new moon in aquarius
Feb. 9th, 2024 03:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ravenrookhello hello. tbh I completely forgot it was the new moon until just now... I haven't really been with it lately, my routine has kinda been worn away. well, that's why we have times to reflect and plan I guess.
I just put a couple essays up on my neocities about ancestor veneration. I'm actually pretty proud of those, they were really fun to write. actually writing stuff down has been a big goal of mine lately.
a while ago I came up with the idea of the time between St. Brigid's Day and the spring equinox being like a pagan Lent. I'm not fasting or anything, but my goal was to set aside some dedicated time every morning and evening to pray. I... did not get that far.
but the spirit of contemplation has kinda led me to think a bit more deeply about what I'm doing and what I want to be doing. I've been feeling off-track lately. and I think it boils down to me forgetting what my goals are. reconstruction has been super wearing me down and my initial response was to try a few different traditions to try to find one that fit. but stepping back lets me see the fuller picture. I started down the road of reconstruction because I wanted to know more about the historical context of paganism. but here's the thing: I'm not a reconstructionist, I'm a folk magician.
basically what I'm saying is I've deconstructed my definition of religion so much that I've wrapped back around to being a christian (do I believe in Jesus? not really. would 99% of christians call me a christian? probably not. but just cook with me for a minute). my context is completely christian, and whether I like it or not, my entire theology and cosmology and vocabulary is ultimately rooted in chrisitanity. I can try to call it neoplatonism or whatever, but really that's just me covering up that it's christianity with more steps.
this allowed me to realize that the deities I honor are not Greek or Roman or Anglo-Saxon. they're completely modern (in the big, post-middle ages sense of modern). they're syncretisations and new inventions and folk figures. and all of this was created in a context that is solidly christian.
one day I hope to write an actual essay on what I mean by deconstructing religion, but that's enough for now. in the meantime, I highly recommend learning about chinese folk religion, which really is what challenged me to think about all this.
so what does all this rambling really mean? it means I'm freeing myself from the expectations of recreating an ancient religion (absolutely no shade to reconstructionists, it's really cool work, just not for me). it means I'm going to embrace the living traditions that I'm a part of and define them on my own terms. it means I get to try again at doing lent cause ash wednesday isn't until next week...
be well my friends!
I just put a couple essays up on my neocities about ancestor veneration. I'm actually pretty proud of those, they were really fun to write. actually writing stuff down has been a big goal of mine lately.
a while ago I came up with the idea of the time between St. Brigid's Day and the spring equinox being like a pagan Lent. I'm not fasting or anything, but my goal was to set aside some dedicated time every morning and evening to pray. I... did not get that far.
but the spirit of contemplation has kinda led me to think a bit more deeply about what I'm doing and what I want to be doing. I've been feeling off-track lately. and I think it boils down to me forgetting what my goals are. reconstruction has been super wearing me down and my initial response was to try a few different traditions to try to find one that fit. but stepping back lets me see the fuller picture. I started down the road of reconstruction because I wanted to know more about the historical context of paganism. but here's the thing: I'm not a reconstructionist, I'm a folk magician.
basically what I'm saying is I've deconstructed my definition of religion so much that I've wrapped back around to being a christian (do I believe in Jesus? not really. would 99% of christians call me a christian? probably not. but just cook with me for a minute). my context is completely christian, and whether I like it or not, my entire theology and cosmology and vocabulary is ultimately rooted in chrisitanity. I can try to call it neoplatonism or whatever, but really that's just me covering up that it's christianity with more steps.
this allowed me to realize that the deities I honor are not Greek or Roman or Anglo-Saxon. they're completely modern (in the big, post-middle ages sense of modern). they're syncretisations and new inventions and folk figures. and all of this was created in a context that is solidly christian.
one day I hope to write an actual essay on what I mean by deconstructing religion, but that's enough for now. in the meantime, I highly recommend learning about chinese folk religion, which really is what challenged me to think about all this.
so what does all this rambling really mean? it means I'm freeing myself from the expectations of recreating an ancient religion (absolutely no shade to reconstructionists, it's really cool work, just not for me). it means I'm going to embrace the living traditions that I'm a part of and define them on my own terms. it means I get to try again at doing lent cause ash wednesday isn't until next week...
be well my friends!
