collapse

* Recent Posts

"Christ Is King" by Altair
[Today at 01:09:34 am]


Re: Cill Shift Schedule by SunflowerP
[Yesterday at 11:04:57 pm]


Re: Stellar Bling: The Good, the Bad, the OMG! by SunflowerP
[March 21, 2024, 11:21:37 pm]


Re: Spring Has Sprung! 2024 Edition by SunflowerP
[March 21, 2024, 10:24:10 pm]


Stellar Bling: The Good, the Bad, the OMG! by Altair
[March 21, 2024, 02:52:34 pm]

Author Topic: Castus has a new altar  (Read 5572 times)

Castus

  • Sr. Master Member
  • *******
  • Join Date: Jul 2011
  • Location: Virginia
  • Posts: 848
  • Country: us
  • Total likes: 101
    • View Profile
  • Religion: Happy Science
Castus has a new altar
« on: October 20, 2016, 09:03:13 pm »


With images of G-d, Serapis, Dionysos, the Sefirot, and Antinous. Candle will be added later.
“Castus, meanwhile, goes straight for the bad theology like one of those creepy fish that swims up streams of pee.” — Darkhawk

“Believing in the Lord means you are connected to me no matter when you are poor, sick, or struggling in a relationship. I am always with you. I want you to believe that. The future is uncertain, and much suffering awaits. However, the mission of the believer is to live life doing their best, no matter what the circumstances.” — Ryuho Okawa

Sefiru

  • Senior Staff
  • *
  • Join Date: Nov 2013
  • Location: In the walls
  • Posts: 2569
  • Country: ca
  • Total likes: 891
    • View Profile
Re: Castus has a new altar
« Reply #1 on: October 21, 2016, 06:06:26 pm »
Quote from: Castus;197741


With images of G-d, Serapis, Dionysos, the Sefirot, and Antinous. Candle will be added later.

 
That is nifty.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Me on AO3 & Deviantart

SunflowerP

  • Host
  • *
  • Join Date: Jun 2011
  • Location: Calgary AB
  • Posts: 9909
  • Country: ca
  • Total likes: 732
  • Don't teach your grandmother to suck eggs!
    • View Profile
    • If You Ain't Makin' Waves, You Ain't Kickin' Hard Enough
  • Religion: Eclectic religious Witchcraft
  • Preferred Pronouns: sie/hir/hirs/hirself
Re: Castus has a new altar
« Reply #2 on: October 21, 2016, 09:28:14 pm »
Quote from: Castus;197741
... images of G-d....

 
I gotta say, that's not a phrase I expected to ever see. Not just from you, but generally.

I'm curious about the reasoning behind giving up aniconicism, but continuing to spell the (etymologically Germanic) word for 'deity' with a hyphen when the 'G' is capitalized.

Sunflower
I'm the AntiFa genderqueer commie eclectic wiccan Mod your alt-right bros warned you about.
I do so have a life; I just live part of it online!
“Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live.” - Oscar Wilde
"Nobody's good at anything until they practice." - Brina (Yewberry)
My much-neglected blog "If You Ain't Makin' Waves, You Ain't Kickin' Hard Enough"

Eastling

  • Sr. Master Member
  • *******
  • Join Date: Feb 2016
  • Location: Seattle
  • *
  • *
  • Posts: 698
  • Country: us
  • Total likes: 609
  • Love and be free.
    • View Profile
    • Mystermercury
  • Religion: Modern Dionysian hero cultus and heretical Judaism
  • Preferred Pronouns: He/him/his
Re: Castus has a new altar
« Reply #3 on: October 21, 2016, 09:49:06 pm »
Quote from: Castus;197741
With images of G-d, Serapis, Dionysos, the Sefirot, and Antinous. Candle will be added later.

 
That is elegantly set up. Do you have a source on that image of Dionysos? I'm curious.

The imagery of Hashem is striking, although it presents a bit of a dilemma to me, as someone who perceives Him in the Jewish tradition as aniconic.

That said, clear images of Hashem aren't entirely without precedent in Jewish mysticism. Chaim Vital, the student of Isaac Luria, gives a description of a vision he had of God in very anthropomorphic, visual terms ("he had the likeness of an Ancient of Days, old, with a beard white as snow, in infinite majesty") that align pretty well with the image portrayed in this picture.
"The peacock can show its whole tail at once, but I can only tell you a story."
--JAMES ALAN GARDNER

Castus

  • Sr. Master Member
  • *******
  • Join Date: Jul 2011
  • Location: Virginia
  • Posts: 848
  • Country: us
  • Total likes: 101
    • View Profile
  • Religion: Happy Science
Re: Castus has a new altar
« Reply #4 on: October 21, 2016, 11:15:36 pm »
Quote from: Eastling;197768
That is elegantly set up. Do you have a source on that image of Dionysos? I'm curious.

The imagery of Hashem is striking, although it presents a bit of a dilemma to me, as someone who perceives Him in the Jewish tradition as aniconic.

That said, clear images of Hashem aren't entirely without precedent in Jewish mysticism. Chaim Vital, the student of Isaac Luria, gives a description of a vision he had of God in very anthropomorphic, visual terms ("he had the likeness of an Ancient of Days, old, with a beard white as snow, in infinite majesty") that align pretty well with the image portrayed in this picture.

Thank you!

The image of Dionysos, and of Serapis for that matter, is by Lykeia*; who I believe has an Etsy shop with some of her paintings, and I know you can purchase that image as a small prayer card off Galina Krasskova's Etsy page as well.
 
I prefer to worship with images, although now that I think about it I do like the idea of having a tiny ner tamid to represent Hashem instead. I do really like that icon though, even if it's clearly Christian. I just wanted a nice way to represent G-d on my altar as the preeminent deity and I think it worked out nicely. Plus, it's not technically a graven idol, so I'm in the clear. :p

*By the by, if anyone wants a large, beautiful painting of Apollo which I purchased fro Lykeia years ago, feel free to PM me and I'll sell it cheap.
“Castus, meanwhile, goes straight for the bad theology like one of those creepy fish that swims up streams of pee.” — Darkhawk

“Believing in the Lord means you are connected to me no matter when you are poor, sick, or struggling in a relationship. I am always with you. I want you to believe that. The future is uncertain, and much suffering awaits. However, the mission of the believer is to live life doing their best, no matter what the circumstances.” — Ryuho Okawa

Castus

  • Sr. Master Member
  • *******
  • Join Date: Jul 2011
  • Location: Virginia
  • Posts: 848
  • Country: us
  • Total likes: 101
    • View Profile
  • Religion: Happy Science
Re: Castus has a new altar
« Reply #5 on: October 21, 2016, 11:19:22 pm »
Quote from: Sefiru;197761
That is nifty.


Thank you!
 
Quote from: SunflowerP;197766
I gotta say, that's not a phrase I expected to ever see. Not just from you, but generally.

I'm curious about the reasoning behind giving up aniconicism, but continuing to spell the (etymologically Germanic) word for 'deity' with a hyphen when the 'G' is capitalized.

Sunflower

 
Not technically a graven image, so I'm not violating a rather important mitzvah -- although I'm admittedly pirouetting on the border of doing so. The mitzvah against destroying G-d's name, however, is one I take no precautions with.
“Castus, meanwhile, goes straight for the bad theology like one of those creepy fish that swims up streams of pee.” — Darkhawk

“Believing in the Lord means you are connected to me no matter when you are poor, sick, or struggling in a relationship. I am always with you. I want you to believe that. The future is uncertain, and much suffering awaits. However, the mission of the believer is to live life doing their best, no matter what the circumstances.” — Ryuho Okawa

Eastling

  • Sr. Master Member
  • *******
  • Join Date: Feb 2016
  • Location: Seattle
  • *
  • *
  • Posts: 698
  • Country: us
  • Total likes: 609
  • Love and be free.
    • View Profile
    • Mystermercury
  • Religion: Modern Dionysian hero cultus and heretical Judaism
  • Preferred Pronouns: He/him/his
Re: Castus has a new altar
« Reply #6 on: October 21, 2016, 11:39:51 pm »
Quote from: Castus;197770
I prefer to worship with images, although now that I think about it I do like the idea of having a tiny ner tamid to represent Hashem instead. I do really like that icon though, even if it's clearly Christian. I just wanted a nice way to represent G-d on my altar as the preeminent deity and I think it worked out nicely. Plus, it's not technically a graven idol, so I'm in the clear. :p


I can understand that--I've been tentatively exploring having idol-like things on my shrine, but my own inclination is to more abstract symbolism, so that's what I use. (The Dionysos section of the shrine is a mask, a plant, and a glass dildo; the Lilith section is a pewter owl charm bejeweled with red glass and an anime-styled cartoon picture of a snake-woman.)
 
Quote from: Castus;197771
Not technically a graven image, so I'm not violating a rather important mitzvah -- although I'm admittedly pirouetting on the border of doing so. The mitzvah against destroying G-d's name, however, is one I take no precautions with.


As a Jew who gets devotional tattoos to other gods, I can appreciate the value of pirouetting on the border of violating mitzvot.
 
(Although I identify specifically as a minim or Jewish heretic, so it's complicated.)
"The peacock can show its whole tail at once, but I can only tell you a story."
--JAMES ALAN GARDNER

Tags:
 

Related Topics

  Subject / Started by Replies Last post
38 Replies
9352 Views
Last post April 26, 2015, 08:10:35 pm
by Caliban
3 Replies
1608 Views
Last post October 28, 2015, 11:26:21 am
by Aisling
11 Replies
2140 Views
Last post January 08, 2016, 09:43:04 am
by Morag
36 Replies
6925 Views
Last post July 16, 2016, 11:58:04 am
by PerditaPickle
15 Replies
4742 Views
Last post October 01, 2016, 04:49:50 pm
by Born Again Pagan

Special Interest Group

Warning: You are currently in a Special Interest Group on the message board with special rules and focused discussions.

* Who's Online

  • Dot Guests: 183
  • Dot Hidden: 0
  • Dot Users: 0

There aren't any users online.

* Please Donate!

The Cauldron's server is expensive and requires monthly payments. Please become a Bronze, Silver or Gold Donor if you can. Donations are needed every month. Without member support, we can't afford the server.

* Shop & Support TC

The links below are affiliate links. When you click on one of these links you will go to the listed shopping site with The Cauldron's affiliate code. Any purchases you make during your visit will earn TC a tiny percentage of your purchase price at no extra cost to you.

* In Memoriam

Chavi (2006)
Elspeth (2010)
Marilyn (2013)

* Cauldron Staff

Host:
Sunflower

Message Board Staff
Board Coordinator:
Darkhawk

Assistant Board Coordinator:
Aster Breo

Senior Staff:
Aisling, Allaya, Jenett, Sefiru

Staff:
Ashmire, EclecticWheel, HarpingHawke, Kylara, PerditaPickle, rocquelaire

Discord Chat Staff
Chat Coordinator:
Morag

'Up All Night' Coordinator:
Altair

Cauldron Council:
Bob, Catja, Chatelaine, Emma-Eldritch, Fausta, Jubes, Kelly, LyricFox, Phouka, Sperran, Star, Steve, Tana

Site Administrator:
Randall

SimplePortal 2.3.6 © 2008-2014, SimplePortal