Samhain activities

This Wiccan Christain will be doing the fire, dance, food, drink, and thanking the blessings of Fall... a reply to: CyNiC970

a reply to: CyNiC970

Yeah I'm not sure why people are talking about initiation,

You are right of course. It's just we may feel guilty calling ourselves witches. Kind of like people aren't allowed to call themselves shaman unless they went to certain accredited schools.

But yes. We live in sacred space. No one can deny us that.

a reply to: CyNiC970

It's someimthing I picked up from a BTW witch, and prolificly hated paganspace mod. To call yourself Wicca you have to be initiated into an official order or something. Otherwise, you're just a pretender poser wanna-be. And also don't capitalize the word pagan.

I'm not pagan or Wiccan, but I just always assumed that was a real thing. I think I heard it was part of the reclamation movement in paganism, where the darker ones got pissed at the overly white-witch neopagans for making it lame.

a reply to: Degradation33

The squirrel has picked up five peanuts so far. My landlord won't let me put many out at once, rats, you know, he used to be an exterminator.

Make that seven.
I left one by the tree.
He was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. So I told him to check the tree. He found it.

Squirrels are hoarders. Dig something up then bury it elsewhere. They don't always remember where.

a reply to: nickyw

I live where Bede did his works, I'd assume lots of recycling happened here too and not just materialistically. I honestly couldn't say how far back that goes but I do know this part of the NE has had continuous occupation which would include similar uses of sites. The Romans loved this area and they consecrated holy sites and found "religious equivalence" with the locals and their customs. I suspect Nordic and Slavic influences going further back too but that's neither here nor there when it comes to cultural origins dating 3000+ years ago. It gets murky before written history if we're aiming to be objective about the past.

The links are truly fascinating though

but if we think of pride its not unique or new as its an obvious evolution of the bonfire traditions from when the bonfire boyes and girls started swapping clothes to prevent arrest by the uptight for continuing to celebrate traditions they wanted expunged, even now wider society wants such events shut down.. the "you can't do that" hasn't changed.

and that spiders out and shapes other traditions like Lamas in Eastbourne or jack in the green in Hastings as each town takes on a celebration to make its own, as pride was taken on by Brighton as there is an internal support matrix that keeps these things going no matter what or who is in power..

I see the continuation and the way people act, it's the little things that play into huge differences over time, your mentioning of Lammas had me looking at Anglo-Saxons and the evolution of "quarter days" such as Michaelmas and Christmas. There's a definite continuation of practices even if the origins are somewhat lost to time and time itself is the reason it all works. I should learn more about the history of Scotland and how seasonal aspects of culture tie into everything else that's happened in the UK because I suspect those few degrees C° and the less/more light thing makes a difference.

the reason this is important is that this is the region the mother of modern witchcraft gathered her spells from Christian folk magic and Aleister Crowley practiced his art, but it is also where Vaughan Williams collected tunes like the tune from the peace song "our captain" that became "to be a pilgrim" so its that eclectic mix of having offering for both paganism and Christianity after 1500 years they are a pretty inseparable mix, while we can see the footprints the originals and its origins lost to time as ours will be in 1500 years time.

Yeah... Fascinating stuff. One could turn around and say modern witchcraft is a wishy washy mix of things gone before but that was the same story 1500 years ago too. Even the Norse had the Aesir/Vanir which is apparently a hybridised pantheon which goes a long way in explaining some of that Indo influence on Europeans, that influence will go a lot deeper than language. There's 1500 years before them to consider too.

a reply to: CyNiC970

You can probably gather my view on all that with my post to nickyw lol.

Faith is personal. I don't have a go at Christians who don't self flagellate or wear itchy jumpers either. In the UK we get Xmas and boxing day 🥊 for that

a reply to: RAY1990

excellent thoughts

I live on the white road/south downs way and one of my favourite sites is chactonbury ring, awesome sacred place to see sunrise, but intriguing as a site in itself as vacant when the Romans arrived they still built an important temple within its walls, a local Norman church built just post invasion was built of roman rubble bricks/tiles from a local roman villa.. so we have both Roman/Norman invasions in one building in the walls is a roman tile and a perfect rendition of the green man, helping us date the green the green man to as least the roman invasion, link that to the late roman tiles found at the lowest points of the green man, obviously used to hide him by the Saxons??.

so we have the input of 3 invaders/various religions and yet the green man still lives on in folklore, its amazing how resilient folklore is even after multiple thousands of years.

Very nice, wonderful way to bring in the new year!! I love it a reply to: maryjo44

a reply to: RAY1990
It would be my hope that no one would have a go at anyone just because of they're beliefs, when they breach I teach acceptance of all walks of life.

Well, I live with snakes and lizards
And other things that go bump in the night
'Cause to me every day is Halloween
I have given up hiding and started to fight
I have started to fight
Well anytime, any place, anywhere that I go
All the people seem to stop and stare
They say, "Why are you dressed like it's Halloween?"
"You look so absurd, you look so obscene!"
Oh, why can't I live a life for me?
Why should I take the abuse that's served?
Why can't they see they're just like me?
It's the same, it's the same in the whole wide world
Well, I let their teeny minds think
That they're dealing with someone who is over the brink
And I dress this way just to keep them at bay
'Cause Halloween is every day, hey
It's every day, hey
Oh, why can't I live a life for me?
Why should I take the abuse that's served?
Why can't they see they're just like me?
It's the same, it's the same in the whole wide world
Oh, why can't I live a life for me?
Why should I take the abuse that's served?
Why can't they see they're just like me?
I'm not the one that's so absurd
(Why can't I live a life for me? Oh) Why hide it? Why fight it?
(No! Why should I?) Hurt feelings, best to stop feeling hurt
From denials (oh), reprisals
It's the same, it's the same in the whole wide world
It's the same, it's the same in the whole wide
It's the same, it's the same in the whole wide
Oh, it's the same, it's the same in the whole wide

Songwriters: Al Jourgensen

a reply to: Crowfoot


I like that

a reply to: pthena

thanks my V equals must have broken in the lyric linking

.

a reply to: Degradation33

Read "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman, please

a reply to: pthena

it's what it is. Have you heard of Basque country and the mythos surrounding it? I found out I'm related to the Basque, since my family name is De Anda. Really wild stories and such.

What sort of accredited shaman schools? I have a couple of friends who say they're shamans, but I'm skeptical, of course. Shamanism is an ancient rite used by many cultures across history. However, one must abide by the traditions. I don't practice any of this stuff and am a Christian, but I don't see anything wrong with educating myself, especially since many of my friends are wiccan or pagan to some degree. I live in Wisconsin, so girls doing witchy things is par for course up here lol