is again.

How did you come to be where you are today?

Did you always know you were Pagan/Wiccan/etc?

How did you get started on this journey?

I was raised as a Christian, Jehovah's Witness to be exact. Yes, JW is a Christian religion. I never celebrated holidays of any kind and preaching the Word door-to-door was mandatory as was attending 3 meetings a week at the Kingdom Hall. Sometime in spring 1992, I was officially baptized as a JW. Why? Because it was the "right" thing to do. My mom was very strict so it was either her (JW) way or the highway. I really tried to be a good JW but the restrictions got to be too much. I was still living at home and couldn't have a boyfriend although I was over 18. Where there's a will, there's a way; I got pregnant with my 2nd child out of wedlock in 1995 and was - to use the JW term - disfellowshipped.

I moved into my own place in Aug 1995. Plans to wed my son's father deteriorated; he too was a df'ed JW. From that point to about 2 yrs ago, I was trying to go back to my childhood religion. After all, I no longer had any friends or family since the religion forbids contact with df'ed members. Yeah, so that didn't work.
About 2 yrs ago (I need to find the exact date for my personal records) a coworker invited me to a Buddhist meeting. Remember that since I was raised JW, I really had no knowledge of any other religion. I was apprehensive at first but what did I have to lose? My own mother rarely speaks to me. so I went and afterwards did some research on my own. It made sense to me. I must also point out that (most) Buddhist do not recruit. My coworker told me that something I said made her think that I would be interested in the meeting. We can't remember what that was but I do know I was feeling like the spiritual part of my life was missing.

Anyhoo, I started chanted and I realized that I was feeling better emotionally. I called my brother and formally forgave a 10 yr old debt. I called my sister and told her I was studying Buddhism. Her response? OMG, you might as well study Wicca!!! So thank you sis, I told your advice. I actually studied a few major religions because I no longer believed that JW was the end-all, be-all.

Wicca/Witchcraft for Dummies was the first book I read about Paganism. O-M-Goddess! Talk about epiphany! I was like, this is me. Ok, maybe not Wicca proper but Paganism definitely made sense to me. I felt comfortable. I felt like I had come home. I started researching different forms of paganism. I realized that although I like some of what Wicca is about, I'm not Wiccan. I like that the Feminine is equal to or even greater than the Masculine. In Christianity, "the head of the wife is the husband".

I was always fascinated by the moon, planets, and the seasonal changes. I never understood why the beginning of summer meant that the days would be growing shorter. When I was younger I wanted to be an astronomer. I think that I may have always been pagan but never knew that it was a name for it.

I consider myself a solitary Buddhist Pagan. The Buddhism speaks to my rational side while Paganism speaks to my creative side. If I were one or the other, something would be missing. I've tossed around the idea of starting my own teaching coven but not sure where to start.

I rededicated myself to the Goddess on 6/1/11 as Her priestess, a new moon. I say rededicated because all Gods and Goddesses are one. My Christian dedication and baptism is not nullified; it served what it needed to for that phase of my life. I remember my mom talking about how serving Jehovah gave her so much joy. I never felt that joy and I felt guilty. I really really tried. Honoring the Goddess has brought me that joy. The Goddess is within and without. One who honors the Goddess, honors herself.

Blessed (astronomical) Samhain

Dreamspell - White Rhythmic Mirror (6 Etznab) - Kin 58
Mayan - 10 Oc (White Planetary Dog) - Kin 10
Sun in Libra

I went to visit my father's grave today for the first time since he died. There is no headstone. The graveyard was peaceful. I have so many questions that I want to ask him now.




~Magickal Graphics~

on writing Goddess charges

Inspired by the Charge of Goddess, I've decided to write my own charge for each phase of the moon: Maiden, Mother, Crone, and Dark. I follow the Egyptian patheon but there doesn't seem to be a specific Triple Goddess. I'm writing qualities of each persona and will find a Goddess to fit. Some qualites overlay. Here's what I have so far:

 

Dark

beginnings

endings

mystery

secrets

afterlife

 

Maiden

youth

innocence

playful

passion

fertility

 

Mother

education

fertility
intelligence

responsible

 

Crone

wisdom

experience

independence

stability