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Author Topic: Really struggling in my path search  (Read 3503 times)

Hipporadish

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Really struggling in my path search
« on: September 07, 2014, 05:32:45 pm »
I believe many concepts of Buddhism, have strong relations with Egyptian gods and goddesses but am also drawn to other deities such an Kuan Yin, Green Man, Skadi and Demeter.

Most important to me is meditating/communing with the deity and performing offerings and prayers to them. I'm not interested really in magick and always fel uncomfortable when raising a circle.

I suppose my questions is can I do the offerings communing with deity without a circle? Does anyone else have similar experiences they could perhaps share?

I feel that by being so eclectic I can't really have a path but don't know if that's right or wrong.

missgraceless

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Re: Really struggling in my path search
« Reply #1 on: September 07, 2014, 05:55:11 pm »
Quote from: Hipporadish;158349
I believe many concepts of Buddhism, have strong relations with Egyptian gods and goddesses but am also drawn to other deities such an Kuan Yin, Green Man, Skadi and Demeter.


First off, I love finding another Quan Yin follower. :) (And I spell it with a Q just as personal preference. There's no right or wrong spelling.)

Quote
Most important to me is meditating/communing with the deity and performing offerings and prayers to them. I'm not interested really in magick and always fel uncomfortable when raising a circle.

I suppose my questions is can I do the offerings communing with deity without a circle? Does anyone else have similar experiences they could perhaps share?


Have you ever mentally said something to someone, but it never came out of your mouth?  Like, oh, So-and-so, I wish you were here to see this awesome random thing I've found. When I want to talk to Quan Yin, I simply do so. I usually end up saying something like, hey, just wanted to say thanks for the awesome day I'm having. I haven't cast a circle in close to 5 years.

Quote
I feel that by being so eclectic I can't really have a path but don't know if that's right or wrong.


Don't ever feel like there's a "right" or "wrong" to religion. Maybe when you're going somewhere new, you look up directions on the best/fastest/easiest way to get from Point A to Point B. There are countless paths, some easier than others, but they all end at the same destination. Maybe one turn you take becomes a dead-end, so you have to backtrack and try again. Maybe you get so turned around you don't even know what direction is up. But everywhere you look there are people around. Some helping and pointing you in the right direction, some scolding you for taking so long to get there, and still others trying to turn you right back around so you never reach your final destination.

And sometimes you'll stop to sight-see, maybe pick up some new information along the way, maybe learn some shortcuts. You'll definitely make new friends, and you might lose some old ones. Mourn for what you've lost, but take joy in what you've found, and just keep pushing forward.
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"Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly."   ~ Morticia Addams

Sage

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Re: Really struggling in my path search
« Reply #2 on: September 07, 2014, 05:58:13 pm »
Quote from: Hipporadish;158349
I believe many concepts of Buddhism, have strong relations with Egyptian gods and goddesses but am also drawn to other deities such an Kuan Yin, Green Man, Skadi and Demeter.

Most important to me is meditating/communing with the deity and performing offerings and prayers to them. I'm not interested really in magick and always fel uncomfortable when raising a circle.

I suppose my questions is can I do the offerings communing with deity without a circle? Does anyone else have similar experiences they could perhaps share?

I feel that by being so eclectic I can't really have a path but don't know if that's right or wrong.

 
Hi there! I've been where you are and I imagine many others have as well.

First, there's absolutely nothing that says you have to have a set, defined path. Those can be great to have and a comfort in their own ways, but there is nothing wrong with "just" being eclectic. Or in creating your own eclectic path. If you find meditation and offerings to satisfy you, then keep doing it! If you feel drawn towards deities of multiple pantheons (like I and others are), then go for it!

Second, there is no reason for you to practice magic(k) unless you want to. There's also no reason for you to cast a circle at all unless you're performing a ritual that requires a circle. But if you're not in a tradition with circle casting (such as Wicca) then there's absolutely no reason for you to bother unless you really want to. There are certainly reasons why some folks cast circles and do magic, but it's not a core defining feature of "what Paganism and/or polytheism is" and it certainly doesn't have to be a core feature of your practice.

I've been involved with a lot of religious practices and groups over the years. Currently I consider myself a participant in three distinct paths which overlap and inform each other in various ways.

Clann Bhride is a devotional group dedicated to the goddess Brighid. I'm one of the founding members. We use the term Brigidine which means that our theology and practices relate to Brighid in some way. My membership in Clann Bhride has everything to do with Brighid and not a lot to do with other deities at all. I am building up a series of thoughts and practices within this context and helping build up the Clann Bhride community.

Being in Clann Bhride doesn't mean I'm solely dedicated to Brighid to the exclusion of all other deities, though for a good while She is (or has been) the only deity I've really interacted with. I like Brighid and I wanted to help build something for Her and for other Brighid kids out there who could use the resources we're trying to provide.

Next, I've been a member of a local Unitarian Universalist congregation nearly as long as I've been Pagan. UUism is a progressive interfaith religious tradition, which means that their approach to theology is very loose and very personal. There are UU Christians, UU atheists, UU Pagans, UU Buddhists, and a bunch of folks from many other traditions.

I consider myself a Unitarian Universalist because it gives me the opportunity to belong to an organized religion (with a church and hymnals and everything!) while also being Pagan and openly queer. Traits that I consider important, such as intellectualism, personal liberty, and a focus on social justice are also considered important by the UU church at large.

Finally, I call myself a baby Kemetic, or an individual with a religious bent toward Ancient Egypt. I used to be somewhat active in a particular organization within Kemeticism but have since floated by myself. Rather than looking to any gods in particular I'm interested in the Kemetic concept of ma'at and how it applies to my life. Ma'at is not easy to translate - it's sort of a mix of justice, harmony, balance, order, and all those things working toward a functioning whole/community/preservation of the cosmos. And I call myself a "baby" because I'm still unfamiliar with Kemeticism as a whole and still have a lot to learn.

None of these religions contradict each other and all help me express different spiritual needs and interests. All of them in some shape or form deal with building community and pursuing social justice. I believe that Brighid's Work (the things She stands for and wants me to do in the world) is a manifestation of ma'at, and that the UU church (when it's functioning at it's best) supports me in acting those things out in the real world.

It took me years to realize what I wanted and needed from religion. A lot of experimentation and wandering, soul searching, coming to peace with myself. So my basic message to you is that you don't need to have all the answers right away and it's okay to be as eclectic as you want to be.
Maker, though the darkness comes upon me,
I shall embrace the light. I shall weather the storm.
I shall endure.
What you have created, no one can tear asunder.

-Canticle of Trials 1:10

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carillion

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Re: Really struggling in my path search
« Reply #3 on: September 07, 2014, 06:05:04 pm »
Quote from: Hipporadish;158349


I suppose my questions is can I do the offerings communing with deity without a circle? Does anyone else have similar experiences they could perhaps share?

I feel that by being so eclectic I can't really have a path but don't know if that's right or wrong.


Not everything requires a 'ritual'. It's just that rituals and religion/spirituality have been cojoined for so long by so many it's hard not to feel the necessity. But there is none,as others have pointed out.

Earthworm

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Re: Really struggling in my path search
« Reply #4 on: September 07, 2014, 09:13:15 pm »
Quote from: Hipporadish;158349
I believe many concepts of Buddhism, have strong relations with Egyptian gods and goddesses but am also drawn to other deities such an Kuan Yin, Green Man, Skadi and Demeter.

Most important to me is meditating/communing with the deity and performing offerings and prayers to them. I'm not interested really in magick and always fel uncomfortable when raising a circle.

I suppose my questions is can I do the offerings communing with deity without a circle? Does anyone else have similar experiences they could perhaps share?

I feel that by being so eclectic I can't really have a path but don't know if that's right or wrong.

 
I can't really respond from experience because for the last few years I've been doing magic without any real worship-type behaviors. In the rare event that I call on a god I'll definitely make an offering of something, but it's a sort of exchange rather than an act of devotion. Before that, I had a balance of worship/devotion and magic.

But, just like it's okay to have magic without devotion, it's okay to have devotion without magic. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like since you're individually reverencing your gods the eclecticism aspect shouldn't give you too much trouble? You don't have to try to fit all of them together in a system or pick just one path if you don't want to.

I think sometimes the pressure to choose a path comes mostly from the first-day-of-school-type experience in communities where there is pressure to be able to describe oneself in a few brief words so that everyone can go around the table quickly and get the introductions over with. Don't feel like you have to have a single path just to make it convenient for everyone else, because when it comes to this sort of thing, you're the most important person.

And like everyone else has said, some things need (using this word loosely) a circle/compass/whatever and other things don't. Don't worry about using one if you don't need it.
"A driving thirst for knowledge is the forerunner of wisdom." -Robert Cochrane

Hipporadish

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Re: Really struggling in my path search
« Reply #5 on: September 09, 2014, 02:42:45 pm »
Quote from: Earthworm;158380
I can't really respond from experience because for the last few years I've been doing magic without any real worship-type behaviors. In the rare event that I call on a god I'll definitely make an offering of something, but it's a sort of exchange rather than an act of devotion. Before that, I had a balance of worship/devotion and magic.

But, just like it's okay to have magic without devotion, it's okay to have devotion without magic. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like since you're individually reverencing your gods the eclecticism aspect shouldn't give you too much trouble? You don't have to try to fit all of them together in a system or pick just one path if you don't want to.

I think sometimes the pressure to choose a path comes mostly from the first-day-of-school-type experience in communities where there is pressure to be able to describe oneself in a few brief words so that everyone can go around the table quickly and get the introductions over with. Don't feel like you have to have a single path just to make it convenient for everyone else, because when it comes to this sort of thing, you're the most important person.

And like everyone else has said, some things need (using this word loosely) a circle/compass/whatever and other things don't. Don't worry about using one if you don't need it.

 Thank you so much all of you for your great advice.

Hipporadish

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Re: Really struggling in my path search
« Reply #6 on: September 09, 2014, 02:45:55 pm »
Quote from: missgraceless;158351
First off, I love finding another Quan Yin follower. :) (And I spell it with a Q just as personal preference. There's no right or wrong spelling.)


I have been a follower since I saw the large statue of her at Kek Lok Si Temple in Malaysia. I saw the statue wondered who it was as I felt drawn to it and it brought me peace and harmony I found out the statue was Kwan Yin and that was it :)

Lune

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Re: Really struggling in my path search
« Reply #7 on: September 11, 2014, 09:39:35 am »
Quote from: Hipporadish;158349
I believe many concepts of Buddhism, have strong relations with Egyptian gods and goddesses but am also drawn to other deities such an Kuan Yin, Green Man, Skadi and Demeter.

Most important to me is meditating/communing with the deity and performing offerings and prayers to them. I'm not interested really in magick and always fel uncomfortable when raising a circle.

I suppose my questions is can I do the offerings communing with deity without a circle? Does anyone else have similar experiences they could perhaps share?

I feel that by being so eclectic I can't really have a path but don't know if that's right or wrong.

What I can tell you is that finding a path can be easy for some and difficult for others (myself included). My advice would be to just try all of them. Research the gods and concepts you're interested in, try to adhere to those traditions when communicating with them. I always try to stick as closely to tradition as I can out of respect for the ancestors and witches who came before us.
You'll never know what you like or do not like until you've tried it, that's basically what I'm saying. You will know what's right for you when you get there, it's like a gut feeling. Don't question it, listen to it and do what it says.  

A circle in my practice is a holy space where you can communicate with divinity. It's like  you are creating a place where you can receive them, like you would family and friends to your home. I make a as I call it formal offering each month at least during the full moon. But I leave flowers and others trinkets closely linked to my deities on my altar all the time, to keep it alive sort to speak. So I would say a circle isn't always necessary, at least for me it isn't.

I have a small shrine for the spirits that protect my home and family where I leave an offering of nectar when there is a birthday, a death, a marriage or some other special event. There is no circle involved here.

And eclectic is a path too, it just takes a lot of experimenting and mending different things into one. You'll be okey, the gods can hear you ^.^
« Last Edit: September 11, 2014, 09:43:40 am by Lune »

Siona

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Re: Really struggling in my path search
« Reply #8 on: September 18, 2014, 07:47:20 pm »
Quote from: Hipporadish;158349
I believe many concepts of Buddhism, have strong relations with Egyptian gods and goddesses but am also drawn to other deities such an Kuan Yin, Green Man, Skadi and Demeter.

Most important to me is meditating/communing with the deity and performing offerings and prayers to them. I'm not interested really in magick and always fel uncomfortable when raising a circle.

I suppose my questions is can I do the offerings communing with deity without a circle? Does anyone else have similar experiences they could perhaps share?

I feel that by being so eclectic I can't really have a path but don't know if that's right or wrong.

 
Others have given some really good answers... Eclecticism in itself is making your own path, it can be hard at times, but that means if you don't want to cast a circle? Then there's no reason to include that in your personal path.

Personally I have not belonged to a path that includes circle casting in a number of years. I worshiped Egyptian deities for many years, and now Greek (including Demeter), and never used a circle. If it helps to think of it this way, the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and others, didn't do their personal (or even formal) worship in a circle, either. It doesn't mean it's wrong to do so, if someone wants, or that one must worship in a reconstructionist way, just that there are many different ways to worship a deity. If circles don't work for you, don't worry about it, lots have worshiped without one for thousands of years. :)

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