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Author Topic: Your Pagan Strength  (Read 7080 times)

Altair

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Your Pagan Strength
« on: August 16, 2017, 09:35:03 pm »
We're already talking here about the downside of your religious experience (https://ecauldron.com/forum/pagan-spirituality/what's-the-downside-of-your-religious-experience/). A not-quite-opposite question: If you had to pick ONE thing that's your strongest suit in your pagan practice (only one...because we know we're all awesome at so many pagan things  ;) ), what would it be? Divination? Meditation? Research? Contacting deities or spirits? Designing or leading rituals? The possibilities are endless. Toot your own horn!

For me: Writing myths. (Which will come as no surprise to anyone who's been around the Cauldron for a while.) I think I wrote my first one when I was about 10 years old, and the storytelling in various forms has continued, with interruptions, ever since. So mythopoeia is where I excel.

What's your pagan forte?
« Last Edit: August 16, 2017, 09:38:30 pm by Altair »
The first song sets the wheel in motion / The second is a song of love / The third song tells of Her devotion / The fourth cries joy from the sky above
The fifth song binds our fate to silence / and bids us live each moment well / The sixth unleashes rage and violence / The seventh song has truth to tell
The last song echoes through the ages / to ask its question all night long / And close the circle on these pages / These, the metamythos songs

TheGreenWizard

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Re: Your Pagan Strength
« Reply #1 on: August 17, 2017, 12:58:14 am »
What's your pagan forte?

For me, it's my research abilities and delving into mythology (read: bullshit detector). Again, not surprising given my science and academic background.
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go

Morbid

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Re: Your Pagan Strength
« Reply #2 on: August 17, 2017, 01:18:15 am »
A not-quite-opposite question: If you had to pick ONE thing that's your strongest suit in your pagan practice (only one...because we know we're all awesome at so many pagan things  ;) ), what would it be?

I would have to say it's a tie between divination and contacting the spirits.  I'm quite accurate and able-bodied at both, so it's hard to say which is stronger.
For he who has truly lived never truly dies.

Altair

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Re: Your Pagan Strength
« Reply #3 on: August 17, 2017, 06:38:40 am »
I would have to say it's a tie between divination and contacting the spirits.  I'm quite accurate and able-bodied at both, so it's hard to say which is stronger.

Pick ONE. Lie if you have to.

(I'm being a stickler on this, because the least interesting thing would be to read post after post of how wonderful someone is at *everything*, the High Priestess With the Mostest, blah blah blah. That's not what you've done, Morbid, but I'm hoping to avoid those treacherous shoals entirely.)
The first song sets the wheel in motion / The second is a song of love / The third song tells of Her devotion / The fourth cries joy from the sky above
The fifth song binds our fate to silence / and bids us live each moment well / The sixth unleashes rage and violence / The seventh song has truth to tell
The last song echoes through the ages / to ask its question all night long / And close the circle on these pages / These, the metamythos songs

Jainarayan

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Re: Your Pagan Strength
« Reply #4 on: August 17, 2017, 10:56:32 am »
What's your pagan forte?

A feeling of joy, comfort and peace when I'm at my shrine or in temple. It's something we call darshan, viewing of the deity, and receiving blessings. We see the idol, but we know the deity is within the idol (we don't worship the idol itself). There's an energy that's generated, even in a small home shrine.

Goddess_Ashtara

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Re: Your Pagan Strength
« Reply #5 on: August 17, 2017, 11:40:23 am »
We're already talking here about the downside of your religious experience (https://ecauldron.com/forum/pagan-spirituality/what's-the-downside-of-your-religious-experience/). A not-quite-opposite question: If you had to pick ONE thing that's your strongest suit in your pagan practice (only one...because we know we're all awesome at so many pagan things  ;) ), what would it be? Divination? Meditation? Research? Contacting deities or spirits? Designing or leading rituals? The possibilities are endless. Toot your own horn!

For me: Writing myths. (Which will come as no surprise to anyone who's been around the Cauldron for a while.) I think I wrote my first one when I was about 10 years old, and the storytelling in various forms has continued, with interruptions, ever since. So mythopoeia is where I excel.

What's your pagan forte?

My greatest "pagan strength" has nothing to do with my being pagan, but everything to do with my being me.  It would be... my power of Creation.   Some would call it a blessing or a natural talent, others a skill honed over a great deal of training and practice.  I see it as a combination of natural inclinations with the results of passion and training, amplified by my connection to God(s). 





𒊩𒆪  𒂔𒇸𒀝  𒄿𒈨
NIN EDINLIL AK IMEN
𒊩𒆪  𒂔𒇸𒀝  𒄿𒈨

Jenett

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Re: Your Pagan Strength
« Reply #6 on: August 17, 2017, 11:53:54 am »
What's your pagan forte?

I have to nod to research, which I was good at before the master's in library science and (hey, I got my MLIS just about ten years ago. Happy anniversary, me!) and am obviously a lot better at given lots of practice and the fact I actively use the skills during my work day.

But the thing I think I've go a particular knack for is taking that research and putting it in a framework that makes sense for other people, especially by looking at the gaps and places other people don't explain well.

That has something to do with my own religious training, something to do with my own inclinations, and something to do with nature and nuture (My father had a very similar approach: he died when I was 15, so it's not something we've been able to usefully discuss since I've been an adult, but it was very much the pattern of teaching and research I had as a model from a very early age.)
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Morbid

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Re: Your Pagan Strength
« Reply #7 on: August 17, 2017, 01:01:41 pm »
Pick ONE. Lie if you have to.

(I'm being a stickler on this, because the least interesting thing would be to read post after post of how wonderful someone is at *everything*, the High Priestess With the Mostest, blah blah blah. That's not what you've done, Morbid, but I'm hoping to avoid those treacherous shoals entirely.)

Lol well I'd have to say contacting the spirits then.  I mean, if you insist I only pick one.  I usually have great success with that. 
For he who has truly lived never truly dies.

Altair

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Re: Your Pagan Strength
« Reply #8 on: August 18, 2017, 06:38:21 am »
A feeling of joy, comfort and peace when I'm at my shrine or in temple. It's something we call darshan, viewing of the deity, and receiving blessings. We see the idol, but we know the deity is within the idol (we don't worship the idol itself). There's an energy that's generated, even in a small home shrine.

That sounds pretty awesome, actually. My understanding of deity is probably too metaphorical for me to experience it, but I get something similar at certain times when I'm tuned in to the natural world around me.
The first song sets the wheel in motion / The second is a song of love / The third song tells of Her devotion / The fourth cries joy from the sky above
The fifth song binds our fate to silence / and bids us live each moment well / The sixth unleashes rage and violence / The seventh song has truth to tell
The last song echoes through the ages / to ask its question all night long / And close the circle on these pages / These, the metamythos songs

Altair

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Re: Your Pagan Strength
« Reply #9 on: August 18, 2017, 06:43:13 am »
I have to nod to research

If you hadn't picked that one, I think everyone here at the Cauldron would have picked it for you!

Quote
(hey, I got my MLIS just about ten years ago. Happy anniversary, me!)

Indeed--happy anniversary!

Quote
But the thing I think I've go a particular knack for is taking that research and putting it in a framework that makes sense for other people, especially by looking at the gaps and places other people don't explain well.

You don't need my affirmation on this, but: Yup.

Quote
That has something to do with my own religious training, something to do with my own inclinations, and something to do with nature and nuture (My father had a very similar approach: he died when I was 15, so it's not something we've been able to usefully discuss since I've been an adult, but it was very much the pattern of teaching and research I had as a model from a very early age.)

That it's a familial legacy is all the more fascinating.
The first song sets the wheel in motion / The second is a song of love / The third song tells of Her devotion / The fourth cries joy from the sky above
The fifth song binds our fate to silence / and bids us live each moment well / The sixth unleashes rage and violence / The seventh song has truth to tell
The last song echoes through the ages / to ask its question all night long / And close the circle on these pages / These, the metamythos songs

Sobekemiti

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Re: Your Pagan Strength
« Reply #10 on: August 18, 2017, 09:47:07 am »
We're already talking here about the downside of your religious experience (https://ecauldron.com/forum/pagan-spirituality/what's-the-downside-of-your-religious-experience/). A not-quite-opposite question: If you had to pick ONE thing that's your strongest suit in your pagan practice (only one...because we know we're all awesome at so many pagan things  ;) ), what would it be? Divination? Meditation? Research? Contacting deities or spirits? Designing or leading rituals? The possibilities are endless. Toot your own horn!

For me: Writing myths. (Which will come as no surprise to anyone who's been around the Cauldron for a while.) I think I wrote my first one when I was about 10 years old, and the storytelling in various forms has continued, with interruptions, ever since. So mythopoeia is where I excel.

What's your pagan forte?

The first answer that came to mind was writing ritual. I'm a liturgist. It's taken me a while to recognise this, but it seems to be my Thing. I write a LOT of rituals, and I care very much about how I write them, too. That seems to be my instinct more than anything else. I fret a lot about getting them right in terms of historical or cultural protocols or structures. It's why I had so much trouble figuring out how to start devotions to Mars when He turned up last Christmas. I couldn't find any Roman rituals to use as references in order to create my own devotions to Him, and it bothered me greatly. It didn't bother Mars, but it bothered me. So yeah, ritual. That's what I do. That's my Thing.
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Waldhexe

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Re: Your Pagan Strength
« Reply #11 on: August 18, 2017, 11:00:27 am »
We're already talking here about the downside of your religious experience (https://ecauldron.com/forum/pagan-spirituality/what's-the-downside-of-your-religious-experience/). A not-quite-opposite question: If you had to pick ONE thing that's your strongest suit in your pagan practice (only one...because we know we're all awesome at so many pagan things  ;) ), what would it be? Divination? Meditation? Research? Contacting deities or spirits? Designing or leading rituals? The possibilities are endless. Toot your own horn!

For me: Writing myths. (Which will come as no surprise to anyone who's been around the Cauldron for a while.) I think I wrote my first one when I was about 10 years old, and the storytelling in various forms has continued, with interruptions, ever since. So mythopoeia is where I excel.

What's your pagan forte?
I think I already have some ability to perceive energies especially in places and plants, but I also want to get more fact based nature knowledge, learn more plant names, bird songs etc.

Eastling

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Re: Your Pagan Strength
« Reply #12 on: August 18, 2017, 11:59:51 am »
What's your pagan forte?

So far it's probably bootstrapping/improvisation/on-the-fly instincts.

While I do have some regular rituals (it wouldn't really be a practice without them, I think?), even those were mostly spun out of gut instincts and trial and error rather than picked up from others or a book. I tend to toss together whatever seems like it might work and feels right to my instincts, see if it does work, then drop what doesn't work and tweak what does to work better.

Since I do a lot of high-energy mystery work with some pretty demanding Powers, it's fortunate that I seem to be good at improvising ritual and magic. In the future, as my practice becomes more stable (I've only been engaging with mysticism for a year and a half), I may find this eclipsed by other talents--mythopoeia would certainly be my choice, but who knows. For now, it is what it is.
"The peacock can show its whole tail at once, but I can only tell you a story."
--JAMES ALAN GARDNER

Sefiru

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Re: Your Pagan Strength
« Reply #13 on: August 18, 2017, 06:29:57 pm »
What's your pagan forte?

For me, it's crafting. I've made all my own deity images (in several different media) as well as ritual tools, containers, and general spiritualy-inspired artwork.

Pick ONE.

Also, defying conventions. :P
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Re: Your Pagan Strength
« Reply #14 on: August 19, 2017, 01:01:52 am »
What's your pagan forte?

Being entirely too stupid to quit.

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