Spirituality

“Atheist Meditations” – Odin’s Eye

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Woden’s (Odin’s) Day.    

Discussion:

As an atheist who meditates and practices a little paganism to ground that meditation, I proceed with the only thing I can know for sure – I have thoughts.  My mind is the only thing I can confirm exists as far as consciousness and the nature of consciousness is such that it has debates about it.  I have very little doubt that consciousness is something that develops and grows as our brain does and that it takes a long time to become fully aware of how it works.

I find that meditation is not about clearing my mind so much as it is centering and capturing my thoughts. Like taming a wild bronco, at least temporarily so I can ride it for a little while before it throws me off.  It allows me to have some order in the chaos of what I think if even for just a little while.  Much of life is chaos so discipline keeps part of it sane from our perspective.  For me that is what meditation does for my thoughts.

Time to Look Through the Eye:

“To see the truth, change one eye for another”

Meditation:

My meditation time is on the Nine Noble Virtues because virtue is what I am striving for.  Regardless of spiritual questions, virtue and following it has benefits.  I would doubt any jsut god would reject honest striving for virtue.  Malevolent gods should be rebelled against and if there is no god, well virtue has its own rewards.  Cue Marcus Aurelius. My issue during meditation is to thing deep in a specific virtue in relationship to myself.

Mystery:

There is still a lot of mystery to how this works but change does take place as I have become much calmer in recent months.  That is I feel much better about my thoughts.  Probably because I recognize there is no such thing as sinful thoughts only human ones and in particular my thoughts.  No thought rises to holy or falls to sinful  They are thoughts and nothing more, but it is the mystery of how to make them work for my benefit that keeps me at the meditation altar.

Spirituality:

Consciousness, Relationships, and Virtues are the essence of my atheist spirituality. Nothing more or less.  It is true real spirituality because it is grounded in that which can be proved to be real – for the most part. At the end of the day this is part of meditation – what can I prove is real other than my own thoughts.

Conclusion:

So I will spend my morning at least in part at the meditation altar for the reasons of taming the raging thoughts into something more focused and useful.  But at the same time, it is the wild bronco of my thoughts that I admire.  The wild nature of them is their strength and power. I jsut seek to ap into them for a little while.

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

“Germanic Magic” (Asatru – Part 23) – The Pagan Pulpit

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Sol’s Day!

Announcements:

We don’t pray here – we figure God, the gods, goddesses, or whatever powers that be (if any) either know already, don’t give a fuck, or are busy with more important matters than our petty stuff. We also kind of assume that they expect us to do stuff that we can do for ourselves and that we will do them ourselves and not be lazy. We also believe in being good friends, so we don’t presume on our friendship with the powers that be by asking them all the time for stuff while giving them nothing in return.

We also don’t take an offering here.  We figure the powers that be probably don’t need it.  Let’s be honest, offerings are not given to the divine powers, they are given to an organization to support it.  Just being honest. God, the gods or whatever never sees a dime, farthing or peso of that money; it all goes to the church, mosque or shrine.

Theme Song: “Rún – SKÁLD

Meditation:

Image may contain: fire and text

Text: 

See the source image

If you want more details about Asatru, I can’t recommend this book enough.

Sermon:

Magic is a word that conjures up a lot of imagery and there seems to be a definite difference in the understanding of those who practice it in the real world and those who write it in the fantasy literature genre.  In the real world magic is a more earthy and practical day to day stuff. Germanic/Norse magic is probably not as central to the practice of Asatru as it is in Wicca, but it still plays a vital role. In considering Germanic magic there some elements to consider – the magical workers themselves and the terms used most commonly, Runes, Seidh, and Deity Possession.

In Asatru, the magical workers are pretty much a part-time lot.  I suppose if you had the means to pursue magical practice full-time most might consider it but most are part-time in the practice like poets and songwriters. The term for a woman who practices magic is Völva and the term for a man who does the same is Thul.

There are specialized terms for the various practitioners of various types of magic beyond this. This includes terms for those who practice dark magic. Gand is the general term for magic and Galdr is the word for a spell and covers most of the verbal and ceremonial magic.  There are lots of types of magic but in Germanic magic – most, however, deals with the spirits of the dead and the spirits in general. Music is assumed to have a magical quality to it. That’s why skalds are not just bards but magical practitioners as well.

Runes are sometimes invoked in divination but seem to be in Asatru more of the standard offensive and defensive magic. They are old to the point of being ancient and there are currently 24 major ones although other runes are present.  No one really knows what they mean anymore. It probably the fact of Chrisitan persecution that may have destroyed many of the works of magic that the Germanic pagans had that could be helpful but no longer exist. Each rune has its own power and each rune often ahs its own patron deity associated with it.  Although the runes as a whole are associated with Odin the most as he is the one who is said to have brought them to knowledge from his nine-day ordeal on the World Tree – Yggdrasil.

The second division of magic outside the runes is Seidh. Divination or prophetic vision is mostly associated with women.  These days it concerns things involving trances and things similar to shamanism. This could include illusion and shape-shifting as well. Most notably though it is given the term – second sight. The reading of omens as well.  There is so much here that I am barely scratching the surface.

One rare thing to talk about is the idea of a deity manifesting its personality in a ceremony through a worshiper.  It is not mentioned much in the lore or practiced much in Asatru by my source’s own admission.  But it does rarely seem to happen. I’ve seen such things in my Pentecostal faith where people are said to be speaking in tongues or prophecy but this is a little different in that this is said to be Odin speaking through a follower. I must emphasize this is very rare today and debated among the followers of Asatru.

While as an atheist I pretty much dismiss these things, I find it a fascinating thing that religious cultures can have so much in common and yet feel they are so divided. The idea that psychologically both as individuals and groups we can believe things like magic is an interesting phenomenon and one that crops up often in any religion.  Asatru’s is much more complex, subtle, and sublime than most.

Parting Thought:

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

“Yuletide – The Original 12 Days of ‘Christmas'” – Odin’s Eye

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Woden’s (Odin’s) Day.    

Discussion:

I think it is no secret that what is celebrated as Christmas these days was originally a pagan holiday known as Yule. Yule differs from Christmas in that it has twelve days of celebration whereas Christmas centers on Dec. 25th.  In contrast, the twelve days of Yule were all about celebrating the end of the year and the welcoming of spring although it will take some time to fully materialize.  The Winter solstice is the focus of Yuletide along with a lot of drinking.

Considering that in Viking lands, this time of year is basically hunkering down and waiting out the winter.  One did have to keep oneself both alive with stored food and firewood but also entertained and safe from the Wild Hunt.  Yuletide is a twelve-day long party and the Vikings loved to party.

The 12 Days of Yuletide are:

  1. Mothers Night – Dec 20
  2. Night of the Wild Hunt – Dec 21
  3. Manni – Dec 22
  4. Freyr and Nord – Dec 23
  5. Feast of Community – Dec 24
  6. Eir – Dec 25
  7. Thor = Dec 26
  8. Skaldi and Ullr – Dec 27
  9. Odin – Dec 28
  10. Sunna – Dec 29
  11. Valkeries – Dec 30
  12. Oath Night – Dec 31

 

All of these days either have a feast associated with an event or gods/goddesses.  A lot of the traditions we see at Christmas are still associated with Yule – the yule log, mistletoe, decorating trees, etc.

Time to Look Through the Eye:

“To see the truth, change one eye for another”

Meditation:

Year’s End seems to have significance for all of us in a more meditative level.  For me, 2019 has been a ‘meh’ year for the most part.  It has had its high moments but there have also been some downtimes. Mostly though it was just the dull drudgery of existence that I don’t like thinking about as it depresses me, Mostly through meditation I am thinking about what my oath should be for 2020 which I will give on Dec 31st.  It is not wise to make oaths and not complete them.  Even ones given to yourself.

Mystery:

There is a mystery to my future that hits me at this time of year.  I have less and less connected to my past career and life and that is both wonderfully freeing and at the same time frightening as I don’t really know what I am going to be other than being a writer. The mystery of the future seems more prominent at a year’s end.

Spirituality:

If there is anything that hits me as far as spirituality, it is a sense of community. Introvert though I am, I fully conscious that people affect my life for good or ill and that means working hard to be true to those who have been true to me.  I guess in that sense as well, communion with my fellow man is important as well.

Conclusion:

Yuletide will probably grow more important to me as time goes by.  It does provide a platform to celebrate various holidays with people and that is a good thing.  For me, the reflective moments of the past and future are far more significant.  For me, this year is about Oath Night.  last year I did a very minor and safe oath, I need to take it up a notch this year.

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

“Pagan Athiest?” – Odin’s Eye

/ Ed Raby Sr / 7 Comments

Happy Woden’s (Odin’s) Day.    

Discussion:

I am an atheist who wears a Thor’s Hammer on Thor’s Day (Thursday).  I meditate on the Nine Noble Virtues of Asatru because it is quite frankly the best list of virtues from my point of view. My moral philosophy is based on a concept of Odin as a wanderer with his wolves and ravens.  Everything about my ‘spirituality’ centers on the simple concept as presented here within Odin’s Eye – changing one form of sight for another.  Mostly discarding the fear of Christianity and embracing the powerful reality of reality.

So yes, I am a pagan atheist.   I borrow from paganism a lot of things that are simply far more true than most things elsewhere.  I just don’t believe in gods, goddesses or divine powers.  The essence of paganism with its wonder of creation, its respect for life, the individual, free-will, and nature, I can very much embrace.

See the source image

I suppose my former faith would say I have become liberal in a lot of things.  I would say this is true for a lot of things, but I also am more human.  More accepting of others as human beings.  I have studied too much history to be a socialist/ communist as those economic systems violate the laws of economics and fail.  I also don’t follow the gun control notions as I have long studied the history of tyrants and one of the first actions of wolves is to take the teeth away from the sheep.  But other than that, I can respect human beings and their freedom a lot more as an atheist who also has borrowed his ethics and little of his understanding of the world around him from pagans.

Time to Look Through the Eye:

“To see the truth, change one eye for another”

Meditation:

My meditations still remain on the Nine Noble Virtues as well as my moral philosophy and outlook on life.  Insight into my life is a desire here and the world around me and its reality not the fantasy of made-up notions.  I find this is far more useful to my life in practical ways of applying virtue to my life are beneficial consistently.

Mystery:

There is still much to be discovered, I don’t know everything and never will.  But perhaps I can contribute something useful to knowledge or human progress before I am gone.  Something that will also allow me to be remembered for a little while after I am gone. All I know is that I still have a sense of mystery about the universe, but it isn’t fanciful just a wonder that is far more powerful than any religious wonder I have had because it is grounded in the real world.

Spirituality:

I still long in some senses for a sense of community that is more close to myself.  it is probably the only area of spirituality I still need to work on. On the other hand, I have a huge case of trust no one.  My only hope is that the atheist/pagan community understand loyalty a little better.

Conclusion:

I guess I can look at religion for its fruits and decide as an atheist what ideas have been preserved by religion that are actually good. I mean I believe most things that are good were created by us humans and various religions grabbed them when it suited their purpose and used them.  I now know that by simply being social creatures, humans have developed virtues ethics because they aid with survival and prosperity.  Honestly – ‘live long and prosper’ is indeed our motivation and being a pagan atheist I can see what does that clearly.

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

“Faith Isn’t a Virtue” – Odin’s Eye

/ Ed Raby Sr / 1 Comment

Happy Woden’s (Odin’s) Day.    

Discussion:

I have been wrestling with the idea of faith for a long time but the struggle for the last six months or so is whether or not faith has any value whatsoever. It doesn’t seem to have a purpose anymore in my moral philosophy or the way I live my life.  I don’t take anything on faith anymore and insist on solid evidence for claims.  The bigger the claim, the large amount of evidence should be expected to prove it.

Odin’s Eye as a topic head has been for the most part about the stuff that I am still trying to figure out form a spiritual point of view.  As I have pointed out atheists do have spirituality, it is just based on human experience and consciousness rather than blind leaps of faith.

The issue is one of my filters for Odin’s Eye has been Faith, and I think it has run its course. Religion gave way to Meditation and Theology has given way to Mystery.  So Faith gives way to what?   Do I need a replacement or do I just discard it and move on without it in Odin’s Eye?

Time to Look Through the Eye:

“To see the truth, change one eye for another”

Faith:

This will be the last time faith will appear in Odin’s Eye.  The main reason: I no longer consider faith a virtue.  There is nothing virtuous about making absolute claims with no evidence whatsoever.  It is not a virtue to believe in something because you want or need to believe it despite the fact there is no evidence for it or worse strong evidence against it. That’s not a virtue; that is wilful deliberate ignorance and there is nothing virtuous about deliberate ignorance.  It is actually a very dishonest position to hold.

Meditation:

Meditation is the last trappings of my religious life.  But it is also demonstrable that it helps calm a person down., clears their head and allows one to focus.  By meditating on the virtues one holds true one can change one’s attitude and perspective – change the nature of one’s consciousness.  That isn’t faith-based at all but neuroscience and practical experience.

Mystery:

Dumping theology was hard because in a sense I still use the skills I learned as a theologian as far as understanding theological points of view.  I use it to debunk them now and I rather talk about mysteries of life not for the purpose of glorying in mystery but for the purpose of discovery of the answers to them. The process of doing this is really anti-faith as it isn’t about acceptance of mystery but solving them.

Spirituality:

My spirituality isn’t about faith at all, rather being skeptical.  Proof my human relationships and consciousness are accurate are important under spirituality.  This is not some blind faith, but rather a genuine attempt to understand all the world around me using my consciousness, my experience and most importantly my rational mind.

Conclusion:

This post marks the end fo faith as a virtue for me.  I see it now for what it is  – deliberate ignorance and ultimately dishonest.  It can’t stay.  The only question now is if it deserves a replacement in Odin’s Eye, or does it deserve the status of a blinder thrown off.  Have I, like Odin, plucked out my eye of faith as a sacrifice? I just perhaps need to put a patch over where it used to be and move along.

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

“Which God Have Atheists Created?” – Odin’s Eye

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Woden’s (Odin’s) Day.    

Discussion:

As I explore the spiritual side of atheism, I have to talk about a danger that I see atheists falling into which is creating a new god for themselves.  I am part of a couple atheist groups and one is a group fo fellow atheist libertarians.  One discussion we were having was on this very issue and one of them remarked that some people leave faith and worship of a god and only turn around and start worshiping the government god or the climate change god, etc.  I agree.

Gods of all types are usually constructs of our own minds.  When we don’t understand something in truth by investigation our mind fills the gaps with some sort ‘god’ to hold that place and we either gather more evidence to find the truth or settle for this imaginary gap filler.

A good example is when an atheist starts talking about climate change and starts saying – ‘the science is settled’.  Such a statement of antithetical to science, as science is supposed to always be amendable to new information. Yes, theories form, and scientific theories are strong (such as the theory of evolution) but science is a tool, not an omniscient force.  If it tries to pass itself off as omniscient, or the final word on a matter, then it isn’t science anymore.

Time to Look Through the Eye:

“To see the truth, change one eye for another”

Faith:

Faith is becoming a difficult subject for me.  Mostly because I don’t see it as a virtue anymore and am starting to come to the point of view it is the most dishonest position one can take to simply believe something without evidence.  Then to assert it as an absolute and try to force it on others compounds the dishonesty with violence. I have noted historically speaking faith has caused far more wars than reason.

Meditation:

I meditate on virtues, the caution for me is not to make them ‘gods’ either, they need to be amendable and in a week I may be doing some editing of them for this very reason.  Noting can be so absolutely known by us human beings that should not be amendable to reason and wisdom.

Mystery:

I find there is a mystery in the world, but the danger is to use mystery as an excuse to keep my ‘gods’ instead of casting them on the fire with the rest of the nonsense. I need to never accept mystery as an answer like theologians and the religious.  Nothing is exempt from being a subject of being studied and better understood.  Nothing is exempt from criticism.  Mystery should be an identifier of these things, not a cop-out.

Spirituality:

I have wrestled with how to get the human side of atheism expressed more and one of the things is not to be so dogmatic about so many things. Humans are prone to error and so even making humankind a god through humanism is no a good idea.  I put a lot of stock in humanities’ ability to overcome their problems but also know we could fail and that will mean the end of us and the universe would be off to form something else.

Conclusion:

I simply want to avoid making anything substitute for my former faith in the same way.  Filling the gaps with faith, mystery, and causes as substitute gods is not a good idea. The results are of the same negative vein as religion.  People get religious in their fervor to the point of harming others and that same fervor can be in atheists if they take on a new ‘god’.  This is something I wish to avoid.

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

“Athiest Spirituality” – Odin’s Eye

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Woden’s (Odin’s) Day.    

Discussion:

Spirituality is a very broad term and even among those who believe you have to define what perspective is being used in regards to spirituality.  Christian Spirituality, Pagan Spirituality, Islamic Spirituality, Hindu Spirituality, and Buddist Spirituality all have their various difference in how to approach the spiritual nature of humanity in relationship to the divine.  But what of Atheist Spirituality.  Without the supernatural in any form is spirituality possible?  I believe the answer is yes and all these forms tap into something that is probably very human.

Sam Harris in the quote above is on to something when he gives a shortlist of 1) spiritual experience, 2) ethical behavior and 3) strong communities all leading to human happiness.  I am going to lay the last two aside because for me these are found in following virtue which I discuss extensively and strong communities is a community discussion as far as I am concerned,  What interests me is ‘what is the nature and function of spiritual experience as an atheist?

Time to Look Through the Eye:

“To see the truth, change one eye for another”

Faith:

I agree that spiritual experience is a product of the human mind and a natural propensity to spiritualize consciousness.  I believe it is an awareness of the world, people and society around us and represents our attempt using our consciousness to understand it all.  It is this foundation of consciousness that I think is the root of spirituality and eventually paganism in its very early forms.  We all start I think as pagans from a consciousness point of view until something comes along to change our viewpoint.

Meditation:

It is the product of some form of meditation, using this term in the broadest sense involving thinking and feeling at length about a subject, that change in our consciousness is achieved. Spiritual change is more about psychology than the supernatural.  We change our ethics and perspective because we come to different conclusions as we meditate on issues and thoughts. This is spiritual in the sense it involves our psyche, but might not have anything to with powers and forces outside ourselves.

Mystery:

This is one area where there is a lot of mystery.  Sure a lot has been discovered by science, but the social sciences, in my opinion, still lack that germ theory moment where a breakthrough happens that changes our understanding of the nature of the subject dramatically.  Until then, the mystery is there but it isn’t an excuse but rather a motivation to open up our consciousness even more as we seek to understand it.

Spirituality:

For me, the foundation of my spirituality is both pagan and atheist.  It is the primitive attempt to understand the world around me using nothing more than my own sense fo consciousness.  I, however, believe that this is the product of the human mind and imagination, not supernatural forces. It is this kernel of truth that survives that I used to surround with religion but now is my own godless and religionless mind.

Conclusion:

I have thus no problem using any religious idea that I feel reflects this.  Following the Nine Noble Virtues, for instance, is a good example of taking something like virtue and using it to provide a framework for philosophical thought while discarding actual belief in the gods of Norse mythology.  I sense as I use religion for this purpose more universal truths will surface like this, but I don’t need to be religious or religiously spiritual to appreciate them and utilize them.  So yes, atheist spirituality is a thing.  It is spirituality focused on humanity and the world we live in rather than spirits or gods.

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

“Pagan Holidays: Winternights / Halloween / Samhain – Part 3” – Odin’s Eye

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Woden’s (Odin’s) Day.    

Discussion:

No photo description available.

Say hello to the Brothers Grimm.  I don’t know if I can call myself a pumpkin artist yet, but I have to say I enjoyed the artistic moment of creating these two more than I thought i would.  I haven’t carved a pumpkin since my kids were little.  It is an enjoyable experience and next year I want to plan it out better.  The Brother’s Grimm represents fear and joy, two very palatable emotions at Halloween.

As we get closer to Halloween I have to say I am enjoying this holiday personally more than in years past.  I like writing about things magical and strange and so the holiday fits me.  My personal history with Halloween also factors in as for many years I was told I couldn’t celebrate it because it was Satanic. I never completely bought it, but it was a constant nagging in my life from Chrisitan culture.

See the source image

More properly now I know this has nothing more to do with Satan than it does with God.  Samhain and the pagans that celebrate it has very little to do with either and is more about welcoming the coming of winter. The Wild Hunt is released and the time for hearth and home is at hand.  The time for appeasing the spirits and honoring the dead is more what this has to do with than anything else and the Abrahamic traditions of Satan and Yahweh have nothing to do with it.

Time to Look Through the Eye:

“To see the truth, change one eye for another”

Faith:

The real issue of faith in the holiday known as Halloween, Samhain or Winternuights, to those of a more Norse persuasion such as myself, is this belief that the veil between our world and the spiritual one becomes thin which allows the two to merge or cross.  While not a believer myself I find this idea fascinating.  It represents something that I cannot get over this idea of multiple worlds that collide sometimes, alternate realities that when they merge they create another alternate reality.

For me, it is the changing of the tide so to speak as one season moves into another as winter and summer collide to create fall is in its own way ‘magical’.  Sure it is a more naturalistic explanation of things but the concept is the same.  The continued faith that Summer will give way to winter and then Winter will give way to Summer in their turn.

See the source image

Meditation:

Halloween causes me to meditate more on the joys fo life and celebrations I have missed out on because of a Christianity I no longer believe in.  If I see anything in it now, it is the desire to enjoy life and celebrate its seasons and moments with a little more fervor. At least as much fervor as an INFJ type can muster.  I find it interesting as I meditate on how religion can rob you, the greatest thing I have lost is the celebration moments and fun times simply because some world view wanted to tell me not to do this or don’t touch that. If my meditations have led my thoughts into any direction it is the freedom from religions’ persuasive power to bind one’s thoughts when such binding is not necessary.

See the source image

Mystery:

I will be honest, this filter of Odin’s Eye has become problematic as an Athiest.  I mean having a theology degree can be helpful down the road as I write books challenging theology, but for a life filter that looks at life’s intangible elements, the artistic and ‘spiritual’ side of it, theology is becoming more and more useless to me.  Its a set of clothes that no longer fits. This relates to Halloween in that it is this time of year that calls me to be different.

So today, in the spirit of Halloween, I announce a change from Theology to Mystery as part of Odin’s Eye.  More in the spirit of the Viking Runes and trying to find their meaning. The mystery is something that might always be there but is something I will no longer use as an excuse, just an identification marker of that which I don’t understand that I am trying to discover its secrets. It fits far better with my concept of myself which is rapidly evolving.

See the source image

Spirituality:

I guess I have a lot of tolerance spiritually speaking for the pagans of this world. I get you guys far more than any other religion and at least I think you are starting with the right place – looking at the world around you and within yourselves. Looking at what both are for yourself and not what some supposed ‘man of god’ tells you.  I respect that level of individuality a lot.  Probably the most spiritual thing a human can do is be themselves.

See the source image

Conclusion:

In the future, I think Halloween will remain my favorite holiday and I plan on celebrating with the same enthusiasm next year as some others celebrate Christmas.  I know now this holiday represents my turning into being an individual instead of a religious robot more than any other.

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

“Pagan Holidays: Winternights / Halloween/Samhain – Part 2” – Odin’s Eye

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Woden’s (Odin’s) Day.    

Discussion:

I am going to talk about modern Halloween and why it is now my favorite holiday.  Mostly it is because for a long time I was told as a Christian that it was satanic or full of witchcraft.  It is a Wiccan holiday in its original form but also pretty basically pagan as well.  Much fo what we see is hold over symbols from a bygone age that survive in large part because it is a fun holiday.

In the United States, the retail business has realized something – it is the second most money grossing holiday of the year.  Literally, second only to Christmas now.  Easter has fallen to third and Valentine’s fourth. It has become more than a holiday for kids trick or treating.   Adults here have very adult Halloween parties without the kids.  I mean you are dressed up as something else and often people cannot tell who you are if you do it right.  Add alcohol, candy, and sensuality and you get the modern American US Halloween.

Most 0f the pagan roots of this holiday are lost and that is probably, on the one hand, Ok and on the other hand. something for those of us that like to dig deeper is missing.

Oh, yeah I am using the pin-up girls again for this one. This time though vintage classic ones that I love.  It’s not very politically correct, but 1) it’s Halloween and 2) I don’t give a fuck what the language-thought nazis say.

See the source image

Time to Look Through the Eye:

“To see the truth, change one eye for another”

Faith:

I am going to deal with the more Wiccan holiday of Samhain in this one that is now modern Halloween.  This is actually the biggest festival of the Wiccan calendar and thus most celebrated.  It’s opposite number and Spring festival is Beltane.  You might say these two festivals bookend Summer and Winter.  A festival of the dead, spirits and thus full of the familiar phrase – trick or treat. This reflects their appeasement of those prankster spirits and thus have them pass over your place.  The Jack-o-Lanterns and many other customs reflect this.

I don’t believe in the supernatural but I find the whole holiday interesting because it is such a quilt work of different pagan traditions that it is fun to guess where which tradition came from and how it came to be.  I have faith this is a fun and interesting holiday.

Meditation:

Like  Beltaine, I feel that this holiday reflects the very human need to blow off steam.  We can’t be good all the time and sometimes you just need to go and be a little naughty and mischevious.  Beltane is perfect for this and Halloween even more so. My meditations on human nature simply lead me to think that people need to stop being so good for a couple days a year and Halloween is one of those days.

See the source image

Theology:

Growing up this was Satan’s holiday. We didn’t participate or were told not to.  my father this was bullshit, Chrisitan though he was.  He was the one that told me that there is a great deal of difference between what something was and what it is.  He felt what Halloween is now was more about having a good time and in some respect connecting with your neighbors.

Of course, the average Wiccan doesn’t believe in or worship Satan any more than they do the Chrisitan god.  But people have a way of trying to make you inferior for a stupid reason like they don’t do holidays like this while you do; so you are morally less than them.  Got sick of this shitty theology long before I left Christianity.

See the source image

Spirituality:

I do find the idea of appeasing the spirits to be an interesting spiritual concept in paganism. The one area of Norse mythology that is rich but extremely complicated so I don’t address it is the whole issue of earth spirits, elves, and dark elves.  It would be a fascinating study and probably relates to Winternights and Halloween a lot. I just look at it with awe as to how complicated it seems.

For myself, the connection with the past, the spending time with people as a community celebrating something is enough.  It is these connections and having fun with them that denote my ‘spirituality’.

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Conclusion:

Why do I like this holiday so much?  Because of all the holidays in the US calendar, it has nothing to do with God, Christianity, Patriotism, or anything like them.  It remains truly pagan despite Christianity making November 1st All Saints Day.  Halloween gives November 1st the middle finger and that just makes me smile.

I also like the grey side to Halloween – the naughty side to it.  It gives new meaning to the words – ‘trick or treats?’ and that is very Ok with me. Just remember sometimes the answer to that question is – yes.

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I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

“Pagan Holidays: Winternights / Halloween – Part 1” – Odin’s Eye

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Woden’s (Odin’s) Day.    

Discussion:

Last year I had very little time to discuss my favorite holiday – Halloween but also I was just developing in my understanding of pagan holidays and what they meant to me. At this point, with The Grey Wayfarer heading into its second year, I think and feel it is time to look at what we are celebrating at this time of year and have a little fun.

In pagan terms, Halloween translates to Winternights for the Norse Tradition.  Winternights runs from October 29th to November 2nd so there is more to it than a single day although the Winternights Festival is October 31st.  Winter begins officially for pagans on this day and the Wild Hunt is said to be released.  It is at this point all the darker beings and spiritual forces are venerated or perhaps it is best said – appeased from the Norns to Hel the goddess of the dead.

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This is after all about honoring the dead from the past year and harvest which is basically the beginning gathering dead plants and butchering animals that won’t last the winter in preparation for winter.

There is a custom I find interesting in regards to harvest and the Norse religion.  Leaving the last bits of the harvest – the ‘last sheaf’ as it were – for Odin.  The god of the dead and all-father gets part fo the harvest to signal its end as he is the one said to lead the Wild Hunt. The point being that roads and fields no longer belong to humans but to The Hunt.

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Time to Look Through the Eye:

“To see the truth, change one eye for another”

Faith:

When I look at winternights from a faith perspective, it is not so much a celebration of all the spiritual forces for me but of the finality of life as being part of life itself.  Everything comes to an end. The Hunt becomes symbolic of how the winter washes the leftovers away and begins life anew in the Spring.  Nature is a wonderful force of life, death, and renewal and we need to have some awe and wonder about that.

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Meditation:

I have been asked what meaning in life that an atheist can possibly have.  It is a good question as many people think without life after death life doesn’t mean much.  I would say then they haven’t really defined for themselves or discovered the meaning of their life. As an atheist, I define my own meaning and that is what scares people.  People who think others should be controlled would not like this as they use either religion or politics to do so.  For me meaning has been found in my times of meditation as I build my life myself.  People who understand this level of liberty are truly free.

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Theology:

Theology’s only use for me these days is to point out flaws in theology. It is a fun exercise to be a theologian who is effectively an atheist.  In a sense, I start theologically now from zero and people need to show me how and why I should add to that. The issue for winternights is that I look at its celebration as recovering a lost heritage not some reference to gods or goddesses in any other way than that.

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Spirituality:

Holloween offers me a chance to be in connection with my fellow weirdos as far as the general spirit of the holiday. I don’t have much money, so a costume is out but I think that my own addition to the creative spirit of this holiday will be to carve a pumpkin or two.  Someday, I want to join this and other celebrations with a full heart and effort.  But I feel some major change is needed both in the realms of practicality and in mind and heart.

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Conclusion:

This opening part has been about the holiday.  The next two will be some of my personal thoughts as we get closer to it and the final part will drop the day before Halloween itself.  You might even get a few personal pictures as we head toward and through winternights.

One final note:  you have probably noticed all the wonderful pin-ups in this post. I love pin-up girls as an art form plus they are sexy as hell, and Halloween has a lot of them. This week all of them come from one of my favorite artists – Matt Dixon.  I prefer the more vintage classic artists, but Dixon has his own style that is edgy and I like that. 

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!