Monthly Archives: September 2012

Nemesis, Invoked

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dictionary.com

What is justice? For a follower of the Judeo-Christian-Islam path, justice comes from an external source (God), and each law may or may not fit the context of the day. For those on a Pagan path, there is no external source to look to, and no set of rules to follow. Instead we are faced with making choices based on our own set of ethics, recognizing that what we do will ripple out to impact others (hence the Three-Fold Law).

Every choice I’ve made has led me to this place.

Every choice has rippled out to impact others.

Every choice must be accounted for.

en.wikipedia.org

This morning I was named Nemesis by someone who had been impacted by one of my choices. Nemesis is the Goddess of Righteous Anger and Divine Retribution. Mary Daly speaks of Her power not lying in external justice but in “an internal judgement that sets in motion a New psychic alignment of energy patterns.” (Quintessence 85-86) Making choices is as much about the internal – the integrity one brings to the point of decision – as it is about the external. I’m under no illusions that my choices are not always postive for others, but I strive to make them in a way that is in alignment with the world I want to create. And so I chose not to defend or challenge this naming. I stand by the choice I made and accept the consequences of the impact it had on her. I stand by the choices that led me to that one and the choices that have come as a result.

My choice now is to embrace Nemesis, to explore what energy She brings to my life and what Her experiences teach me about a life of service to the Goddess in All Her Aspects. This is my path and I choose it willingly. Blessed Be!

On Helping

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As many Witches I know, I was originally raised as a Christian. (German Lutheran, which I why I don’t like sitting in the front row and have to share how many times I’ve read the Bible.) So it was the parable of the Good Samaritan that came to mind  as I called 911 to report a person lying unconscious on the side of the road this evening. (The irony of the story is, of course, that as a Witch in Calgary it is not only my actions that make me the Samaritan of the story – or sort of, because the woman on the grass was also part of the dominant/mainstream population.)

Xander commented, as we waited for the ambulance to help her, that many people “had just walked on by” even as we were standing there. And while it was true that I was more cautious because I had him with me, I didn’t hesitate to get involved. It wasn’t just because of the Three-Fold Law, or because I wanted to model good behaviour to my son. It was because someone was in distress and I reached out to help.

We need to help each other. It’s not a parable, it’s just what we need to do.

The Wheel Turns…

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The nights and days come back into balance.

We thank the Earth for that which we have been given.

All manner of things will be well.

At this time of year, I normally decorate my alter with the fruits of labour (mine and others): flowers, vegetables, writings, crafts. I celebrate the joy that summer has brought, and prepare to welcome the Ancestors back to the circle of my life.

But this has been a difficult summer, not a joyous one. I have been questioned about my place in the world, work, family and community. I have spent much time in the halls of mourning, both for those who have left and for those who miss them too. I have watched too many of those around me struggle with their own painful journeys.

The darkness is not evil. It is solace after a long struggle. It is a place from which to start.

Blessed Autumn Equinox to you and yours.

 

Monday (Political) Actions

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(Image from #s17nyc.org)

It’s the first anniversary of the Occupy Movement, and as I write this protesters are being arrested in the streets of New York as part of #s17. (Exact numbers are vague, but at least a dozen include prominent activist Molly Crapapple, have been detained. #freemollycrabapple)

Holding Hands Across the Land for Democracy, Calgary In Canada, activists are marking the return of the federal Harper government to Parliament by hosting Holding Hands Across the Land for Democracy actions. (Calgary’s action is at 11:45 at the Famous Five Statue, in case you’re in the area. I’m hoping to make it down after my morning meeting.)

If you’re in need of a little musical inspiration, well, this has been my “repeat, repeat, repeat” song of the morning – Michael Franti at Occupy Wall Street, 2011:

 

 

Re-Membering

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Searching old journals for a book quote, finding passages that still speak to me after so many years. This one is from August 10, 1997.

The Chariot, Motherpeace Tarot Deck

Why do we forget? Why do we allow the patriarchy and its minions to run us down, make us feel this way? Why do women not use the strength we have – the strength we draw on to face a friend’s cancer, or a difficult child, or a divorce, or a spouse’s death? Why not unleash our creativity – the creativity to write a book, or teach drama, or mold pottery, or paint pictures? Why don’t we use our power? What is standing in our way? Why don’t we Re-Member that we can do it, just as so many women have before?

Wicca Prison Chaplain? Nope.

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Elemental Hope inspires acts of Righteous Rage.

If we were hopeless, we would not keep fighting back.

(Mary Daly, Quintessence, 197)

The media jumped on the story this afternoon that Corrections Canada was seeking a Wiccan Prison Chaplain to minister to prisoners in British Columbia. But before that information could take off in the Twitterverse, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews (or, more accurately, one of his staff on his orders) had pulled the tender, claiming that it “wasn’t a good use of taxpayer’s dollars” even though CC staff had said it was a tender based on “growing need” in the system. (But hey, it’s not like the Canadian government believes in evidence-based research or statistics anyway. So, so many things are wrong with this situation.

* The minister’s office complained that it wasn’t consulted. That’s not how the system works, Minister Toews. (It’s a “government” not a “management”. Look up the difference.) The people working in Corrections Canada are professionals making informed decisions, and you shouldn’t have been allowed to undermine that for your own ideological reasons.

* The tender was based on need – but who pays attention to that when rhetoric gets in the way? (For the record, I’m a taxpayer – when are you going to get around to spending “my” money on things I support, hmm?)

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

* Wicca/Paganism is a legally-recognized religion in Canada. How is this decision justifiable in light of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees freedom of all religions? This isn’t California, which only recognizes “five faiths” when it comes to the prison system.

Do I expect Minister Toews to reverse his decision, or (even better) to acknowledge that he was wrong in his actions in the first place? Not really. But that doesn’t mean I won’t be invoking Elemental Hope by writing a letter to my MP, getting involved in the local by-election and volunteering with Pagan Pride 2013. All Acts of Righteous Rage, they bring us closer to the truth: another world is possible, if we work to make it so. So mote it be!