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Subscribe to this list via RSS Blog posts tagged in prayer

Posted by on in Culture Blogs
And to the Republic Where Witches Dance

Why am I a Pagan?

Because pagans dance.

Lots of people dance, sure. But when we dance, it's part of our religion.

“Do witches pray?” asks the reporter.

The witch smiles.

“We dance,” she says.

Last modified on

Posted by on in Culture Blogs
Foundation Offerings

The offering bears the prayer.

The ancestors thought long and hard about their foundation offerings.

In their choices, we see their intent, their wit and (like enough) their humor.

When the New Stone and Copper Age ancestors of Old Europe built a new house, they buried beneath its floor a little model of a house, lovingly rendered in ceramic detail.

No one needs to tell you what that means.

To the ancestors, it was obvious that when you built something important like a house or a temple, you first laid an offering in the ground to bear the embodied prayers of the builders.

We too have thought long and hard about what offerings to lay beneath the Bull Stone, when we raise it to mark the Marriage Point of Earth with Sky, of Land with People.

There will be three.

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Re-weaving the Connection Every Day

A large part of the work at Druid College is teaching our apprentices how to re-weave the connection to the land each and every day. We cover a wide-range of topics in doing so, from conscious consumerism,  political and environmental activism, daily and seasonal ritual celebrations and more. Our focus from our last weekend was on daily connection, how we can bring everyday actions into our practice, to make the mundane sacred; indeed, to highlight the fact that there is no such thing as the mundane. It's only in our perception.

Part of the homework given was to write an essay on how the apprentice can re-weave the connection every day. I thought I would share what I do with them, and you, in the hopes that it may inspire you on your path.

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  • Joanna van der Hoeven
    Joanna van der Hoeven says #
    Yes indeed!
  • Hunter Liguore
    Hunter Liguore says #
    Nice reminders of how to keep the day sacred--I think we can also turn this to the land, holding the prayer, as we pass by in a a

Posted by on in SageWoman Blogs
Prayer to Create a Haven

Whatever difficulties occur in my life, tragic or minor, I can get too caught up in them, so I need a haven.

Mind you, I'm not suggesting anyone bury their head in the sand about awful facts, forsake people whom those terrible facts impact, refrain from action to keep one's situation from worsening, or ignore difficult feelings. I am saying I can dwell on awful situations to the degree it hurts my mental, physical, psychic, and spiritual health really seriously. I need an inner haven to maintain well-being. 

So I try to focus on the moment, which is where I find the Goddess, Her power, and Her care for me. The present moment is where I can find peace, beauty, magic, and laughter—laughter even amidst tragedy.

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  • Ted Czukor
    Ted Czukor says #
    And thank you - for you. I will share your prayer with my wife Ravyn. She's having a little trouble reading just now, so I will
  • Francesca De Grandis
    Francesca De Grandis says #
    Hi, Ted, bless you. Thanks for your support. Give Ravyn my best.
"...And to the Republic Where Witches Dance..."

“Do witches pray?” asked the reporter.

The witch paused for a moment.

Then she smiled.

“We dance,” she said.

Last modified on

Posted by on in SageWoman Blogs
My Priestess Journey to Simplicity

A year ago my family pilgrimaged and moved back to the small town that I grew up in. The vision that we had as we prepared for our move was a simplified life that included a lot of family, less work, and lot's of open country side.

 

...
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  • Candise
    Candise says #
    Thank you sister!
  • Molly
    Molly says #
    Very much enjoyed this. Thank you!
Prayer - it's not a one-way street...

A television show that I enjoyed, which originally aired in the late 90’s through to 2002, is Dharma and Greg. It is about a free-spirited woman with two hippy parents who is very spiritual, very loving and very funny. She marries a conservative born and bred lawyer, and the exchange, dynamic and growth between the two is what makes this such a great show.

At one point Dharma is praying in a hospital chapel, and her spirit guide, a Native American named George whom she connected with personally before he died, comes to her aid and offers advice in her time of need. He hears her praying, trying to have a conversation with whatever deity will listen in the multifaith chapel, and offers these very poignant words which I remember to this very day.

Dharma is feeling remorse because of harsh words she had about her mother, and now her mother is in danger of losing the child that she is carrying.

"George, my Mom might lose the baby."

"And you feel like you made this happen."

"It feels like it."

"Well if you did, they should put your picture up here on the spinning God Wheel", he says, indicating the multifaith prayer icon on the altar.

"Whether I did it or not, I was thinking it."

"Because you were angry."

"So what should I do now? Do you think I should stay here and pray?"

"What do you mean by praying?"

"I don't know - talk to the universe, to God, the Great Spirit, whatever It is."

“Huh. So, you’re having a conversation with the Great Spirit, the Maker of All Things, and you’re doing the talking?”

"Oh, right."

This, indeed defines for me the nature of what prayer is seen as today. Even if we are not asking for anything, a lot of prayer in our culture and society consists of a one-way conversation between the individual and the deity/spirit in question. Prayer is a relationship, for me, and as such necessitates a give and take in everything, including both spoken and unspoken words. Too often in prayer, we forget to listen. When we speak and then listen, then we are communing. Otherwise, we are just talking.

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Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Ted Czukor
    Ted Czukor says #
    Great reminder, Joanna. We love Dharma and Greg, too, and George is a genius character. There are direct parallels between Nativ
  • Joanna van der Hoeven
    Joanna van der Hoeven says #
    I think all earth-based traditions will have many similarities I do love that saying as well. So very true. x
  • Kim Campbell
    Kim Campbell says #
    Thank you for this post. You make an excellent point that we all seem to forget.
  • Joanna van der Hoeven
    Joanna van der Hoeven says #
    Thanks, Kim! x

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