Man Hating She-Beasts

Hello all, this blog started off as a well written and intelligent analysis of duality in the world and neo-paganism and the like…however as I continued to write I realized that I was trashing paths that view females as superiors to males.  So I said to myself well I can’t do this because I claim to respect all belief systems and to trash them would mean I don’t respect their belief system.  Well as it turns out I don’t respect all belief systems because I cannot respect a system that that values one gender over another just as I could not respect a system that valued one race over another. So In writing this I found a truth about myself, how awesome is that?   While I completely understand that there is far more favor for men than women throughout the world, it just seems so completely absurd that any neo-pagan path would value one gender over the other, and I understand that most of this is based on individuals and extremists more so then the actual paths…but right now I am angry...So without any further adieu I present a rant about man hating she beasts!  

 Most life on this planet has a male gender and a female gender; both play an integral part in the societies they live in, most importantly both are required for reproduction.  This my friends, is balance in the most basic and vital role of life as we know it.  Now for whatever reason human society has created many concepts that place a higher value on one gender of the other.  While most mainstream societies have placed more value on men over women, there are groups that place higher value on women over men…this of course happens in some neo-pagan paths.  Some people seem to get the idea in their head that the Goddess is all powerful and the God is just her bitch for reproductive purposes; that being said this must prove that female humans are far superior to male humans.  This concept is so utterly ridiculous that I will not even attempt to understand the reasoning behind it, instead I will just trash the concept because to me in is just as bad as racism.  I believe in a plethora of deities, each having unique and significant value, while some of their significance may be based on their roles as males or females no single deity is more valued then the other based on their gender.  I really think that we all need the influence of both male and female deity in our life, it provides us with balance.  I think a lot of the man hating groups in the neo-pagan community stem from their old religious beliefs, since most neo-pagans where probably raised in a Abrahamic religion, they were taught God was a man and women screwed it all up for mankind blah blah blah.  Now we all know that new to the path neo-pagans are hard core anti-Abrahmic for ruining the lives of the ancient pagans and the burning times and all of that nonsense…but eventually we grow up and realize that that crap never happened and we realize that all of that hate was a waste of time and made us sound stupid and we move on with our lives.  However these man hating neo-pagans have not moved on, they are still bitter about the man god holding them down and oppressing their rights and such nonsense.  So essentially they never grew up, and they are just as ignorant as some newbie to the path…great job on the spiritual development!  Maybe they are just so damn insecure about themselves that you need to put others down, and since the evil man has always put you down you should turn the tables…it’s laughable and pathetic.  These people are seriously no better the your run of the mill ignorant racist, they are making a judgment about me based on the fact that I have a penis…this is called stereotyping…and stereotyping is ignorant.  Many of the man hating women like to claim they a feminists, this of course is bullshit; true feminism is about gaining equality to men, not being superior to men.  I am all for equality in genders, both in mainstream society and in religion.  I think it is a bunch of horse shit that certain religions won’t allow a woman to join the priesthood, I think it is horse shit that statistically men make more than women for the same job, and I think it is completely absurd that there are parts of the world that women have almost no rights…however none of this give anyone the right to claim that their female goddess is superior to any of my male gods reducing them to some breeding tool.  It also does not give anyone the right to claim they are better them me because they have different “gear” then I do.  If you want to fight for something fight for gender equality if not then fuck off.  You are no better than any other bigot out there and you are just as bad as any man who seeks to oppress a woman. 

I learned a great deal in this rant, first was that I cannot claim to respect all belief systems , because I cannot have any respect for a system that would degrade a person or a deity because of their gender.  As always balance is a key factor in my spirituality and I cannot even begin to comprehend a belief system that so purposefully seeks to disrupt balance.  Nature is balance, the union of male and female is the perfect balance, and it is what creates life…and that is a beautiful thing.  I truly wish that all people who feel the need to favor one gender over the other would just stop and see that without each other there is no life, therefore we are all equals in that regard.      

Stuff in my pockets...

Today I would like to discuss physical items that we view as holding some kind of power...talismans, jewelery, stones, bits of wood, bones, ritual tools etc.  Many people of a non Pagan persuasion, and even many Pagans themselves, view the practice of creating and venerating such items as a silly superstition or very "new age."  I could not disagree more with the aforementioned view, these items are often very personal and hold a great deal of value to us!  I am not saying that anything of the things we hold near and dear to us have any grand mystical power, however they have a strong impact on us as individuals.  The question is, what gives these items their power?  In most cases I would say that is the individual that gives the item power; by focusing so intently on the value of said object we project upon it the power we want it to hold.  With that being said I'm sure many people would say that the power is inside of us all along and we do not need an object give us that power.  I do agree with that to a degree, however having a physical object can act as something for us to channel our thoughts and energy...a focus.  Now the next question I ponder is, could your personal focus hold value to another individual?  That is a tough question to answer, I think sometimes yes sometimes no.  I suppose that after a long period of time of focusing so intently on the purpose of an item it could possibly retain some of that purpose without actually the original user channeling their thoughts and energy through it, but I feel the receiving individual would have to focus their own thoughts and energy into to produce the same results.  Then their is always the question of items that supposedly hold some inherent power on their own such as gemstones.  While various stones have been used through out the ages to symbolize certain things or act as talismans, I think it is a relatively new age concept that each and every single gemstone has inherent power.  Now those of you that know me would be sort of confused right about now, as I regularly work with gemstones and have more crystals and things around my house then I will ever know what to do with...do I think gemstones have power? Absolutely!  They are a piece of the planet and a part of nature, their formation probably took years longer then the human race has existed.  That being said they certainly have power inherently, but I think we project a good deal of the specific metaphysical properties they may have.  What about biological materials such as plants and animal products?  There is energy in these things, that is not metaphysics that is scientific fact.  Anything that was once alive has energy; it is why we eat formerly living things, it is how we fuel our bodies.  I think the same can be said spiritually; but once again out side of medicinal uses of various plant or animal compounds, I believe we project a good deal of the specific qualities into these things.  To sum it all up...I am all about the stuff in my pockets everyday, the jewelry that I won't ever take off, the tattoos on my body, the herbs and tools I use in rituals.  All of these things aid me in focusing my thoughts and energies to various purposes and I don't think I could ever be without them, it's just not as hocus pocus as many outsiders would view it as.    

Love and light...blah blah blah

Today I will talk about my biggest peeve when it comes to neo-paganism...this concept of constant love and light!  I don't understand why people think they they should constantly emit this happy positivity!  We are not creatures of pure love and light...there is darkness it all of us, and I thank the Gods for that every single day!  First of all what good would light do if there is no darkness?  People would just take it for granted, and not appreciate it.  Second I personally need the dark aspects of my personality; it protects me from being walked all over and taken advantage of, it gives me the strength to defend my loved ones and my beliefs!  All this love and light just does not seem natural...it lacks balance!  Nature is not all love and light, animals kill to eat or defend themselves, there are many plants that leech off other ones to feed, micro organisms invade and destroy their hosts so they can reproduce and live on.  It's just the way of the world; neo-pagans often run around saying they respect nature and try and tune themselves into natures song, then they blatantly follow an ideal that is the complete opposite.  I'm not saying there is in room for love and light because with out it we would be in a very sad place, but there is  a time and a place for everything!  Sometimes you just have to embrace they darkness and accept that it is only natural!

An incomplete rant from a while back...

Science is the modernists method of viewing the world; it involves using evidence to test theories, thereby either proving or disproving a theory.  If a theory is not proven to be false, then it is assumed to be true; these theories may be subject to further testing and be confirmed as law.  For example, the laws of gravity have been "proven" by physics and mathematics...due to this have the laws of gravity been proven true, according to modernist thought it has been proven true.  Yet recent studies have shown inconsistencies in this so called law in objects in outer space orbiting our planet.  These studies have thrown our whole concept of gravitational forces into question.  This is just one example of how flawed Science can be, another example is the technique of Carbon Dating.  For decades carbon dating has been used to estimate the age of fossils and artifacts.  This dating system has been generally accepted by scientists and the public alike as accurate and true, however most recent studies show that carbon dating can in fact be completely inaccurate.  It seems that every year some great concept of scientific theory  is proven wrong by some new theory or law; most are not as profound as the two concepts I previously mentioned, yet every example is just as valid when it comes to displaying how flawed modern thought can be.  How long will it be before our modern scientific concepts are proven to be foolish ideas?  At first glance it would seem that I am against the concept of science, when in reality this could not be further from the truth.  I am a scientist, I have studied science both independently and in college.  I spent four years of studying biology and molecular genetics, as well as nearly four years of studying sociology.  I firmly believe that our society has much to learn from scientific thought and research, but at the belief that anything can truly be proven and understood through modern science is fool hardy at best and absurdly arrogant at worst. 

What would society gain from understanding everything?  No matter what we are to discover about why we do what we do, it won't change the overall outcome will it?  We and know all there is to know about we animals must eat and breathe or how DNA replicates; this does not change the fact that animals must eat and breathe to live and DNA will continue to replicate, whether or not we understand it.  What does this all accomplish in the long run?  Many people would say it is to create a better quality of life, so we can live longer, happier, healthier lives.  Granted me may live longer now than ever before, but are we truly happier and healthier?  People have developed new diseases in the past few decades than ever before; these diseases are psychological...we get depressed, we have post traumatic stress syndrome, we have nervous breakdowns when things are not as bright and cheery as we feel they should be.  We hear very little about things like this in ancient history, people did what they had to do to survive. You couldn't get depressed and not go to work for a few days, because you probably farmed and hunted your own food...no work equals no eating, no eating equals death.  Another facet of our modern society is the fact that we actually will eat to death!  Science has shown what foods are good for us and what foods are not, yet people will over eat unhealthy foods until they are obese, and develop some kind of heart or other varied circulatory condition.  We have so much faith in science, yet we tend to ignore it when it impedes on our happiness.  Now I am not innocent in all of this I am slightly overweight and I am a smoker...apparently my happiness is by committing a slow suicide every time I eat a cholesterol filled burger from one of the varied fast food places, and light and inhale toxins and chemicals of a cigarette...What scares me is the fact that I am just one in a billion who do these things.  Narcotics are illegal due to their damaging effects on individuals and society, so why isn't Burger King?        

Balance...a mild obsession

Those of you that know me personally are already aware of my feelings about the balancing of things...those of you that don't will come to see that it is a very common theme in my ramblings here.  Why do I seek to find balance in almost all aspects of my life?  For me the answer is simple, it just feels natural!  I have always marveled over Natures ability to keep things in order, everything just seems to have a nice system of checks and balances.  Now when I look at the current state of human society, I see a sever lack of balance in anything.  The distribution of wealth and power, the amount of time we spend with our family and loved ones, the sheer size of the population versus the amount of resources available...it is absolutely maddening!  Now I know that I can not restore balance to the entirety of the human race, but I can seek it for myself.  Of course there are many challenges...I am an inherently unbalanced creature in every sense of the word.  This is what makes the journey so frustrating yet so much fun.  Every time I create balance in one aspect of my life, I create discord in something else...it is something that is constantly flowing and changing, and I have come to realize that it will always be ongoing with no finish.  In the end it is just how I grow as a person, or maybe it's just OCD ;)    

The Na Creidmhigh Creed

The Na Creidmhigh Creed
We Are Na Creidmhigh
The Keepers Of Knowledge Teachers Of Wisdom
From Times Of Old Ancients Spoke Their Words
Their Call We Heeded Faith In Our Hearts
The Flame Burns Bright
Innis Fodhla Our Mistress
She Calls To Us From Far Away
Embarking On Our Journey Transformation Begins
We Are The Faithful In A World Of Distrust
Loyalty Not Just A Word, We Live With Honor
Virtues Held True, Values Taken To Heart
Devotion To Ways Of Old, With Respect We Follow And Grow
With Courage We Live As The Faithful
Olden Are Our Ways Committed, To The Past
Forward We Move In Hope
Justice Our Code Honesty Our Guide
With Hearts Open Hospitality Is Yours
Journey With Us Become All You Can
Grow In Spirit Live In Peace
The Faithful Bid You Welcome


So this was written a few years ago by fellow co-founder of the Na Creidmhigh tradition Rick...I found this amongst the fragmented mess of my old hard drive.  I am truly inspired by these words and it brings me a great deal of joy that we have begun development of the tradition again.  It has been a long, slow, and rocky road since we started in 2006ish...but I really feel we are all in a much better place right now to really get things moving.  I'll be putting up some stuff on here in regards to the Na Creidmhigh Tradition from time to time...if anyone wants to know more just let me know.

Books, Fluffies, and Elitists...Oh My!

A good book...is hard to find!  Over the past couple years I have collected just about every half decent book on ancient and modern Paganism I could find; and every year that passes it seems that it is getting harder and harder to find a good book.  I can literally comb through the entire metaphysics and spirituality section at the book store and not find a single well thought work that I have not already read or one that is not geared towards beginners.  I find this very sad...it's not that I need to read anything to reaffirm my beliefs, I would just like to read something of substance that gives me faith that Pagans as a community are developing.  I have had a bit more success when it comes to books about ancient societies and mythology, but they of course lack anything relating to spiritual substance.  Sometimes I think I am being a little judgmental and take a few minutes to start reading something I find in the store and I quickly realize that all I am looking at is some author/publisher money maker geared towards teenagers that do not know any better.  Then I think about the chain reaction that ensues...teenager reads some drivel about "modern witchcraft," decides they want to be a Pagan, finds a community, posts about what they read in a book, gets destroyed by members of said community, gets disheartened and abandons any further research.  As a community that does not look good for us for a few reasons.  First off any non-Pagan checks out a book, they will think we are completely out of our minds.  Second many newcomers shy away from the path because we act like a bunch of elitists.  This then creates stagnation for the community as a whole, which of course is the opposite of growth.  So what can we do to fix this?  Well I guess we could all write decent well thought out books, but writing is not for everyone and finding a publisher that would actually produce a good book is probably next to impossible!  So maybe we just need to be a little nicer to the noobs...I know that everyone hates some fluffy wannabe who thinks they are the 33rd reincarnation of Cleopatra's son with Gandalf who was raised by dragons, but maybe we need to work differentiate someone who is inexperienced and misinformed and the people that are just down right delusional.  I think is especially true when it comes to teenagers.  Teenagers and young adults are often looking for something that will make then feel unique and cool, and many of these books feed right into that feeling.  Yet so many times I have seen them get ripped a new one on a forum for essentially being misinformed by a crappy book.  I think they lack the sense and real world experience to know the difference between a quality work and some fluffed up crap.  I think we would all do them and our community a great service if we were just a little more patient and understanding.  Don't get me wrong I'm not saying that people should justify people having some outlandish misconception of what any Pagan belief system is, but we should try to educate before we destroy someone emotionally and turn them away from the path.