I Am A Pagan

I am a part of the whole of Nature.

The Rocks, the Animals, the Plants, the Elements, are my relatives.

Other Humans are my sisters and brothers, whatever their races, colors, or sexual preferences.

The Earth is my Mother and the Sky is my Father.

The Sun and the Moon are my Grandparents, and the Stars my Ancestors.

I am a part of this large family of Nature, not the master of it. I have my own special part to play and I seek to play that part to the best of my ability. I seek to live in harmony with others in the family of Nature, treating others with respect not abuse.

I am a Pagan.

I celebrate the changing seasons, the turning of the Wheel of the Year, with music, feasting, rituals, and celebrations.

Samhain, or Halloween, is a time for paying homage to my ancestors and friends who have passed into the Spirit world and a time for gazing into the future.

Yule, the Winter Solstice, is a festival of Peace, Light, and the Celebration of the new Sun, and my home is filled with lights and Holly, Mistletoe, Evergreens, and other herbs sacred to the season.

Candlemas, Imbolc, or Groundhogs day at the beginning of February, is a festival of purification, a time for clearing away blockages to prepare for the coming of Spring and new growth.

At Ostara, the Spring Equinox, I celebrate the greening of the Earth by dressing in green myself and sharing colored eggs with friends.

Beltane, May Eve, is a festival of fertility and creativity, and I decorate myself with bright colors and flowers and dance the Maypole to bless gardens and projects in the growing season.

Summer Solstice, Litha, is a grand gathering time when I meet old friends and greet new ones, and celebrate the change of the Sun by burning the Yule wreath made six months before.

Lughnassad, Lammas, is a celebration of the height of Summer, and I give thanks for the herbs and other blessings that are starting to come to fruition and pray for the continued abundance.

Fall Equinox, Mabon, is the time of Thanksgiving for all the harvests I've reaped during the growing time.

At Samhain, the Year starts again.

I am a Pagan.

I pay attention to the seasons within myself and others. --- Of beginnings, growth, fruition, harvest, endings, rest, and beginnings again. Life is a Circle with many cycles.

I am a Pagan.

I work magick by the Moon to help and to heal myself and others. I activate beginnings in the Waxing, energize manifestations at the Full, clear away obstructions with the Waning, and experience the wisdom of transformation at the Dark.

I take part in Circles at the New and Full Moons, and I know that my Circles are part of the whole web of Circles that meet at these times around the Planet.

I am a Pagan.

With every Death there is a Rebirth. For every problem there is a solution and an opportunity for growth. I create my own reality with my thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Whatever I send out always returns.

I seek to abide by the Rede: An It Harm None, Do What You Will.

When I work magick, before I raise and direct energy I seek always to look at the larger picture of which my needs are just a part.

When problems come my way, I seek to understand their cause and messages as part of my finding a solution.

In doing healing work, I seek to correct the underlying cause, rather than just treat symptoms.

I am a Pagan.

I acknowledge that the Divine is everywhere in the energy of life.

I am Animistic.

I sense the life force in the Oak tree on the hill, in the Herbs in the garden, in the Birds singing at my window, in the Boulders on the hill, in myself, and yes, even in things such as my car and computer.

I understand that everything has its physical and non physical aspects, The physical and spiritual are deeply intertwined, not separate, and one is not better than the other.

I am a Pagan.

I know that Divinity has many facets and I experience this through a variety of Goddesses and Gods.

I also honor Divine Oneness, the Unity of All.

My personal encounters with Pagan Goddesses and Gods have transformed and enriched my life.

Hecate appeared at a Death to teach me of Release and Rebirth.

As a young child, Artemis flowed through me to scare off a rapist, Selene of the Bright Moon brings me visions and my name.

I have heard Pan play his pipes in the glade, and Cernunnos has appeared to me in the forest as a young stag.

I've experienced the union of Goddess and God while making love to my mate.

Bast has helped me deepen my connections with my cat friends.

Isis has spoken to me in bursts of radiance in the deep of the night and in flows of energy through my hands in doing healings.

I am a Pagan.

My worship is one of communion, not groveling. I share my views with others when I sense it is right, but I do not proselytize ---- there are many ways, not one way, of spiritual growth.

My holy places are under the open sky ------in the Stone Circle, in the Oak grove, on the top of the mound .------ on the Vision Rock on the high cliff ------- in the Garden, in the fields ------ in the Sweat lodge by the Stream------by the clear pool of the Sacred Spring ------ in the Rainbow Cave in the valley.

Yet my worship can be anywhere ------- my magick circle is portable.

I can call to the four quarters, to the Earth and Sky, and to the central Spirit point wherever I may be.

I am a Pagan.

I journey into the Otherworld in my dreams, My Meditations, my Rituals.

I use magickal tools to aid me in my journeys and my magicks - - incense, cauldron, candles, chalices of water, pentacles of salt, crystals, feathers, bells, rattles, drum, wand, staff, blade, and mirror.

I fly with my consciousness through time and space.

I return with insights.

I go between the worlds for healing, growth, and transformation. Psychic perception is a natural, not supernatural, part of my daily life.

I am a Pagan.

I attune myself to the four elements of Nature - - Earth, Air, Fire, and Water - - and to the fifth element, Spirit, which is the force that connects all. I see these elements as parts of my Self - - my physical Body is my Earth, my Intellect, my Air, my Will, my Fire, my Emotions, my Water, and my Inner Self is my Spirit.

I endeavor to keep myself healthy and in balance in all these parts of Self.

I am a Pagan.

I hear the cries of Mother Earth.

I see the pollution of the air, the soil, and the waters.

I see the games being played by nations with the fire of nuclear weapons.

I see the spiritual pollution, too - - selfishness, hatred, greed for money and power, despair.

I sense these things, but I sense, too, a cleansing, healing energy manifesting on the Planet at this time.

I know that I can help bring the Planet into greater balance by seeking balance in my own life.

I know that my attitudes and my way of living can make a difference.

I endeavor to be a channel for healing and balance.

I am a Pagan.

I Am SO Spoiled...

Let me begin by apologizing for not keeping up with my contribution to the 30 Days of Truth I had started a few weeks ago. I just haven't been in a place where I could put much effort into anything. However, I'm pretty sure that when I found this challenge, I didn't see anything where it said the 30 days had to be consecutive days...so maybe I'll be able to finish them before the end of 2011, LOL!!

Now onto my being spoiled...

Most know that Jimmy & I haven't been employed for the better part of last year. BUT finally we got some good news and now have a weekly income. Along with this income came a nice one time payment for the previous weeks in which payment wasn't dispersed. So, on Tuesday, Jimmy, Tanya & I get in the car and off we go(Tanya & Ed had gotten their tax return as well, so we were gonna do some serious shopping, LOL). I'm thinking we are going shopping for maternity clothes, baby stuff and whatever else they have come up with, but before we start that leg of the trip we pull into my very favorite place on earth...

BARNES & NOBEL! I love books, books of all sorts, and B&N is my favorite place to go spend an hour or two or more. But Tuesday I knew I wasn't spending much time there since I wasn't by myself, and asked if I could have 30 minutes or so to pick out a book. I figured Jimmy was gonna treat me to a book, since my birthday was the week before and he couldn't get anything for me. We walk in the door and right up front just inside the door is the display for the Nook. I walk right on by, towards the section I think I wanna be in and Jimmy takes my arm, turns me around and STOPS DEAD in front of the Nook counter. He starts asking the lady questions and "Viola" less than 30 minutes later I have a brand new Nook COLOR!!! I'm more than ecstatic and have this dumb ass grin on my face that lasts the rest of the night!!

Ya gotta know that getting the Nook at say 2:00 in the afternoon but not being able to set it up until close to midnight was a HUGE challenge for me...but I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the day shopping and laughing with Jimmy & Tanya that I barely thought about the Nook (OK, maybe just a little, LOL).

But when we did get home, after making a pit stop in the bathroom, I'm on my laptop, opening the package and digging out the credit card so I can set up my own personal B&N account. Got all the mundane stuff out of the way and I start browsing to see what is available and OHMYGODDESS!!!! The titles and authors I most enjoy are all right there in front of me and I'm sitting here in my PJ's just shopping away!

My first download was Awakened by PC and Kirsten Cast. I know *it's a YA series* but so what? It's about Vampires, the Goddess Nyx and the supernatural and I've read ALL the other books in this series, so I really don't care who the target audience was meant to be.

One of the surprises I discovered with my new Nook is that B&N has Free Fridays for their Nook customers, where based on your reading preferences, they choose a book you might like and you can download it for FREE!! My free book for this week is Bond With Me by Anne Marsh...I haven't started it yet, only finished Awakened last night, but I plan to get into the new one later this evening.

Yeah, I'm spoiled, but I'll be the very first to admit it...