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Subscribe to this list via RSS Blog posts tagged in chaos

Posted by on in Paths Blogs

This year's world events seem so random it's like being a character in a role playing game subject to the dreaded random encounter dice. People have been making memes all year about the latest random event and "did you have x on your 2020 bingo card?" Usually when someone suggests a particular event is chaos I reflexively try to explain why it's actually the function of order, that is, the function of some understandable process in which causes lead to effects, much like the heathen concept of wyrd and orlog. This year, though, it really does appear to be full of totally random, causeless events all over the world. There is a popular theory circulating on social media that explains the phenomenon, sometimes shared seriously and sometimes humorously. It references CERN, the Mandela Effect, and a small, possibly curious or mischievous, weasel.

Assuming you're a regular human and not a time mage or a god or one of the physicists planning to crack open reality and punch through to another universe, how can you travel through this time, relentlessly moving forward one minute per minute whether you will or you nil? How better than to invoke the protection of a god known for working through chaos to bring about a better world?

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Posted by on in Paths Blogs
The Snake Equation

The Snake Equation, pictured above, is a meme of unknown origin circulating on the net. Because this meme shows this equation superimposed over classical art of Loki, it occurred to me that this equation in Chaos Theory could be considered a teaching of Loki. I tried to derive a spiritual truth from it that I could consider to be a teaching of Loki. I wrote a scene describing its meaning into my novel Some Say Fire, but since the book will probably never be published, I'd like to share this insight here on my blog.

If you look at it just right, the top line appears to spell "snake," hence the name of the equation. This is an equation in Chaos Theory. First I'm going to explain the terms, and then explain the spiritual meaning I have derived from this equation.

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b2ap3_thumbnail_chaosillusionmeme.jpg

Chaos is often an illusion. 

 

My Gods’ plans are so complex that my limited human intelligence cannot discern the plans’ intricate orderliness, so it seems like chaos to me. 

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Posted by on in Paths Blogs

There always seems to be a general level of chaos whenever I take up temporary residence in a hotel. During my trip to the deep desert near here, the chaos was generally funny and / or positive, aside from a couple of flickering light problems when we first arrived at our room. 

 Part 1

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Posted by on in Paths Blogs

Long-time readers of this blog have watched me go through a strange journey. After 25 years as Priestess of Freya, comfortable with my spiritual routines, it was weird to suddenly have Loki crack open my head and funnel all the other gods in, all because I walked out of a movie saying, "I bet I could write something more authentic than that."

It's had it's up and downs, but my life is so much better now. Some of the changes have been big, some small. Sometimes it's the small things that impact everyday life. Once, one of my friends on social media asked rhetorically "Who needs more chaos in their life?"

Well, I did. Or at least, I needed less order. I needed to be less rigid in my personal rules for myself. I had thought there was something wrong with drinking tea from a coffee cup. My mom, with whom I share a house, thought there was something wrong with making a kettle of tea and using a real teacup for a single cup when I could just microwave a coffee mug. Rather than either argue with her or use the "wrong" cup for my tea, sometimes I wanted a cup of tea and didn't make one.  Loki reduced my excessive rule-following. He showed me it was OK to have tea in a coffee cup.

One of the processes Loki led me through was to break each of my unthinking routines, one by one. Each one had to be examined to see if it was really useful or if it was unnecessary. The useful habits were kept, and the unnecessary ones jettisoned, just like going through an old closet and trying on the clothes to see which ones to keep.

I got used to being able to drink my tea from a coffee cup and not feel uncomfortable. And then-- presto! About a year later I found a box of gorgeous antique teacups in the garage. My gramma's, I guess. So now I can drink tea from a teacup again-- a better one. And that's Loki all over.

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Posted by on in Paths Blogs

I've been reading Warhammer: Trollslayer. And today's google doodles have many alternate versions, but one is a fox. What do these two things have to do with each other? Read on.

Tom N. lent me his copy of Trollslayer because there's some transparently heathen content in it. Aside from the things copied from Tolkien, like the dwarf warrior character, which are ultimately derived from Norse mythology through the lens of Tolkien, there is also the point of view character's religion. Felix, the narrator and Gotrek's sidekick, worships Sigmar, a Thor-like god (whose worshippers have a few structures borrowed from Christianity, but not enough to obscure the meaning of wearing a hammer symbol around one's neck for protection.) 

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Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • John Loving
    John Loving says #
    *waves at Erin* On Chaos, A chaotic alignment doesn't equate to be evil... Chaotic Evil... is more let us burn the village down be
  • Erin Lale
    Erin Lale says #
    Hi, John. (waves back.) Yep. Thanks!
  • Anthony Gresham
    Anthony Gresham says #
    I'm glad to read that I wasn't the only one who related that Nolan chart to the AD&D alignment chart. I've enjoyed AD&D over the
  • Erin Lale
    Erin Lale says #
    Thanks and you're welcome!

Posted by on in SageWoman Blogs

I love Chaos Gods. They fill my life with hugely beneficial synchronicity, if I only open to these supposedly chance occurrences, instead of stubbornly digging in my heels. (Yeah, I know Chaos Gods are portrayed as all evil and dangerous, but that's a lie. Well, some Chaos Gods are evil, but I don't work with them.)

I felt moved to write about this Divine chaotic kindness because of a recent event. It dazzled me so much that I have to share my delight—or I'm going to burst—in how beautifully and intricately the World Tree weaves to embrace me in its branches constantly.

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Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Bee Smith
    Bee Smith says #
    This post is pure gold, Francesca!
  • Francesca De Grandis
    Francesca De Grandis says #
    Wow, Bee, thank you so much! ✨
  • Ted Czukor
    Ted Czukor says #
    Love this, Francesca, and I hope Ravyn contacts you for tips on disability crafting. It's both comforting and humbling to look bac
  • Francesca De Grandis
    Francesca De Grandis says #
    Thank you! Yes, I am so grateful for divine designs. Did you read my book Share My Insanity? In it, I talk about chaos only appea
  • Jenn
    Jenn says #
    This is so awesome! I love felting - I do needle felting but have a book about wet felting and definitely want to get into it. You

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