Ask a Pagan

[Cassiopeia]

*LOL* Now we're talking about ~*my*~ area of knowledge.

It depends on your school of thought. Some people swear by birthstones, some don't. I think, overall, the impressions you get from a stone are much more important than the stone that's been "assigned" to your birthmonth. For example, my stone is Peridot. While I do feel slight connection to it, it's not nearly as strong as the connection that I have with Opals and Amethysts. I would rather use those stones for any work that I'm doing, as opposed to Peridot.

In the end, you should trust your gut. If your birthstone is something you're drawn to, then use it. If you're not, then don't force yourself to work with it. If you use your energy trying to force yourself to work with a stone, that's that much less energy that is going to your intent.




Very little. Not because I didn't like it or wouldn't be interested in it, but because at the time I didn't have an reliable resources and information to go on.

Jerusha

My birthstone is also Peridot and I have no connection with it. But I work nicely with my amethyst stones. I don't know how far you want us to discusss this on the thread. I am a bit cautious about coming out and saying I am Wiccan because I have many blended beliefs one of them with the use of crystals, runes, sacred text, and most of all I love my sage smudge sticks and my oils that I use for healing.

If you think my posting about this will only add to the hysterical flaming I often see on this site perhaps we can take this discussion privately. Let me know.

Peace be with you,
Casi

 

[Krysia]

Yeah i know.....I wanted to be a Scorpio but instead I am a Virgo.

Awww...


As I have been a Scorpio for 26 years and have the self-imposed title of Elder Scorpio, I hereby bestow upon you the title of Honorary Scorpio.



Bright Blessings,
Krysia

 

[Lokisdottir]

Ehh... I don't put much stock in horoscopes, to be honest. Mine has never been accurate. They're fun, but they have no religious significance for me.

 

[Krysia]

What's wrong with Scorpios? My brother, father, and brother-in-law all are Scorpios. Actually, if that's not strange enough, they all have the same birthdate. Pretty wacky, but makes shopping easier. Get everybody out of the way at the same time.

Jerusha

My birthday is November 4. I actually dated 2 guys in a row with birthdays on November 5. It was bizarre

 

[Krysia]

Ehh... I don't put much stock in horoscopes, to be honest. Mine has never been accurate. They're fun, but they have no religious significance for me.

I've found that I have a lot in common with my sign.

Some horoscopes (in newspapers and such), though, I find to be pretty vague and easily interpreted to have personal significance - which is the writer's job.

Blessings,
Krysia

 

[Cassiopeia]

My birthday is November 4. I actually dated 2 guys in a row with birthdays on November 5. It was bizarre

My son's bday is November 3rd and my mother and one of my grandfather's nov 6th.

 

[Clem is Me]

So wicca is JAR. Same as the rest. I had a long chat with a buddhist once, and we agreed on a quite a lot of things, but in the end he still had this whole reincarnation jazz that there was no getting past. It amazed and saddened me to see this. I guess that's just the way humans are. Something in us needs to defy explanation or we feel hollow. As though simply being isn't incredible enough, we need to be a part of something else, something fantastic and undeniable because no one can disprove it. our own little Middle Earth. Or Lucasverse or Hogwarts or True Love. Nirvana, Heaven, Happy Hunting Grounds, Valhalla, Olympus.

I feel that the hollowness is suffering and death. Or, rather the refusal to face it squarely. Lack of control. Being helpless. But control is what we don't have and help is what we can't render, so we make up gods and monsters and demons and giants. True enlightenment and paths to follow, like children painting their rooms in fancy colors then refusing to leave. Scary out there.

Byut happiness in slavery is a great NIN song. And who is to say I am not the one in the painted room?

 

[Krysia]

I even had 2 very close friends in High School who had the same exact birthday as me! Watch out! Scorpios are taking over the world

 

[Lokisdottir]

Ah, horoscopes are like Fluff, that marshmellow topping. It has absolutely no healthy value at all, but you still sneak a spoonful when you think nobody is looking.

Jerusha

Are you kidding? I eat Fluff even when somebody is looking.

 

[Krysia]

So wicca is JAR. Same as the rest. I had a long chat with a buddhist once, and we agreed on a quite a lot of things, but in the end he still had this whole reincarnation jazz that there was no getting past. It amazed and saddened me to see this. I guess that's just the way humans are. Something in us needs to defy explanation or we feel hollow. As though simply being isn't incredible enough, we need to be a part of something else, something fantastic and undeniable because no one can disprove it. our own little Middle Earth. Or Lucasverse or Hogwarts or True Love. Nirvana, Heaven, Happy Hunting Grounds, Valhalla, Olympus.

I feel that the hollowness is suffering and death. Or, rather the refusal to face it squarely. Lack of control. Being helpless. But control is what we don't have and help is what we can't render, so we make up gods and monsters and demons and giants. True enlightenment and paths to follow, like children painting their rooms in fancy colors then refusing to leave. Scary out there.

Byut happiness in slavery is a great NIN song. And who is to say I am not the one in the painted room?

Interesting. You feel it comes from a need of being a part of something. As you are agnostic, I can appreciate how Divine spirituality may be a concept foreign to you. I am a solitary Wiccan - I practice alone. I am what I am because I have experienced the Divine to a great extent on a personal level. I have no desire to honor the Divine in order to "belong," but to continue my personal relationship with the Lord and the Lady. Quite the contrary, I grew up Polish Catholic and my fiance is Christian. If I simply wanted to "belong," I'd still be a Christian.

Blessings,
Krysia

 

[Clem is Me]

Interesting. You feel it comes from a need of being a part of something. As you are agnostic, I can appreciate how Divine spirituality may be a concept foreign to you. I am a solitary Wiccan - I practice alone. I am what I am because I have experienced the Divine to a great extent on a personal level. I have no desire to honor the Divine in order to "belong," but to continue my personal relationship with the Lord and the Lady. Quite the contrary, I grew up Polish Catholic and my fiance is Christian. If I simply wanted to "belong," I'd still be a Christian.

Blessings,
Krysia

I didn't say a thing about belonging to anything that can be pointed to.

 

[Cassiopeia]

Interesting. You feel it comes from a need of being a part of something. As you are agnostic, I can appreciate how Divine spirituality may be a concept foreign to you. I am a solitary Wiccan - I practice alone. I am what I am because I have experienced the Divine to a great extent on a personal level. I have no desire to honor the Divine in order to "belong," but to continue my personal relationship with the Lord and the Lady. Quite the contrary, I grew up Polish Catholic and my fiance is Christian. If I simply wanted to "belong," I'd still be a Christian.

Blessings,
Krysia

My husband was raised Roman Catholic as was I then I became Presbyterian when my mother left my father and went back to her childhood religion. then I became Mormon when I was 18. Until about 3 years ago I had nowhere to feel really at home. So I started studying Wicca and Native American Spiritualism. When I met my husband he had gone from Catholic to Wiccan. We still have respect for our Christian background and honour Jesus and his teachings but we not longer embrace that as the only possible way back to the divine. I have found more peace since letting go the need to be good or to be eternally punished. I have found more love and patience with my fellow man as well. I feel I have been truely blessed to be able to embrace certain gifts that I was told had to be of the devil and that always hurt as they only did good and no harm to anyone other than sometimes myself it was painfully clear that it set me apart at times due to the ignorance of others.

This is a peaceable path and I choose to stay on it.

May the Gods continue to grace all of us with love and light,
Casi

 

[Krysia]

I didn't say a thing about belonging to anything that can be pointed to.

It amazed and saddened me to see this. I guess that's just the way humans are. Something in us needs to defy explanation or we feel hollow. As though simply being isn't incredible enough, we need to be a part of something else, something fantastic and undeniable because no one can disprove it.

I've underlined and bolded what led to my interpretation. I apologize if my interpretation was faulty.

 

[Krysia]

So wicca is JAR. Same as the rest. I had a long chat with a buddhist once, and we agreed on a quite a lot of things, but in the end he still had this whole reincarnation jazz that there was no getting past. It amazed and saddened me to see this. I guess that's just the way humans are. Something in us needs to defy explanation or we feel hollow. As though simply being isn't incredible enough, we need to be a part of something else, something fantastic and undeniable because no one can disprove it. our own little Middle Earth. Or Lucasverse or Hogwarts or True Love. Nirvana, Heaven, Happy Hunting Grounds, Valhalla, Olympus.

I feel that the hollowness is suffering and death. Or, rather the refusal to face it squarely. Lack of control. Being helpless. But control is what we don't have and help is what we can't render, so we make up gods and monsters and demons and giants. True enlightenment and paths to follow, like children painting their rooms in fancy colors then refusing to leave. Scary out there.

Byut happiness in slavery is a great NIN song. And who is to say I am not the one in the painted room?

Let me ask you, Clem, what would you do if you did experience the Divine? What if you knew without a doubt that the Divine existed? I'm not trying to convert you here (I would never try to convert anyone as Wiccans don't evangelize ), but I'm honestly curious about this. If you experienced the Divine to an extent that removed all doubt, would you simply ignore him/her/them and continue on your merry way?

P.S. All the Buddhists I've talked to agree most fervently that Buddhism is not a religion, but a philosophy.

 

[Clem is Me]

Rgh. The "something else" was the "devine" or the "nirvana" or the "Lord of the Rings" or the "Star Trek". Not for the group, but for the undeniability.

 

[Krysia]

My husband was raised Roman Catholic as was I then I became Presbyterian when my mother left my father and went back to her childhood religion. then I became Mormon when I was 18. Until about 3 years ago I had nowhere to feel really at home. So I started studying Wicca and Native American Spiritualism. When I met my husband he had gone from Catholic to Wiccan. We still have respect for our Christian background and honour Jesus and his teachings but we not longer embrace that as the only possible way back to the divine. I have found more peace since letting go the need to be good or to be eternally punished. I have found more love and patience with my fellow man as well. I feel I have been truely blessed to be able to embrace certain gifts that I was told had to be of the devil and that always hurt as they only did good and no harm to anyone other than sometimes myself it was painfully clear that it set me apart at times due to the ignorance of others.

This is a peaceable path and I choose to stay on it.

May the Gods continue to grace all of us with love and light,
Casi

Casi

Your story has much in common with many people I know who evolved spiritually. I, too, have experienced the peace of seeking and finding a spirituality that fulfills me. I feel more blessed than I ever have. I pray that you will always have the strength and insight to follow the path that is right for you.

In love and light,
Krysia

 

[Cassiopeia]

Casi

Your story has much in common with many people I know who evolved spiritually. I, too, have experienced the peace of seeking and finding a spirituality that fulfills me. I feel more blessed than I ever have. I pray that you will always have the strength and insight to follow the path that is right for you.

In love and light,
Krysia

Krysia,

As I think I posted long ago, it had made me so ill that I am determined to not deviate from my course now. I have alot to learn and specifically how my gifts fit in the whole realm of what the Divine would have me learn now. I am so uncertain as to where to even start. Thank you for your thought and prayers and kinds words.

Blessed be,
Casi

*note* I moved my status to OTHER religion as I don't think I fit with my old one anymore. *HUGE MOVE for me*

 

[pensive]

Some horoscopes (in newspapers and such), though, I find to be pretty vague and easily interpreted to have personal significance - which is the writer's job.

Also, let's bear in mind that the horoscopes you find in newspapers have about as much to do with serious astrology as a "verse a day" calendar has to do with serious Bible study.

 

[Krysia]

Krysia,

As I think I posted long ago, it had made me so ill that I am determined to not deviate from my course now.

I know somewhat of how you felt. I was in such a state that I thought that I was damned to hell no matter what I did. I felt no connection to the Christian God and therefore felt worthless. It was so sad. In retrospect, I realized that Christianity just wasn't the path for me. When I experienced the Divine, through Wicca, I was amazed. I felt blessed, loved, and a connection to all of the Divine's creation. Everything went from black and white to technicolor. My relationship with the Divine was something I previously would never have thought possible and I can never imagine giving it up.

I have alot to learn and specifically how my gifts fit in the whole realm of what the Divine would have me learn now. I am so uncertain as to where to even start. Thank you for your thought and prayers and kinds words.

Blessed be,
Casi

*note* I moved my status to OTHER religion as I don't think I fit with my old one anymore. *HUGE MOVE for me*

I know you have the strength to achieve what you desire. It takes perseverence, open-mindedness, and an open heart. I have no doubt that the Divine will reveal Itself to you and in time, you will know your path.

And congratulations on your "move." I know that took a considerable amount of inner strength. You are truly inspiring

Brightest Blessings,
Krysia

 

[Krysia]

Also, let's bear in mind that the horoscopes you find in newspapers have about as much to do with serious astrology as a "verse a day" calendar has to do with serious Bible study.

Very true