Truth or Fiction...

I am making a strong attempt to not sound condescending or righteous while I am writing this blog; I want it to be neutral.  Something interesting is happening in the world.  People are hanging onto their beliefs and even changing well known scientific fact or history to suit a narrative of their own.  Older people, Baby Boomers and Generation X’ers, are more susceptible it seems.  I spoke to my Millennial son about why they don’t get suckered into this phenomenon as much and in his opinion it is very simple;  They know how to recognize garbage when they see it and we don’t.

You see it’s simple; they have never lived in a world where fact and fiction has not been the opposite side of the coin. They know movies are fake (even the ones that claim to be based in fact) and they know that we the older generation put a spin on everything to make people buy in.  Well guess what – they ain’t buying what we are selling!

However this bending of the truth has opened a sticky area that feels like leaky gut syndrome to me… crap just keeps trickling out.  If you repeat the lie enough, people will believe it.   They will send link after link of information found on dubious sites as proof that they are right.  Yet when historical or scientific facts are stated, if it doesn’t suit the narrative, it is discarded as being the conspiracy that we are being fed, by I am not sure whom.  The end result I believe is that we are getting sick and losing our moral compass.

In general society has taken a step back.  There is no longer “THE Truth” there is only the spin you want it to have.  What we don’t understand is that every Tom, Dick and Harriett can now have their opinion heard.  This is a good thing most of the time but when the ignorant starts leading the blind… well then I really don’t know.  Now when I say ignorant let me clarify that I don’t mean uneducated, no, I mean the people who actually do know better but are willfully misleading because they have decided that “commonly” understood, well known facts no longer suit their narrative.

Why do I feel this is a problem you ask? Well, I had a very disconcerting chat on facebook with a group of acquaintances from high school.  Little did I know that they are Holocaust deniers and I foolishly engaged.  They sent me link after link of facts that they have found on the internet to support their philosophy, that Hitler didn’t give the order for “The Final Solution” and that only one or two million Jews were murdered because it wasn’t possible to murder more etc. etc.  Even when another person provided some alternative sites that speak to the number of people including Jews that died in camps they just refuted it with the claim that it was Jewish propaganda.   I just left the conversation but I was deeply saddened because to me it doesn’t matter how many people died, six million or three hundred thousand (which was one claim) it remains a terrible, horrific time in history and one that I hope we never repeat.

 But my real fear is that I think we will repeat it.  I fear we have not learned anything from the past. We refute and dispute known facts.  We have people that believe the earth is flat for crying out loud!  When did that become a thing?  Why would our planet be the only one in the Universe that is different?  We sow division. Racism, Antisemitism, Misogyny and Militant Feminism is blatant.  The disenfranchised are disregarded.  People (Syria) are bombed daily and no-one bats an eye.  Children are put into holding cells (cages) and nothing is done.  Refugees are shunned and pushed to the margins of society.  Have we have lost our ability to have or even show compassion for all humans?

I don’t know how to fix this globally.  Perhaps finding “better” people to vote for will help, but power corrupts we have seen it many times.  After that sticky conversation about the Holocaust I spoke to my son about it and he looked at me incredulously.  “Unfriend them, why would you want to be friends with people like that?!” he asked.  And that is when I realized the power is mine. I can create my world in a way that it supports Sacred Life.  I can share with an open heart and have compassion for my fellow human beings.  I can refrain from judgement and I can fight against darkness by shining my light far and wide.  This doesn’t mean that I will avoid people who disagree with me but if they are actively working on creating division and hate… then they gotta go…

Love & Light

Beltane ~ Time for The Wild Masculine

I am fascinated by the concept of the Wild Masculine.  Now days we hear much about the Wild Feminine as women everywhere attempt to connect once again with their inert feminine nature.  I believe we are forgetting about a significant part of this renaissance; The Masculine.  I don’t imagine that the one can become whole without the other.  We can empower women, make them stronger and more self-sufficient but without enlightened men we are, in my opinion, fighting a losing battle.

In this time of the #metoo movement there are two significant things happening.  I see feminism taking a nasty turn and in that we are becoming as narrow minded as the men we are standing up against.  It fills me with sadness because I would have thought we knew better, but bitterness often makes you weak and vengeful.  Secondly some men scoff the movement as irrelevant and a “card to be pulled”.  I assure you it is neither.

It brings me back to the concept of the Wild Masculine.  I have read quite a bit about it however I feel I have just scratched the surface.  There is still much to learn, just as I continue to uncover more about the Wild Feminine.  I can share what I know so far about the Wild Masculine… but I am sure that someday I will have more to reveal.

The Wild Masculine is raw primordial power.  He is the incarnation of Freyr, Pan, Cernunnos and The Green Man.  It connects with the feminine without fear and with an open heart.  The masculinity that is mirrored to us today is but a hollow shell.  A world were the feminine has been oppressed doesn’t offer men the opportunity to be open, strong and playful, not with the feminine nor within their brotherhood. 

Many men have become attached to their ego’s not their hearts which has led to unhealthy competition.  I don’t believe that men want to be this way; I just think they have lost the knowledge of how to be true to themselves. This incarnation of the world certainly doesn’t nurture this type of masculinity.

When men meet on an equal footing among themselves they are the unstoppable warrior energy that can change the world.  They provide a place for women to work their magic of birthing and creation.  Without the seed there can be no creation and no birthing.

The Wild Masculine loves without boundary and will allow himself to be vulnerable.  His gift is to penetrate a woman to her deepest core unlocking pleasure and the true understanding of the Source and Love.  When men and woman connect in this way they are two parts of equal measure of the same breath that creates not only life but harmony.  He will not ever diminish the woman he has chosen but will choose to honour the feminine.  He relies on the wisdom of the feminine to see the mystical and the magic of existence and he knows that with and through her he can know Source. 

The Wild Masculine knows and understands that it his mission is to bring light into the darkness and force it back and while doing so he will not sacrifice his integrity, honour or beliefs.  He is always in alignment with what is right and for the greater good of humanity.  He is Love made into Action…

Love & Light

I am Heathen… and this is why.

People often ask me why I am Heathen.  For some time I wasn’t able to give them and answer that made sense, it was as if I couldn’t quite put it into words.  So, I spent some time thinking about it why I am a Pagan so that next time I was asked I could answer the question clearly without hesitation.

I have always believed in something greater than myself, the Church however left me cold.  I felt that the Patriarchy of Christianity didn’t feed me.  I could not reconcile a God of love with one who spoke of an eternal punishment if you did not follow the rules.  Then Jesus died and for our sins and was resurrected.  That took a lot of responsibility off our shoulders; we could ask for forgiveness and be saved but there was still there was something missing.  

Here are my reasons for choosing to be a Pagan:

Re-incarnation:

I was very young when I started to believe in re-incarnation.  I could never wrap my head around how one would get only one chance to live a good life and not make any mistakes.  In my everyday life I was granted chance after chance by my earthly Father why would a heavenly Father not be more compassionate if he were a God of love.  I feel certain that I will keep coming back until I am enlightened and I am absolutely convinced that I have lived many lives both of power and darkness.

Goddess Worship:

Somewhere deep inside my subconscious I knew that there were Goddesses that had been stripped of their power and were waiting to be worshipped once again.  I could feel the rise of the feminine and I wanted to be part of that movement.  However I never become only a Goddess worshipper I believe in balance where both the masculine and the feminine are revered. 

Karma:

I believe in the law of Karma and free will; what you sow so shall you reap.  To me this means that if I do my best to be a good person that is what will be returned to me.  If I do harm intentionally it will have a karmic repercussion.  Every experience in my life is a consequence of a decision I made. 

Free Will:

I have free will and I therefore have the freedom of choice and there is always a choice.  With choice comes great responsibility.  I attract everything good and bad with my intention and the choices I make.  Choice is freedom!!

Responsibility:

Even though there is something comforting about Jesus taking away our sins I prefer to take responsibility for my own life and deeds.  I feel that only through learning, healing and striving to be a better person can I become a part of Source. 

This is why I am Heathen and proud of it.  I feel in control of my life but in the knowledge that there is a reason for everything and nothing is coincidence.  There is a synchronicity to my life that allows it to flow, move and be vibrant.  There is a Great Mystery at work and I am part of it...

Love & Light

Are we failing new Pagans?

I witnessed something last weekend that terrified me.  This may sound somewhat dramatic but I felt overwhelmed by the energy in the room.  I went to the psychic fair.  Mostly we had a wonderful time, I had a great palm and tarot reading by Johanna and I found a beautiful new leather bound book to record my own sacred text and Spells (Grimoire). 

We decided to go listen to one of the speakers.  The talk we wanted to hear was on Aura photography.  I know what an Aura is and I know the significance, how to clear and expand it but it is not my field of study so finding out about how it is photographed and read sounded fascinating.  Well, that’s when things went wrong…

The speaker spent all of three minutes on Aura’s and then launched into talking about curses and vows and that is a subject I know something about.   If that had been what I signed up for no problem but it was not.  The speaker asked the people in the room to stand up and renounce any vows and curses that they may have made in this lifetime and others.  Typically this would not be a problem if you have explained the consequences and had people had time to work through the karmic repercussions of such an act, but none were.  It was simply, stand up and repeat after me...  That was eye opening and in my opinion reckless.

Then the audience started asking questions and that is when I became horrified. Some of the questions revealed that people have been using magic and ancient ways without any concept of the consequences of their actions.  They are dabbling with energies that they don’t comprehend or respect.  One of the attendees spoke of how she had used a voodoo doll and now was wondering if she should just burn it in an effort to reverse what she had done.  There was no understanding of the Rule of Three and First Do No Harm.  People are just going onto the internet and downloading stuff and doing it!  It is like a Pagan Porn fest out there!

So I ask the Old Guard, those of us who have stood at the gateway to the unknown and studied our Craft intensively, what do we do?  How do we reach more people and help them understand Magic the Ancient Ways and the Old Goddesses and Gods?  How do we teach the Old Ways in such a way that people respect and revere it?   We have to find ways to reach people and teach them about the Rule of Three and First Do No Harm.  It is wonderful that people are waking up but we need them to wake up in the light.  So let’s get out there and teach, guide and lead.  It is for us to do…

Love & Light

3 Things to stop doing in 2018

At the beginning of this New Year I want to attempt to get us all to look at things from a different perspective.  I find that we are all very hard on ourselves.  We will often give others a break for failing or making a mistake but we won’t forgive ourselves for the same thing.  This year I want us to all practice self-compassion and change our perceptions.

One of the most used self-criticisms I hear is “I should know… do…change…” etc.  It is that word “Should” that causes many problems in our lives because we beat ourselves with it.  I have a question… why should we know or do anything?  Would we not do it if the time is right and if we really knew?  It always makes me think about a Buddha quote I love.

To know but not to do is not yet to know ~ Buddha

First thing to go = Should, replace with “I want to.”

Making mistakes is another area where people beat themselves up.  Making mistakes is a natural way of learning.  Get to the stage where you feel comfortable making mistakes and learning new things and explore the outer edges, as that is where we grow.

Second thing to go = Fear of making mistakes.  Replace with “I want to learn.”

Fear of walking the edge.  We often say no to things that would stretch us and help us grow.  We do this out of fear of the unknown and the result is we keep our world and experiences small.

Third thing to go = Saying No.  Replace with YES!

Finally I want to remind everyone that we are all doing the best we can.  We make our decisions based on what we know and it is only once we have acted on the decision that we can see if it was good or not.  Hindsight as they say is 20/20. 

So cut yourself some slack.  Relax take a deep breath… after all, you’re only human…

Love & Light

4 Characteristics that show you are a catalyst for others.

Have you found that people who are right in the midst of a personal struggle will gravitate to you and that your energy seems to guide them through their crisis?  Well that may mean that you are a catalyst of other people’s healing.

I am not referring to the daily healing work I do as a practitioner. No, I am talking about a much deeper personal and emotional healing done in a one-to-one relationship.  

I am looking at why I get drawn into these situations.   With my own experiences I have found that the following traits and behaviors attract the people who are in need of a catalyst to make life changing decisions:

Authenticity

After years of working on myself I have come to a place in my life where I feel truly authentic.   I don’t feel judged by anyone because I don’t care what others think and I don’t judge others.  The saying “What other people think of you is none of your business” resonates with me at a conscious and unconscious level.  This authenticity leads to ease in my dealings with others and makes them feel comfortable to share their secrets.

Intensity

I live my life with an intensity that is seldom matched in people around me.  Other people who resonate the same become close friends and in these cases there is no energy loss on either side.  The ones who don’t vibrate at the same rate find my intensity and energy acts like a catalyst for them.  They draw from this and use it to spark change in their own lives.  In most cases this is not a problem because I have learnt how to protect myself from energy vampires.

Heart Connection

My heart is open to my community, my friends and my family.  My heart is generally open in this way.  I do however keep my heart hidden in a relationship until something happens that triggers a happy memory and allows me to open it.  Once that happens I am 100% present and engaged.   I don’t play games well, so I avoid them.  I am either in or out there is no in between.  This trait often makes the other person feel safe and then they start to engage at a deeper level.  There are times they run because they are just not ready.  When they run I struggle to just let it be at first but I soon see the wisdom

Enthusiasm

I am nothing if not enthusiastic.  I have a passion for life and I don’t play small.  I have lived most of my life taking risks and laughing at most of the consequences.  My motto, if you don’t laugh you’ll cry and that won’t solve anything.  So I choose to laugh.  If doesn’t hurt less but it is more bearable and affords me the grace to hold my head up and laugh with others at my crazy life.  People who need to feel protected when taking a risk notice this.  They draw energy from me to step into the unknown.

Do you have the same traits?  For me it isn’t always easy… sometimes I invest and find that I am left asking what went wrong.  Does this happen to you?  Have you been left wondering how come you have been squeezed dry? 

Here is what I know; you have far more reserves than you think.  You will always return stronger than before.  You will recover quickly as long as you are never a victim.  Perhaps it is yours to do but remember you always have a choice.

I realize quickly that I choose my path and that there is power in every choice I make.  Life is glorious and we should all live it to the fullest, even if it means taking risks and laughing in the face of despair.

Choose wisely…

Love & Light

Mistakes…. Four things they taught me.

I have enjoyed mine so much I think I will go make a few more!  As part of the healing process I have been scratching around in the events that I considered to be the muck of my life’s journey.  What I discovered is that these moments are the actual true moments of power.  They taught me valuable life lessons.

1. We don’t always get what we want.

We all dream our dreams and make our plans but in the end we receive what is most in alignment with our Souls journey.  Interestingly enough when you look back you will notice that what you did receive was actually spot on!  It often allows for future growth and new ideas.  If I had got what I wanted ten years ago I wouldn’t even be here or in this stage of my development.  It may have been possible but this journey has proved to be exactly what my Soul needed.  I had to break quite a few things to get here though…

2.  Ushers in a new understanding.

To my point of breaking things, the only way I have found that you can bring in a new understanding is by breaking the old way.  Mistakes force you to see where the crack is and allows for a paradigm shift.   Without the events that I consider to be my mistakes I would not have made that connection.  They served a vital role in uncovering my bullshit!

3.  Don’t hang onto them.

Whatever you do don’t hang onto your so-called mistakes.  Everything has a reason, nothing is random and we are all connected.  We are just acting on what we know at the time, and sometimes that just isn’t enough information but we don’t know what we don’t know.  Sometimes we take action based on a projection of what we want our lives to be, not what really is. 

4.  What is.

Mistakes push us to see life as it really is, all of the beauty and the warts.  Once we master the willingness to stop hiding behind our masks, our projections and our fears a new world unfolds and we can finally see the path of our journey. 

Once again this past weekend I witnessed the letting go by courageous people, each in their own space doing their work.  I tip my hat to all of us who won’t give up; we who plug away at our individual darkness in order to heal the human consciousness of our time and herald in the 5^th World.  HAIL!

Love & Light