Why do we cast a circle? - RealPagan- Paganism for the Real World

The point of a forum is NOT t…

2010-12-30T21:46:58.189Z

The point of a forum is NOT to save you from doing research... you should ALWAYS do your own research.. at the end of the day we are all just names on a screen and you should ALWAYS check what someone online tells you. Forums may be a place to discuss your research or to get a starting point... but YOU have to do your own research.

I would honestly agree with t…

2010-12-30T19:41:54.123Z

I would honestly agree with the main point Lady Morgen is making about the workshop you attended. Based on the Native Spirituality information you've given alone I can tell you there were some "teachers" in attendance who really did not know their stuff. I'm not trying to invalidate any religious experiences you had there for I can't judge their validity. I would suggest, however, that you look for second sources and take the information you learned there with a grain of salt.

Stonewolf that is your whole…

2010-12-30T19:27:59.118Z

Stonewolf that is your whole problem here. You do ten minutes of research and then spout of and you insult people's traditions. Try slowing down and actually doing the research required, BEFORE you comment. This is will you a lot of headaches.

As for debate and administration being informed. Debate is a necessary part of this site. It is also healthy. Not only is it tolerated, but it is encouraged. I would venture to guess that administration was not contacted because you were DEBATING, but because you became beligerent and openly insulting.

Stonewolf, as someone from a…

2010-12-30T19:02:38.087Z

Stonewolf, as someone from a very heavy science background to someone who says that their path is research based I offer you this advice. If you do not know if the reference you are using is a valid one (i.e. Wikipedia) do NOT use it. Your credibility is based largely on the references you use. It makes no difference if you say, "But it might not be right." If you aren't positive, don't bring it up.

Also, a note, THIS site is also for debate of magical practice.

In what way do you find it he…

2010-12-30T18:56:49.084Z

In what way do you find it helpful, out of curiosity?

I don't understand. Is Valien…

2010-12-30T18:54:16.083Z

I don't understand. Is Valiente lying or breaking her oath when she reveals these names? And if she is doing either, why would anyone believe anything written by an oathbreaking liar?

In any event, the names are safe.

Just keep picking at it. You'…

2010-12-30T17:37:54.038Z

Just keep picking at it. You're about to start running into WALLS of text...

Mmmmm. Coffee. BTW meanie...…

2010-12-30T14:16:18.967Z

Mmmmm. Coffee. BTW meanie... Take a bow girly girl! ;-)

I'm not Wiccan, however I hav…

2010-12-30T14:00:01.960Z

I'm not Wiccan, however I have been to rites where a Wiccan HP/HPS were mediating the divine. Since this was at a semi-open event, I can share some of my experience to answer your question.

Does any initiated Wiccan care to give an account of their experience of meeting the god and goddess?

What's really interesting is that although I remember when it happened, and I remember my feelings about it all, like most good ritual experiences, I don't remember the whys and wherefores.

What they looked like, what they were wearing

For Him, when the invoking was done, what I was most struck by was the eyes. His were a swirling green and blue sheen like an oils slick. Hers were black with tiny tiny silver pupils that had the intensity of an extreme flashlight laser beam. Knowing the people who were mediating in person, I can say that those were not their eye colors before. What also was a bit interesting for me is that She stood behind Him...the people who brought them in have a huge height difference (she's much shorter than he is). Yet when She was standing behind Him, Her eyes were visible above His head, and given the position, Her face had to have become twice the size of a normal human head. At that point, Her body was not visible at all. She was a Lady of vapor. If you've ever seen the kind of vapor residue that you get from stage lights...imagine that being slightly more solid and yet not in any specific form, but almost like He was "wearing" Her like a cloak. He was vaguely recognizable as humanoid but almost like a topiary with horns from the waist up and "encloaked" by Her from the waist down. Giving this description, I think that you can understand why most people don't share their experiences of deity...it sounds really hokey when put into words. For what They were wearing, He was wearing Her. She was wearing all of eternity. Clothes? Nope, but not naked either. I'd just say clothed in glory, for various values of glory.

how they acted, what the energy felt like

For the "how they acted", I can't give details of what was done that night, largely because I don't remember the specifics in a way that I could share them meaningfully. As far as what the energy felt like... the best word that comes to mind is awe-full (as opposed to awful *grin*). I don't think there was anyone there who was not trembling out of the potency of the experience, and there's a strong sense of panic in the deepest levels of your soul. There's this feeling that if you weren't totally frozen in place, you'd run as fast as you can. This was not the "cuddle the boo boos away" divine that a lot of new age writers try to put the Lord and Lady into. This was that which is responsible for all existence coming to bestow the blessing of another season of life on those present. That isn't to say love isn't present...it can't be *not* present when They are there. It's just not the warm fuzzies that you might think. The warm fuzzies often settle in after rites like that.

Keep in mind...that's just my experience of that rite (and my husband's experience that night is very similar to what I described...we write down our experiences independently and then swap them later on to read and see if we both saw/experienced the same thing). I have no idea what other folks there saw or felt. What I have observed is that many times when there is a very potent ritual, you refer to it by things like "that Beltane when so-and-so and such-and-such mediated" and that's enough that people who were there know exactly what was meant. This was one of those rites.

And that, young man, is exact…

2010-12-30T13:45:20.954Z

And that, young man, is exactly what you get when your information is from t.v., pop culture books, movies and the sideshows of the 'net.