Paganism; an appeal

Hi Jeff...

Paganism is a spiritual path that honors the old ways of the triple goddess and her consort the triple god who have many names and visages that vary from culture to culture. The blessings of Gaia, the earth mother, the moon mysteries, and the transcendent wonder of the human body as a reflective vessel of immanent divinity. We celebrate the passage of the season, to honor the goddess and god in their many aspects and guises and to proactively seek personal spiritual growth. It is an expression rather than suppression of the feminine aspect of divinity in conjunction with the male aspect, a hand in hand style of empowered partnership; the journey together through life, and acceptance of feminine wisdom in healing and teaching.

Most of us celebrate the eight seasonal festivals, spaced equally over the year. There are four major sabbaths:
- Samhain (oct.31-nov.6)
- Imbolc (feb. 12)
- Beltane (apr. 30-may 1)
- Lammas (aug. 1-2)

and four minor:
- Spring equinox (mar. 20-21)
- Summer solstice (june 20-22)
- Fall equinox (sept 21-22)
- Winter solstice (dec. 21-23).

Our motto:
As it harm none, do as thou wilt....

Fundamental ethical guidelines of the pagan movement:
- Founded by Gerald Gardner (1884-1964), an amateur anthropologist and British civil servant, in 1954 with the publication of his book Witchcraft Today.

- The triple goddess is split into three aspects...maid-mother-crone. These aspects correspond to the three phases of the moon, namely waxing moon, full moon and waning moon.
maid- childhood, adolescence, purity independence,courage.
mother- mother hood, protection fertility,growth and sexuality.
crone- old age wisdom. change, transformation., death, rebirth/banshing.

The Goddess, recognized for thousands of years as one whole, divided into three aspects, was a concept later adopted by the christian religion as its trinity. Which now brings me to Sgt. Patrick Stewart who died September 25, 2005, a soldier who died in combat in Afghanistan. He was a pagan. The United States Army refused to allow his wife to place the emblem of the Pentacle on his grave. His wife Roberta Stewart announced to the press that America "remember that all freedoms are worth fighting for." And so her fight for the acknowledgement of religious diversity among the soldiers who make up the United States armed forces had begun.

Over the years families have used religious symbols such as the Jewish Star of David, the Christian Cross and the Islamic Crescent and Star, on the headstones of fallen loved ones to honor their lives, service and sacrifice. The office of Veterans Affairs had been considering such a request for 9 years with no decision. This is roughly 234 years after our country first began its fight for civil liberties, religious freedom and the freedom from arrogance and oppression by government. While the stonewalling continues, families of soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice are still waiting for these basic, equal rights.

My son Cory, who recently returned from honorable service with the U.S. army in Afghanistan, was under the impression that if something happened to him, the same U.S. Army for which he fought would honor his spiritual beliefs without prejudice. I am glad that we never had to discover that he was mistaken. Although our country was founded on a Judeo-christian base, the framers of the Constitution understood that religious freedom was for everyone, not just christians. The only way that this freedom can prevail is for christians to stand up and fight for the minority beliefs and religions of others. There is no way to arrive at our goal of democracy and real freedom by ignoring this uncomfortable fact. ( Can you even see this happening?) So on April 23, 2007 Americans United held a press conference to announce the settlement of Roberta Stewart's case, and in so doing, the VA added the pentacle to the list of emblems. ( . . yeah....now!)

Presidential meeting: August 2007, President Bush hosted a meeting with family members of those who had died in Iraq and Afghanistan, including some members of the Stewart family. Very compelling is the fact that Bush failed to invite Patrick's wife Roberta. True to his lack of form, President Bush later called to apologize. So I think to my self, did she really change anything? She got the emblem on his grave, but she still wasn't excepted, was she?

Cory and I talked about this when he was leaving for war and we both had to come up with something just in case. I wanted him to wear the pentacle but I was afraid for him.

- Miss you and love you... peace, Blessed Be,
Karen

Hi Jeff,

I thought I would fill you in on you a few more differences between the Pagan and Christan religion. First, Christianity sees life and the world as linear, i.e.: a beginning or "creation" and a day of judgement, which is the end of thia creation. The Pagan view is circular, the endless cycle of the seasons of birth, death and rebirth.

Christmas celebrates an event that happened 2,000 years ago. Yule celebrates an annually recurring event, the rebirth of the sun. Pagans have no concept of sin or Satan, so there is no fiery hell to worry about either.

We have our own values and ethics. The bible and gospels are the guiding rules for Christian's, Pagans are responsible for their own actions and the consequences that follow. The emphasis is on what is good in life rather than what is bad or sinful. The Pagan ethic "do what thou wilt, but harm none." is a positive morality, not a list of "thou-shalt-nots." We believe in the concept of both Goddess and God, rather then the suppression of either the female or male principle.

The Pagan religion does not have fancy written rules, for the simple fact that they can be broken and bent so easily. Why does a religion have to have these 10 commandments, a list of rules that can be bent and than frowned upon for doing so. Morally you should just know right from wrong. What is the point of the 10 commandments if people like Rev. Jim Jones are going to bend the rules for some. What makes it okay for him to make these changes in the rules? Is it because he is a rev, because he has "power" he can change it at anytime for whoever he wants? What gave him the power to change something that has been around long before his time?

love to all
karen