Category Archives: Pagan Blog Project
Pagan Blog Project: Pagan Pride Day
Today I am going to talk about Pagan pride Day. In the US there is an annual festival at different times in different states where Pagans can come together and celebrate being who and what they are. Its a day for rituals, friendship, exploration, and much more. There are workshops and there are vendors. You have a ritual for the harvest (all are harvest themed) and sometimes other mini rituals in workshops.
I love my local Pagan Pride day. Its been going on for 11 years now. Its been a great way for me to meet friends and be a part of a community. The vendors are typically the same year after year (with new ones from time to time) and many of the attendees are regulars. There were many people I saw once a year at the Pagan Pride day that I still considered friends. It was a fellowship of a kindred mind and spirit that kept us close.
For many years I went just as an attendee. I went for the workshops and the vendors. The ritual component was always nice but they didn’t always make much sense to me. The people were the reason I went. I learned a lot from workshops. One year I learned the LBRP by heart by the end of an hour workshop. Other years I did ancestral work and learned about kitchen witchcraft. One year I learned of a completely new way to look at herbal work from a different perspective.
Pagan Pride days are great. Even when I volunteered for a few years I was still able to see my friends, go to the workshops, and participate in the rituals. I became such a regular scene there and was often so lucky with the raffle that it became a joke about my entering raffles in the Pagan scene. Its still a joke today for those who remember those days even though the event is being run by other people now.
With the change in leadership my role at the event also took a change. I went from being an attendee and a volunteer to being a vendor. This is where I launched Mystic Echoes last year. With this change I gained even more appreciation for vendors and attendees of Pagan pride Days. I was supported by the community in my venture to open a New Age and Metaphysical store. I now knew and understood why vendors came back year after year. I also now understood why people liked the vendors. Its all exposure to different products you might not see or have otherwise. Its also a great place to learn about making new things and how things worked.
Pagan Pride Days are a wonderful thing and need to be embraced more. They offer community for those of us who practice alone but want fellowship every once and a while. They offer education to the general public. They offer understanding, small business sales and development, and do a community service. The fee for the local Pagan pride day is a canned good of some sort. The non-perishable goods are given to a local food pantry so that those in need can have food to eat. Last year they also raised food and toys for the local animal shelter as well ensuring that the animals had food and toys as well.
If you are interested in seeing a world of different pagan religious practices, and in exploring them I can’t recommended going to a Pagan Pride Day enough. The website: Pagan pride Day organization provides a link for you to find local events. They are non judgmental so all are welcome. You don’t have to be Pagan to go and enjoy it. So please go check out a local event.
Protection Magick Kit
Protection Magic herb kit
Protection magic is one of the most common forms of magic out there. From shielding yourself from psychic attacks to breaking any ill will and negative energy sent your way protection magic can find a solution to the problem. Protection magic is often one of the first magical practices that a new student in magic will work with.
The herbs in this set have been gathered together to form a powerful aid of tools in protection magic. Each herb provides a unique defense in protection magic. This kit allows you to come up with your own style of protection. Find your own defense. Find your own herbal recipes for cleansing spaces, creating shields, and removing ill will.
By using this kit you will have tools provided to create incenses, smudges, tinctures or oils, magical powders, and amulets to carry on your person. The tools in this kit can be used in a myriad of different ways. This kit provides the beginner and the experiences practitioner or magic all the tools they need to create powerful herbal protection spells that are unique to them.
The herbs in this kit come from different cultures and magical traditions. Each tradition and herb providing a different skill and way to work magic. From Hoodoo to witchcraft. From shamanism to Christianity these herbs provide a series of folklore and folk magic bases which will enhance the seekers study in herbalism.
This kit contains:
Galangal Root
Dragons Blood
Frankincense
White Sage
Myrrh
Marigold
Pagan Blog Project: Intention
Intention:
The power behind Magic
Many times we have discussed magic and spell craft on this blog. There are many different theories about how magic really works and why magic is effective. There are battles on philosophy on if magic is something that is only in the mind or if it exists outside of the mind and the body. I will leave the decision on what magic is and how it really works up to you as a reader and spiritual seeker.
Today we are going to examine and discuss magic from its most basic theory and concept. If you understand the concept of working with your intentions and projecting your intentions to the universe you can start to and understand the very basics of magic and manifesting your needs and desires. So today we are talking about the most basic form of energy work and magic-the work of our intentions and emotions.
So lets get started then. I know every one wants to focus and learn magic at some point in their lives. Who hasn’t wanted to be able to say a few words or do some actions to be able to create change. The practice of magic does this exact thing. Working magic can be a way to manifest your dreams and desires in this world and reality. Magic is one of the tools that we humans have to create needed changes in our lives.
Magic then is the process of directing and manipulating energetic forces towards a desires outcome. So when you work magic you are directing many different types of energetic forces (Energy basics) out to the universe. By programing them with an idea and concept you give the energetic force a job to do. This job is determined by how your program that energy.
So what is it that programs our energetic forces and magic? In the end what programs magic is your intent. Your intent is the desire behind the spell or ritual. To put it most simply your intent and desire is what you want to happen in the end. Your intent when it comes to magic is what you want to happen in your life. Its that simple. Your intent is your desire.
When you cast a spell you are working towards something that you want on an emotional level. Your intent is fueled by your emotions and desires. This is why in magic its always best to work towards something that you actually need rather than something that you just want or would like to have. The things that you actually need will have a stronger emotional tie to them, which means the intent behind the spells will be much stronger.
So how do we know what our intent really is? When a person performs a ritual or a spell for an item they need a clearly defined goal. Common goals worked on in magic are employment and money, health and healing, love and companionship. These are three of the most common types of spells and rituals you will find. With in each of these sections there are many different ways that a specific intent could be found.
Lets work with the example of health and healing. Many people wish that they could have a healthier life. Many people struggle with different health issues from high blood pressure and cholesterol to anxiety and depressive disorders the health issues that humans struggle with come in many different shapes and forms. So it makes sense that the type of healing rituals and health needs that an individual has is going to be very different from any other individual. This is why it is important to have a specific desire and goal in mind.
So if your goal is for healing and health its important to look at your life. Look at your personal health and your personal needs. If you are dealing with issues of high blood pressure you might want to consider doing a spell to release some and relieve some of the stresses that you have in your life. High stress and blood pressure have been linked. So if you work on spells to decrease your stress you will be working on your health. If your health issues are more related to depression and loneliness a spell to increase happiness or friendship in your life would be effective.
So lets focus on depression as the issue that you want to work on with magic. There are many different ways that you can go about this. Because even mental health issues like depression is very unique you need to think about exactly what will help you at this specific time. For example you could work on a spell or ritual to release past hurts and pain, or you could do a spell to increase the amount of joy you have in your life. Both of these goals are ways that you can work on and obtain the goal of minimizing your depression. You need to choose the one that best suits your needs and what you are really wanting to do.
In the end the goal that you choose is the actual intent of your spell. The goal is what you want to make happen. This is why having a clear intent is important. This intent provides the guide for the energetic forces to manifest in your life. The more thought you put into your goal the more emotional power builds up in your intent. The more time you spend working on the spell and the ritual the more force gets built up. This force can be focused just by working on your intent and focusing on your intent.
With out an intent spells dont work. The energy can be sent out into the world, but there will be no directi0n. You may achieve a goal or a desire, but in the end the energy that has been sent out will have no specific outcome that its trying to make happen. If you have a vague idea like simply better health, that goal will manifest but there is no idea exactly how it will show up. Your health could improve in one area but start to loose in another area. This is why having specific intents and goals is essential in working magic.
Now you dont need to do a full ritual to do magic and to work your intent. Working Positive Affirmations on a daily basis is another way that you can work your intent and make magic happen. By stating in a positive way that you already have what it is you want (positive affirmation) the universe knows your desires and intents and can manifest it through your voice and your thoughts. By working on your thoughts and focusing your thoughts on having your goal, you are working your intention and you are able to work magic.
The important thing to take out of this is that having a clear intention and goal makes for effective magic. This is why its always best to work on that which you need. Desire fuels emotional states and emotional states can fuel intention. By working with your emotions and your thoughts you can and will create powerful changes in your life. By understanding the power of your intention you can work magic.
I: Intuition
Intuition
One of the first things most books on witchcraft and spiritual practices say is to trust your intuition. If something feels right then do it. If something doesn’t feel right than it probably isn’t. If you feel like there is something you need to do or really should be doing than you probably should be doing those things. These feelings of something needing to be done, and of something feeling right or off are ways that our intuition comes to us and manifests in our world.
There are many different ways that a person can trust and develop a sense of their intuition. When a person learns to trust their intuition they can really have the world at their feet. By trusting and working with your intuition a person will essentially “never be guided wrong”. Your intuition is really your highest self talking to your conscious mind and telling you basically what needs to be done at that moment. Our intuition is also one of the many ways that our spirit guides can contact us.
Learning to develop a sense of your intuition is typically one of the first things that witches and pagans do. By developing their intuition a person can better understand messages sent from their Gods and spirits. It also helps them to better connect to the spiritual forces and energetic needs going on. By developing a sense of your intuition you also develop a sense of what works and will simply “know” how to work the ritual on that day for that reason. This is our spirit and ourselves working as one, and when this state is reached one really has become a witch if they practice witchcraft and aware of the spiritual nature of reality if they are not a witch.
For me I have only really recently started to work with my intuition. For years I knew I had a strong intuition and sense of energetic flows. I could read energy and see auras. I was especially sensitive to emotional energy. For me understanding my intuition and its strength was a scary process. My readings when I did them were so strong and accurate I scared myself from doing my own readings and for reading for others. Its only been recently I have realized that this intuition is a gift rather than a curse so I am actively working on recognizing my strengths and listening to my intuition.
The very first time I realized that my intuition would guide me in my magical and spiritual spells was when I created an incense I use in all my reiki and healing work sessions. When I created that first incense I didn’t know what I was making. I just grabbed the herbs I had that dealt with healing energies. I laid those herbs on the floor in front of me and I started to just grab and mix the herbs as seemed right. I don’t remember making measurements or anything along those lines. I just knew that the incense was right. I remembered to write down what I put in the incense so I could try and make it again but aside from that no record was made.
The healing incense that I sell in Mystic Echoes was inspired by and is an offshoot of that original healing incense blend. The core is the same, but there were other factors that personalized the other incense so they are not exactly the same but they are related. The tincture blend is also related. The core is the same with some modifications in both situations to be more generic than the original purely intuitive blend. You can buy those items Tincture & Incense blend
One of the many ways I have started to recognize my intuition has been in casting spells when it seems to be the right time. In the past I have felt a desire to cast a spell or thought that maybe a spell would help deal with this, and never done the work. I never really trusted myself to just do the right thing. In this sense I didn’t trust my intuition to basically tell me what I needed to do for that spell. Now I am being more active in my spell casting. I work my magic when it seems right and when it feels right.
The key way I am developing my intuition when it comes to my magical practices and my spirituality now though is through the development of products for Mystic Echoes and the writing of the exercises and content on the Seeker Sight blog that I also run. By working on both projects I am listening to my inner truths and knowledge and my intuition is guiding me.
With the products I develop for Mystic Echoes I have a concept in mind that I want to work with. I do some research. For example if I were to develop a hex breaker product or products I would look up herbs and items that correspond with hex breaking. I would then just let my intuition look over the list and decide what to use for items. In many cases it also depends on what I currently have available to work with.
I test all of those products as well. So by developing the products I am developing my spirituality, my intuition, my magical practices, and my knowledge of herbs. The herbs seem to work together because I trust that they will work together. My intuition guided me and will continue to guide me in my craft and practices.
I am not sure exactly how I define my intuition. I would call it an inner sense of knowing. I would say that for me my intuition is a combination of things I know within myself and messages and content sent to me through guides, ancestors, and maybe the divine. I don’t necessarily know the difference between which intuitive thoughts and practices are from guides and which is from deep within me. I just know that when I listen to my intuition things seem to work out in the end. When I don’t listen to my intuition things don’t always work out, or I will be tested in the same way or manner until I do listen to my intuition and then do something about it.
H: Health and Wellness Tincture
This is a magical curio only and not a medicinal item and is for external use only. The focus of this tincture is to bring out natural healing energies within the body and to allow those energies to flow easier through the body. It was crafted to aid in healing rituals and spells but can be an effective spell on its own.
This particular blend was developed to assist in Reiki treatments. Many healers enjoy using incenses and oils as a part of their treatment, however not everyone and everyplace allows the burning of incense. This tincture can be used as a liquid incense. By crafting a liquid alternative Mystic Echoes provides an herbal product that will allow a healing herbal scent to be present in a room without being overwhelmed. Its designed to be used just like any other oils would be.
The Health and Wellness Tincture is an infusion of Lavender, Peppermint, Spearmint, Ginkgo Leaf. Each of these herbs were chosen for their associations with health, healing, and overall well being. Many of these herbs work healing magic in multiple ways. This allows the tincture to work on many different types of healing rites and services.
Ginkgo leaf is an herb that has seen popularity in iced tea drinks. This is an excellent herb for some base natural healing energy. It boosts your own vitality and inner systems. Ginkgo leaf specifically works on the circulation of the blood and the body which means vitamins and minerals as well as healing forces. This simple herb works in this tincture as the vessel for distributing the energy through the body through circulation.
Lavender is an herb that is used in multiple different ways medicinally and magically. In this tincture Lavender was chosen for a few reasons. Lavender is an herb that works well when fighting depression and anxiety. This makes it a healing herb for mental health issues. Lavender has additional healing properties in that it brings longevity, peace, and happiness. This herb also works to fight depression by allowing for peaceful nights sleep.
Peppermint and Spearmint were added as a pair of power booster herbs. These two herbs work well as a team for powerful healing and mental focuses. This team provides a force that is natural and energetic that allows for versatility and enjoyable scents around the home. These are two herbs that really should be worked in harmony together in most workings.
Both Spearmint and Peppermint share similar properties Healing is one of the properties. In this tincture the team works as a scent carrier. The scent of peppermint is relaxing and typically brings back pleasant memories. It is this both the relaxation and healing properties together that brought the spearmint and peppermint team into this tincture as an energy booster and a scent provider.
This is a spell ready to be used. You can use this tincture in the same way you would use any magical oil. You can apply it as a perfume/cologne, you can burn it as a smokeless incense, you can anoint a blue or white candle and burn the candle or you can place a few drops on the person or around the place/item to be healed
H: Happiness is all you need-A magical incense for Happy spells
In the world today we often have so much stress that it is difficult to be happy. Many people today work magic to try and bring them happiness. Most of the time people believe that happiness can be gained from physical items (and dont get me wrong getting a new video game, book, or toy does feel good and does in fact brig joy). However the most important thing about happiness is that you create it yourself by being with those around you care about and doing things that you enjoy and that makes you feel good.
Often times people want to work spells to invoke happiness into their lives. This can be a very diffcult thing if you don’t understand what true happiness is. being truly happy is being in the moment with those you are with. Its enjoying the simple moments that life gives. Its feeling joy and pleasure if only for short times at doing things you enjoy like watching a good movie, going to an amusement park with friends, having a party with friends. Happiness is being in the moment and enjoying what joys and pleasures you have.
Happiness is doing what feels good for you to make yourself feel better. Happiness is the essence of when you feel good about yourself, what you are doing and are enjoying life at that moment. This is an emotional state that brings pleasure and fulfillment. It also brings peace. Yes there may be bad things going on in your life but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy happiness by embracing those moments that make you feel Happy and Good.
One of the best ways to magically evoke happiness is through incenses and thinking of the things in life that you enjoy and that make you smile. Focusing on these things when you inhale the incenses and releasing them to the world when you exhale will bring those energetic forces into your life. Lighting pink candles could also help empower the spell.
Now what sort of scent should the incense be?
Mystic echoes has you covered!
Introducing the Happiness Incense Blend:
Ever wondered what the perfect scent would be to bring instant smiles and uplifting feelings on a down day? The happiness incense blend is just such an herbal blend. This blend was crafted to help relieve depression and sadness and bring out peace and happiness. Many people have days where they forget about their simple pleasures as well as the joys of having family and friends. This incense blend brings all of those items out into a person’s thoughts and actions.
This incense is a blend of Lavender, Catnip, and Rose. Each of these herbs is known to being joy and happiness to others. These herbs together work to form a pleasant and uplifting scent that makes you want to smile. The peaceful scent brought by this incense when burned should make a person relax enough to enjoy the peace and love the have which will bring about happiness.
Catnip is an herb quite often associated with joy. This herb was chosen because of the pleasing and mild scent it has when it it burned. It was also chosen because this herb is an herb that brings joy and peace to felines. Cats are peaceful creatures that make many people smile. The association with cats and the joy that cats get out of this herb are reasons why this herb has been chosen to join in this incense blend.
Lavender is a very potent anti depressant herb. Happiness is one of the many traits of this herb. Healing is another trait of this herb. Putting the two properties together makes it a powerful anti depressant herb. Being powerful against depression means that it is also good for bringing in the opposite of depression which is happiness, joy, and pleasure.
Roses are a plant that has always been associated with love. Love is an emotion that brings much happiness. Roses of a pink color mean friendship and self love. Roses of red mean romantic love. The roses in this blend were read bringing romantic love into the happiness blend. Romantic love is one of the strongest sources of happiness. Love of the self is another reason for happiness. This is why Roses were chosen to be a part of this blend.
Avaiable from us in two locations:
Happiness blend on etsy Happiness blend on the Sqaure Market
Ancestral Work
Ancestral Work and Practices
Last year my post in the Pagan blog project on ancestors (Ancestors and why Ancestral Veneration exists)was at the start of my exploration of ancestral worship and working with the powers and spirits of our ancestors. Most of what I was doing there really had no meaning to me. It was a basic understanding of concepts. Yes I had an ancestral altar that was set up but there really wasn’t any meaning to my work. I prayed to my ancestors because I thought I should. The altar was set up because I thought I needed one. There was no reason behind any of it.
I did believe that our ancestors had power. I just wasn’t sure how to work with them. I knew that as I had said in ancient cultures it was a common practice. I also knew that there were a few modern pagan religions that had continued the practice of ancestral veneration. I saw that it was a part of many forms of traditional witchcraft and as well as part of Asatru. So I wanted to make it a part of my path. I wasn’t sure how.
For me part of it was the process of how complex my ancestry is. I consider the fact that I have spiritual ancestors. Those are the people who were the first authors in bringing witchcraft to the world today. In that group is Gerald Gardner, Doreen Valienete, Sybil Leek, and several others. I also have my ancestors of the heart. This is where my Foster and Adoptive ancestors lie. They are not connected to me by blood but by the bonds of love through my adoption and family ties. Then I have my ancestors of blood. These would be the ancestors tied to my biological family. These multiple ancestral lines were some of the reasons I wasn’t sure how I could work with my ancestors. Which type did I honor and work with?
I recently started to realize that I can work with all of my ancestors in different ways. I just needed to think about applying ancestral veneration in different ways that did not just relate to prayers and offerings at the altar. I found that because I had the different lines I could find three different ways that I can honor my ancestors and so far this revelation has been working for me.
My witchcraft ancestors (Gardner, and the like) I work with and honor simply by continuing to practice witchcraft and keep it alive. They feared that witchcraft would die out. Instead it has grown beyond what they imagined. So for me to practice, study, and explore as many venues of witchcraft as I can is a way of honoring the witches who have walked the paths before me. This was one of the first ways I actually started to work with my spiritual ancestors.
My ancestors of the blood were a bit different. I did some traces of where the various ancestral lines my biological family came from. In this practice I have found that my ancestry is Germanic in nature. Around the same time I had a dream where several of the Germanic/Norse Gods appeared calling for me and for one of them. I concluded that by studying and by working with the Gods of my blood ancestral tribes I could honor them as well. So that was another way I could honor my ancestors. It has worked well for me.
Its been my adoptive ancestral lines that I have really had some issues working in. While I prayed to my Grandmother for advice (she had made herself known to me early on as a spirit guide for me) I had no real way to integrate the rest of that ancestral line into my life and I honestly didn’t think that they would approve of the work I was doing. So it was something I didn’t quite understand.
Even in my studies of Traditional witchcraft while I would acknowledge the power of the ancestors in the land I wasn’t I was sure I actually believed in. I also never actually called my ancestral powers into ritual before. I would call on the spirits of the land and the God and Goddess but not my ancestor when I was doing that work.
Now things have actually changed. I am actively working with my ancestors. I pray daily and I actively maintain an altar to them. On this altar I regular light a candle to them as an offering. I also give them fresh and clean water on a regular basis so that when they visit they always have a clean drink. In rituals I have an item I use to give them a manifestation in the room that sits on the altar the rest of the time.
Yes. I never actually worked with my ancestors in magic or in rituals before. Now things have started to change. I actually call them into my rituals. They have a place that they can manifest in ritual and in magical work. Like the God and Goddess can manifest in my statues and in me, my ancestors have a vessel with which they can manifest in this world during ritual. I am actively forming relationships with them like I would any other spirits, through now working with them in formal rituals.
Recently I have started to study a new magical tradition. I have started to study Hoodoo. Now I am not African American nor do I belong to the culture that Hoodoo was created in and for. That being said I do respect the origins and I know that today Hoodoo is not practiced by just those of African American descent or in that culture. There are Caucasian Americans who practice this art. They all however pay respects to the origin of the path and understand where the roots of Hoodoo come from.
Hoodoo in some forms was heavily influenced by forms of Catholicism. My adoptive ancestry on my mother’s side is all Catholic. I have felt that by practicing and studying Hoodoo I could connect with that part of my ancestry. In Hoodoo a lot of time is spent focused on working with ones ancestors. So for me Hoodoo provides a way for me to connect with my Catholic ancestors while still remaining the witch that I am and that forms the base of the tradition I am developing.
I feel that my connection with my ancestors has started to grow because I have started to work with them in ritual and pray to them daily. I invite them into my life on a regular basis. I know they are around me now. I know that they are there. I just needed to find a way to interact with them all and I have found a way to work with them. Now I just need to make sure I maintain the practice.
Basics-What they are and why they are important
Basics:
What are the basics of any path and why they are important
Today we are going to talk about an important topic. Today we are going to discuss what it is when they mean “tell me about the basics of X religion or X path” This is a question that many seekers often ask in forums and on mailing lists. In some ways this question seems obvious to answer, but it also at times seems to represent a lack of previous research. The lack of previous research is not necessarily a bad thing as at this point in the seekers stage they may be looking for bare bones information from which to refine their search for their path. This is why it can be important to look at some 101 books before you read to much lore on a specific culture.
What the basics include
The basics of any religion or spiritual path are easy to outline. While not every path has every belief or idea I am going to outline, the idea and concepts behind these basics are found in enough spiritual paths across the world that they can be considered what the basics would be. Basics of a religion include the pantheon or pantheons involved in that particular path (this covers the basic mythology of the path), the style and types of rituals involved and a rough idea of what ritual entails, views on the afterlife and the soul, views on spirits and spirit realms, holidays, and ethics. Each of these basic components provide excellent insight into what each religion essentially believes in and what may be involved in being a part of that particular path.
As I cover the basics of what religions and spiritual paths include I am going to use a few different pagan paths as examples. Most of the references in this post are going to come from either Germanic paganism, Witchcraft (many different forms), or Hellenic Paganism as these are the paths I have the most experiences with. However in general use the examples as an idea for what you may encounter with the paths that you are looking to explore and study. These examples are going to illustrate why these aspects of a religion are important to understand for those paths and why they form the basics.
Pantheon, Pantheons and Spirits
Every religion and spiritual path out there has a unique set of spirits and spirit beings that they work with. These beings do not need to be Gods or even called Gods. They can just be a set of spiritual entities which are worked with for spiritual development. The establishment of which beings are in which path helps a seeker to know which myths are going to be the source for knowledge on the Gods.
It also gives the seeker a culture to research and in some cases a specific name for a path to follow. For example if you know you want to work with the gods from Shintoism you would be following a Japanese pantheon and set of spirits. If that was our path you would now also want to do research on the culture and the history of the Japanese people. You may even want to learn some of the language.
Style and Type of ritual
Different cultures and religions had different rituals. The rituals in Asatru (A Norse/Germanic Paganism recon pagan path) are not the same type of rituals you will encounter in Wicca. The rituals in Wicca are different than the rituals in a Kemetic (Egyptian style of paganism). The rituals in each culture and path are a reflection of the ways that humans and Gods interacted in those cultures. By understanding the basic outlines of different types of rituals you can understand a bit more about the cultures that religion and ritual style is dedicated to.
In Wicca and many forms of religious witchcraft the rituals involve typically a circle being cast. That circle creates a sacred space. The elemental forces are called. The God and Goddess are invoked. Here we have the workings either magical or sabbat related. There is an offering given to the Gods. The Gods are released from the circle and the other elemental forces are released. The circle is taken up and the ritual is over followed by a feast or grounding with food.
This ritual outline there gives a seeker an idea of what exactly will happen during a worship service and ritual. This information gives a person a vague idea of what they will need to do if they seek to follow that specific path. This is useful information because if a person doesn’t like the basic outlines of rituals in a path then that path may not be for them, or they may need to study further to see if there are other ways that they can adapt rituals. It is a starting point for ritual work concepts any way.
Views on the soul and the afterlife
Many religions have views of some sort on the soul and the afterlife. For many people their belief in the afterlife and the soul is a large defining aspect of their path. So in many paths this is a basic concept. Many people will choose spiritual paths which reflect how they personally feel about their beliefs in the spirit and the soul.
Christianity for example does believe in a soul and in an afterlife. The specific views on the soul and the afterlife play a large role in the beliefs and works of this religion and as such it forms a good example of why the view on the soul and the afterlife are basic components of a religion and or spiritual path.
Spirits and Spiritual Realms or Spirits and Cosmology
Different paths have different spirits that they work with and believe in. In some of these paths there are many different realms where different beings and spirits exist. One of these realms is typically the realm where the Gods live and at least one other realm aside from the physical world is the world of the dead. Other paths like Asatru teach that there are many different realms with different spirits that live in those worlds. For example in Asatru there are nine different realms. These realms are Asgard, Vanaheim, Jotenhiem, Midgard, Muspelheim, Swarvelheim, Alfheim ,Helheim, and Nifelheim.
Here is a meme depicting the cosmology of Germanic and Norse Paganism.
Each of those realms have a few specific type of beings that live in them. Asgard is the realm of the Gods in Norse Myth. Here Odin lives. Helheim is the realm of the dead. Jotenheim is the realm of the Giants. Vanaheim is where the Vanir live. Alfheim is the realm of the light elves. Swartvelheim is the realm of the dark elves or dwarves. Midgard is earth. Nifelehim and Muspelheim are realms of fire and ice.
In Norse religion understanding how these realms interact and how they work together is a part of the basics. Here you have seen the realms that are involved in this cosmology and you have been introduced to the concept of a few of the spiritual beings that are encountered in the Norse/Germanic Myths.
Holidays and special occasions
One of the main things people think about in religions are the holidays. What are the sacred and special days of the Gods and spirits of this path. These holidays provide times for worshiping and or strengthening relationships with the Gods and spirits. Some times holidays provide further ways to examine the lore and engage in cultural activities that were specific to that holiday and that time of year.
Some cultures have massive holiday schedules. The Hellenic holiday calender is very complex and long. Those who seek to practice Greek Paganism often have a long list of holidays to choose from. Each of the holidays had a specific reason for being there and some of them were specific to certain Gods and cults. The major holiday in Hellenic paganism that most look into the the festival surrounding the Elysian Mysteries.
With pagans who have complex festival cycles and associations they can often choose which ones to follow. Typically you find the holidays that were the most important to the Gods that you are worshiping in that culture. For example those who are close to Dionysus, Demeter, and Persephone would definitely be doing something for the festival of the Elysian mysteries while a Greek Pagan dedicated more to Pan would find festivals for Pan.
This illustrates the key point I wanted to make with the holidays. There is a major misconception that all pagan paths follow the 8 sabbats or the wheel of the year as it is known and seen in Wicca and Wicca flavored Pagan paths. Asatru does not have the 8 sabbats. There are 4 of them but not all 8. Hellenismos has lots of festivals. Other religions have only one or two that are key components.
Ethics and Morals
Every path out there seeks to teach the idea of what is right and what is wrong. Many spiritual paths form the basis for how we as individual treat each other. Some paths have been so influential on cultures that the ethical considerations of that religion have formed the basics of how that culture interacts with people. Basically ethics influence how we act as a person and how we act in society to other people and with other people.
The rede is the basic ethical outline considerations for Wiccan styled pagan paths. The idea is that you basically do what ever you want so long as you harm none. The rede even states: “an it harm none do what ye will”. This is the way many witches who follow Wicca inspired paths live their lives. Other witches follow different ethical considerations that are more informative.
Some paths don’t call their ethical or moral codes ethical and moral codes. Some paths call them virtues. The Germanic paths idea of how you should live life has a set of what they call the nine nobel virtues. These virtues outline personal behavior as well as different types of actions that can be found.
Here is another meme that lists the nine noble virtues:
By knowing the ethical standards of a path a person can get an idea of what sort of lifestyle they can have. The idea of the morals and ethics are the ideas behind how the Gods want their followers to behave. Often times these ideas include day to day life as well as during conflicts and social settings. The ideas in the ethics are what that path considers to be a good person and living a good life.
Conclusion
This entry here has given you an idea of what the basics of any particular faith are. The examples given come from some of the most popular pagan and spiritual paths. Its important to understand what the basics of a religion or magical path is before you start to get to deep into studies. The basics of the paths provide everything you need to know to understand the beliefs and practices of that particular path and practice. If you understand the basic concepts before you step too deeply in the path, you can have an understanding on if those beliefs and concepts resonate with your personal beliefs and concepts.
Once you understand the basics of a path you can then start to take your studies deeper. With Norse paganism you can start to spend time to study and experience the various realms. You can look at other practices including magical traditions in the Norse belief systems. You can find ways to look at the basics and become deeper involved with them. Once you know the basics its all building from there.
Though a true seeker knows that revisiting the basics is at time a good thing to do. It strengthens foundations and deepens experiences with more advanced concepts and practices within the belief system you have chosen to follow. Once you know the basics you can start to also go off and create your personal understandings and developments spiritually. The basics give us a strong base from which to grow our understandings of that universe.
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