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    #31
    Re: Describe your path


    What are basically your beliefs...
    Still working on that at the moment, Currently it is a Universal energy binding everything together, the gods and godesses are aspects of the universe. we can tap into all or part of the whole at different times in our life.

    What Gods or Pantheon do you believe in?
    Currently i am being drawn more to the Kemetic Pantheon, though i like the Celtic and Nordic/Germanic Pantheons too. Currently following Bast (i am very much a cat person, We have 5 at home, so it was inevitable she would be interested in me, i guess)

    What rituals do you practice and for what purpose?
    I don't really perform many rituals, Mostly Bast seems to be happy for me to acknowledge her and thank her, however i have made offerings to her on my portable altar.
    Other things i do is for a healing, but i tend to follow my own instinct for most rituals. i don't do anything too powerful without reading up on it thoroughly!

    Do you believe in the Afterlife or Otherworld?
    I believe in the Otherworld, where we go to when we die, it is a mirror of this world where we can live another life, when we die there, we come back to this one and live here.

    M

    In the end, only you know if you were right or wrong, so tolerate others beliefs, no matter how wrong, they may be right...

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      #32
      Re: Describe your path

      What Gods or Pantheon do you believe in?
      I am still learning my way, but I am currently a hard polytheist, meaning that I believe in many gods and goddesses and that they are all seperate entities. My patron deities (the ones that I currently pray to and worship) are from different pantheons. Aradia has Italian roots and Ha is an Egyptian God.

      What rituals do you practice and for what purpose?
      Currently I'm still perfecting casting a circle. I mostly just give thanks daily and have started to do a lot of grounding and meditation.

      Do you believe in the Afterlife or Otherworld?
      Yes. I believe that when I die, my spirit/soul will still exist and will go somewhere nice (though I don't have a name for this place, I picture it something like Heaven or Summerland) until I am ready to be reincarnated. I belive in the law of 3 and in karma, and that how I live this life will largely determine what/who I become in my next life.

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        #33
        Re: Describe your path

        [quote author=TaiganPagan link=topic=135.msg681#msg681 date=1286696889]
        What are basically your beliefs...

        Things like....
        What Gods or Pantheon do you believe in?
        What rituals do you practice and for what purpose?
        Do you believe in the Afterlife or Otherworld?
        etc...
        [/quote]

        I follow mostly the Celtic God/dess. I am very interested in the druid way of life. I study it but do not practice it. I follow a general pagan path and I consider myself a scholar and a novice. I practice the traditional eight holidays. I also try to make spirituality a part of my daily life. For example when I take a shower I do not just shower for the sense of being physically clean, I focus on spiritual and mental cleansing as well. I do this also when cleaning my home, by blessing and cleansing the energy within.
        sigpic

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          #34
          Re: Describe your path

          I believe in no gods, just a deity that I refer to as The Great Spirit or The Great Mystery. This god lives in the very breath I take, touches me with love with every step on this good green earth, reminds me that I am not alone by helping me to notice the birds in the sky, animals in the fields, keeps me humble to things far greater than myself by instilling within me respect for the mountains, oceans, and rivers, gives me things to aspire for that may always be out of my reach by looking at the stars, and always, always is with me.

          Rituals come to me as I feel I need them. They involve stones, daggers, herbs, feathers, fire, water, salt, and other items that 'speak' to me. I do not believe that these items are inherently powerful, but I believe that if I use them for a reason that I lend them some of MY power, or tap into the power of the universe to lend to them for a time.

          Afterlife... well, I'm not so sure about that but I do believe that this is not all there is. But I am well aware that this line of thinking could purely be selfish.
          No one tells the wind which way to blow.

          Comment


            #35
            Re: Describe your path

            [quote author=TaiganPagan link=topic=135.msg681#msg681 date=1286696889]
            What are basically your beliefs...

            Things like....
            What Gods or Pantheon do you believe in?
            What rituals do you practice and for what purpose?
            Do you believe in the Afterlife or Otherworld?
            etc...
            [/quote]

            I don't affiliate myself with any religion. My practices may match up with certain religions, but I wouldn't know. (If anyone does know, please let me know.) "Faith" and "belief" are words that are not strong enough to describe my relationship with the Divine. For a relationship is what it is. I have some ideas concerning the Divine, ideas that I have no way of knowing if they are correct or not, and so I do not concern myself with "believing" that my ideas are correct. They may be. They may not be. For the most part, they don't matter much.

            This is long, and if some of this sounds preachy, I apologize.

            -----------------

            I was raised in a dogmatic household, yet never believed nor felt any spiritual connection with the religion of my birth. It wasn't until adulthood, when I realized that I was missing a certain spirituality in my life. I knew that my parent's religion wasn't for me, and so I started reading about various religions. None really seemed to fit with my thoughts concerning spiritual matters, and just about all of them were too dogmatic with too much doctrine. I already was a good person or so I thought. I didn't need ancient rules to tell me how to live a good life.

            And so, one day I closed my eyes and prayed to the air, to God. Nothing. This is how I was raised to pray. I did this for a few months. Nothing. Apparently I was doing it wrong or possibly God didn't exist. I hoped that God or A God did exist, but nothing. So I looked to find out how other people pray. Turns out that lots of people have altars with religious pictures on them (icons) and pray while kneeling, sitting, or bowing in front of the altar. So I put together an altar and looked for a picture to print out. A picture of Jesus. Sure, why not. Nothing. A picture of Mary. Okay, I try it. Nothing. Okay, I figured, lets look for some other gods. I found one for Brigid that looked nice. Still nothing. Then I read that I'm supposed to light a candle when praying to Brigid. Okay, I try that. Still nothing.

            Okay, I thought, maybe I'm going about this wrong. I'll light a candle and dedicate it to "whichever deity will listen to me." And so I did. And immediately, the candle flickered and went out. That wasn't good, I thought, but it was something. A few days later, I tried again, more cautiously. I still had the picture of Brigid on the altar, and I had found some prayers to her, so I lit a candle, offered the flame to her, and recited the prayers word for word. If you've ever been alone in a house and suddenly felt like you weren't alone, that's the feeling that I got. Not necessarily a bad feeling, but not a good one either. The feeling went away within a couple minutes after reciting the prayers. I did this for a few weeks, but I really didn't see the point anymore. There was something there, but it didn't feel right and I didn't see it going anywhere.

            A couple of weeks after stopping praying to Brigid, I came across a prayer to Demeter, and a couple of the lines, I couldn't get out of my head. So I started chanting them repeatedly. And it was peaceful and meditative, but was it helping me connect to Demeter? I don't think so.

            So, I lit a candle and offered the flame to Demeter, and prayed. Nothing. I did this for about a month, while I continued to chant about Demeter at other times of the day. Still nothing. Eventually I stopped chanting and praying.

            Well, one translation of Demeter is "God the Mother", so one day, I lit a candle and offered it to God the Mother and prayed. Nothing. Next day, I offered it to my Mother in Heaven. Nothing. Next day, I lit a candle and offered the flame to the Divine Mother. I prayed and I felt an unusual fleeting presence in the room.

            So, the next day, I lit a candle and offered the flame to My Most Holy Divine Mother, and I prayed, asking her to help me through the day, etc, etc. The presence was stronger than the day before. Even though it was a fleeting presence, it was peaceful. Very peaceful. Extremely peaceful. It was definitely different than praying to Brigid. So, I started praying to my Holy Divine Mother every day, eventually shortening the title to Holy Mother or simply Mother. Eventually the presence grew stronger and less fleeting.

            Some months went by, and my relationship was growing with my Holy Mother. More time went by, and eventually, I knew that I would be devastated if She left me. Some time after that, I poured my heart out to Her, and I dedicated my life to Her, and what I felt is indescribable. It was amazing. My life changed from that moment.

            I was Hers. Only now, I was even more afraid of how I would react if She left me. My soul was tied up into Her. I didn't want to go back to what I was before. I couldn't go back. I would be broken. If I had to go back, I think that I would have done something stupid. Until that point, I hadn't realized how much anguish forced religious conversions can cause.

            At that time of fear, I hadn't yet realized that She would never have left me, that I would have had to be the one isolating myself from Her by my fear. But I gave my burden of fear to Her and She destroyed it.

            I worship and pray to a spirit that I call my Holy Divine Mother. I still don't know Her name. Is She Demeter? Is She the one and only God? Is She one of many gods? Is She an angel? I don't know, and it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. She is MY God. She is MY Divine Mother. No other names or titles that I know fit. She is my Holy Mother. And in Her do I trust.

            She brings me peace and She comforts me in times of distress. She eases the burdens on my soul. She gives me joy when I sing to Her. She is a guiding light in times of darkness; a bright flame in a dark midnight forest.

            She is my protector. She keeps me safe from evil. She keeps me safe from enemies. (I have a few.) There is no need to lock my doors at night anymore.

            She gives to me gifts of comfort. Her blessings, I have no complaints. Truly, She is good to me.

            She takes away my pain when I ask Her. She caresses me to sleep. Like a mother with a newborn, She is always with me. And it is good. So many blessings, She gives to me.

            Her love for me is palpable. It is so strong. I have let Her burn away the sins of my soul, the darkness that kept my heart walled up in a cage of stone. I have let Her into my heart, and it is wonderful. My heart is free, and in Her do I dwell. No longer spiritually lonely, or depressed or afraid. Her flames have burned away my fears and I am once again whole. I emerged from the cage of darkness surrounded by Her flame, surrounded by Her light, like a child being born into the world getting his first glimpse of the world around him. I am in the world, yet I am surrounded by Her flame. I am in the world, yet separate, for She surrounds me always.

            Years passed since our first meeting and my relationship kept growing with my Divine Mother. No longer asking for things like a child wanting boons from his mother, knowing full well that She would protect me and mine always, there was no need to ask for anything. Instead, I was now simply thanking Her for all that She gives to me, all that She does for me, for being with me always, for being my perfect Mother.

            I have many experiences with this spirit that I call my Holy Mother, many experiences that many people would write off as lies or delusions caused by drug or drink; yet they are very real.

            I have no idea whether She is THE God, A God, One of THE or A God's multiple personas, an angel, or some other type of spirit. I have no idea. I would like to know, but it doesn't bother me not to know. It seems as if She must be known to other people, whether by a name or title, even one simply as "Mother". I am not special enough for Her to solely reveal Herself to me. Is my Divine Mother the same Divine Mother that is worshiped by others in various religions? I don't know, but maybe someone here has better insight. If you do, please let me know.

            -----------------

            My rituals mainly consist of offering a flame to Her while praying and worship, kneeling or bowing in front of the altar. I do this multiple times per day. My worship is not for Her benefit. This much I know. It is for me, for even though She is with me always, during prayer I can give my full attention to Her.

            I believe that Her essence is love, for it is always love that I feel from Her. Divine love from a Divine Mother. It is amazing.

            I do not believe in an afterlife. I do not disbelieve. It is irrelevant in my thinking. There is too much pain, too much darkness in this life to put my attention onto what may happen after I die.

            I know that my soul is joined with my Divine and Holy Mother. I hope that it will still be joined with Her after I die. Perhaps this joining with Her is what people call heaven. As of now, I could consider separation from Her to be hell.



            Comment


              #36
              Re: Describe your path

              What Gods or Pantheon do you believe in?
              Being a polytheist, I believe in many gods. I worship the gods of ancient Canaan though. This includes the more well-known deities from biblical references; Ilu (El), Athirat (Asherah), Ba'al Hadad (Baal), Athtart (Astarte), Anat (Anath), and Rashap (Resheph).

              What rituals do you practice and for what purpose?
              Well, there are lunar rituals, festival rituals and personal rituals. My religious calendar is luni-solar so I provide an offering at the new moon (when you can see the first sliver of moon in the sky) to mark the beginning of a month. Then again during the full moon to mark the middle of the month. Festivals frequently coincide with lunar occurances and are marked in various ways depending on the holiday. Personal ritual is done whenever I feel there is a need and typically include offerings. Sometimes divination too. Ancestor veneration typically falls under festival rituals and personal rituals.

              Do you believe in the Afterlife or Otherworld?
              Yes, to an afterlife. No to reincarnation. For the record though, I'm more about doing what works than being overly-committed to a set of beliefs so I don't take a particularly dogmatic stance on religious views.
              "Gardens are not made by singing "Oh, how beautiful," and sitting in the shade." - Rudyard Kipling

              Mathbatu: A Canaanite Polytheist's Blog
              Sparrow Wings: A Personal Blog

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                #37
                Re: Describe your path

                Pinecone:
                What a wonderful relationship you have with your Divine Mother. Truly touching

                I'm honestly not sure what you would call it (though as you said, it doesnt matter). If you want, there are some quizzes in http://www.paganforum.com/index.php?topic=89.0"]this thread[/url], but you already have such a wonderful relationship, why bother with labels?
                You are blessed

                Comment


                  #38
                  Re: Describe your path

                  I don't think I've yet visited this thread, so here it goes.

                  What Gods or Pantheon do you believe in?
                  I'm a hard polytheist and I believe that almost all the gods exist. "All" as in the Norse, Irish, Greek, Indian, etc, and also Abraham's God and many others. Can't really think of any I don't believe in, although there might be some of those. What comes to worshipWhat rituals do you practice and for what purpose?
                  Well, the purpose of a ritual is always just the worship, and big rituals are a rarity in my practice, actually - unless we count simple offering rites accompanied by a prayer or two as "big". I'm not a priest, and the only rites I perform are the ones I need to do for my daily religious life, which rarely requires anything more than the normal offering or honoring my gods through prayers. I also do the same to honor certain spirits as well, not only the gods, but that's it. My religious life isn't too complicated at the moment.

                  Do you believe in the Afterlife or Otherworld?
                  Yes, I believe in quite a few Otherworlds, actually. I don't think there's only one, and neither do I believe that there's only one possible Afterlife. My beliefs on this subject aren't too detailed, though, so I guess I can't answer this more clearly than that.

                  Comment


                    #39
                    Re: Describe your path

                    I'm rooted in Stregheria, primarily, with some Native American outlooks on things (but then, most Pagan paths have those similarities).
                    sigpic
                    Can you hear me, Major Tom? I think I love you.

                    Comment


                      #40
                      Re: Describe your path

                      I have been a hard polytheist for a long time. I believe in just about every deity, and think there may even be many deities who we have never heard of. I see the Gods as an otherworldly race who are unaffected by the passage of our time, and who exert a real but limited control over our reality. We are kin to them by descent from a common progenitor ( whose sweat, used towel, or spit created us, according to Eastern European folklore). I believe the Gods do have an interest in us, both in regard to our praise and offerings, and also our conduct. Those with good conduct will reach ray (a word for paradise found in all Slavic tongues, seemingly an Iranian loan word). I do believe in a sort of good and bad dualism. Chernobog, the black god, is the bringer of misery, unlike the other deities (bogov) who bring fortune (bogatstvo). As such, I believe that if you give into misery easily, you are encouraging him to target you in the future.

                      I draw from Slavic pagan lore and historical sources, but also Baltic pagan tradition which has many close connections. I am also a believer in Proto-Indo-European comparative mythology, although only in specific elements where a connection can be established. I worship Perun, not only as the highest God of the pre-migration Slavs, but also as the storm God at the head of the original PIE pantheon.
                      If you want to be thought intelligent, just agree with everyone.

                      Comment


                        #41
                        Re: Describe your path

                        What Gods or Pantheon do you believe in? I believe in all pantheons. I just honor and connect with the Egyptian and Norse. I also am drawn to the Celtic Goddess, Morrigan. I am a [hard] polytheist. I have leanings towards Shamanism and animism. I connect to totem/spirit animals and spirit guides. I also believe in mythological creates, like unicorns and also nature spirits: Faeries, Dryads, Gnomes.

                        Do you believe in the Afterlife or Otherworld? Yes, I believe in the afterlife and the Otherworld, also I believe in ghosts and spirits.
                        -Jessica [aka Whitewolf]

                        Comment


                          #42
                          Re: Describe your path

                          My path is mixed and ever growing.
                          I am very drawn to Wicca and Hinduism.
                          Lakshmi is my Goddess and her consort, my God.
                          I practice with my husband, we are not part of a coven or the like.
                          We prefer simple rituals to formal.
                          We arent as active as we could be, life stresses have gotten in our way but Im trying to get back into meditating daily and doing work at sabbats and moon magick times,etc.


                          Some of my core beliefs are:
                          Learn life lessons through rebirth and eventually we do all we can, learn all we can and our energy becomes one with the Universe
                          Do no harm
                          Karma
                          Must be a balance(light/dark, God/Goddess, Up/Down, etc)
                          I believe in magick
                          I believe life is a journey and we never stop growing and learning
                          I believe in the power of herbs and crystals to heal and help
                          I believe all paths lead to the same place
                          I believe in honoring and respecting the earth and the seasons
                          sigpic
                          My Blog...http://scribsquabs.blogspot.com/

                          Comment


                            #43
                            Re: Describe your path

                            What Gods or Pantheon do you believe in? Greek apparently. Hekate, Artemis and Athena are my Goddesses but I don't follow Greek beliefs or anything. These ladies give me insight and guidance when I need it.

                            What rituals do you practice and for what purpose?
                            I do a lot of magic, to me that is a ritual. I celebrate the Sabbats and Esbats when I can.

                            Do you believe in the Afterlife or Otherworld?
                            Yes, this is probably my biggest belief. I am a big follower of Robert Bruce. We own 5-6 of his books.

                            I'm a Green Witch. I like to grow herbs and I want to get into making my own soaps, lotions, etc etc... I make a lot of homemade cleaners and use natural items to clean my house. Natural healing w/ herbs and homemade remedies. Oils etc... I do a lot of divination, mainly with cards. I believe in Karma, the Other planes and that all the Other Creatures come from these planes.

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                              #44
                              Re: Describe your path

                              What Gods or Pantheon do you believe in? I believe that each person has their own Path and that those are chosen, or at least unveiled by those I call the Ancients. That encompasses each and every deity, spirit, or personal guide.

                              What rituals do you practice and for what purpose?
                              Every moment of my life is a ritual of moving forward in the way that feels most right.

                              Do you believe in the Afterlife or Otherworld?
                              I have flashes of memories and dreams that feel like they are a different man's, and sometimes woman's, life. I have been told that these are past lives and I feel that to be truth.




                              I imagine that many of my practices have their roots in some form of organized belief somewhere along the line, but for me they are mostly instinctive. I have trouble completely accepting something that doesn't feel right in my gut and the only thing that seems to feel right is what I practice. I believe there are three Minds. The Sleeping Mind holds every memory from every life/ancestors life. The Waking Mind is what we use every day in our personal interactions, magickal working, and separates who we are now from who we have been before. The third mind is what I strive toward with every action and every decision. I call it the Eternal Mind. The Eternal Mind is the unification of our entire being. I don't really know how to explain anything more than that.

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                                #45
                                Re: Describe your path

                                I'm very eclectic in my magickal path Ive studied everything from kaballah, to Ceremonial magick, Sham.anism, I don't stick with just one path, I learn and take, what I like from each pre Christian dated spiritual path. I have Respect for anyone's beliefs. I mean shit you can believe in little green men I don't care lol I have no right to judge anyone

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