Paganistan: Notes from the Secret Commonwealth

In Which One Midwest Man-in-Black Confers, Converses & Otherwise Hob-Nobs with his Fellow Hob-Men (& -Women) Concerning the Sundry Ways of the Famed but Ill-Starred Tribe of Witches.

  • Home
    Home This is where you can find all the blog posts throughout the site.
  • Tags
    Tags Displays a list of tags that have been used in the blog.
  • Bloggers
    Bloggers Search for your favorite blogger from this site.
  • Login
    Login Login form

Gluten-Free Gods

 Let us recall the kings who died for corn:

 red bread and red drink at Lúnasa of the harvest. 

We were discussing the previous night's old-style witches' sabbat. (“Old Style” as in “just like the woodcuts.”)

Of the housel*—the feasting on the god's flesh and blood—someone suggested provision of a gluten-free option next time around.

Sometimes, I think, we need to be wise enough to listen to the wisdom of other traditions.

In his Summa Theologica, Thomas Aquinas poses the question: If the body of Christ is present in the consecrated host, just what part of Christ's body is present there? The head? The heart? The phallus?

(Actually, I doubt that Thomas would mention the god's phallus in this—if any—context. But I'm a pagan and I think like one.)

 

And the answer is: no. The god is fully present in each and every host.

But there are a hundred hosts here on this patten. And you're telling me that each one of them contains 100 % of the god?

Yes, that's right.

But how can you have 100 100 %s?

Ah, says Thomas: that's the mystery.

At the sabbat, for those who choose not to partake of the god's flesh, the god is present in his entirety in the red drink. For those who do not drink the red drink, the god is fully present in the red bread. For those who partake of neither, the god is fully present in the anointing received from his hand.

Witches are people who take responsibility for themselves.

So sorry, no: there probably won't be any gluten-free gods at this year's Grand Sabbat, either.

Thank you very much.


* Rhymes with “arousal.” < Old English húsl; cp. Gothic hunsl, “sacrifice.”

 

 

 

Last modified on
Poet, scholar and storyteller Steven Posch was raised in the hardwood forests of western Pennsylvania by white-tailed deer. (That's the story, anyway.) He emigrated to Paganistan in 1979 and by sheer dint of personality has become one of Lake Country's foremost men-in-black. He is current keeper of the Minnesota Ooser.

Comments

Additional information