To me this is the epitome of what I long to be. We do not need to have a specific path to know what is right and wrong. I often hear from religious people, religion/God stops people from raping and murdering. Well, I rape and murder the exact amount of times I want to. The amount of time I want to is none. I don't need to have a set discipline in order to understand the fundamental right of those around me to live and thrive. Simply understanding that I want to live and thrive is enough.
So what does that mean in regards to my past blog posts and my attraction to an ancient deity?
To me, deities are the personification of attributes we want to emulate. So if we were in a situation that caused us fear as ancient beings, we would want something that would project strength. If we were concerned about food for the up coming winter, we may look to bring prosperity into our lives.
If you think about literature and consider how fables and lore was used to keep children in line or to carry a message you can see that it could have been very easy to have the Word of Aesop vs. the Word of the Christian God for example. The Boy Who Cried Wolf quickly learned that if he continued to lie that no one would believe him. The thought of being tossed in a lake of fire was required for adults to continue to listen to these lessons. As man quickly learned they could control the masses with this tool, everything that could be pulled into the "sin" category was put in place.
What code do I use to guide me, if I do not religion?
Some years ago as part of a unique project for the Covenant of Hekate, I worked with a team to create what we believed the virtues of Hekate may be. These were adopted by the organization as our code of ethics.
You can find the five virtues as well as our discussion around it on the CoH website. I have copied the brief definitions here.
■ Compassion – Sympathy and/or concern for others who are suffering or find themselves in an
undesirable position.
■ Courage – Strength or character or fortitude to stand firm in your convictions and face
adversity or distress without fear.
■ Temperance – Moderation and self-control are both acts of Temperance.
■ Justice – Moral and physical rightness are both aspects of Justice, as is the sometimes
contradictory act of behaving fairly towards other people.
■ Wisdom – To have the common sense, foresight and understanding to think or act in a
manner most objectively and beneficially to any given situation.
To me, anyone not just a devote of Hecate or any other deity can posses. I don't need to believe that a female giant with the head of a horse, dog and lion walked this earth in order to believe that everyone should be treated fair and just. I don't need to believe that Hecate assisted in locating Persephone in order to understand that I should treat others well. I know that compassion is something that I should give to ever living creature, even those who may not believe as I do.
The Five Virtues, to me, are no different than what the Ten Commandments were intended to be. You following the rules and do what is right because it is the right thing to do, not because someone will toss you into a lake of fire and you'll burn for all eternity. We would be much better off if we simply learned to live and let live.
How does this influence me from a magical and modern perspective?
To me, like many others, magic is simply science we don't understand yet. If we look back in time we know that if we told the ancients we had a device that gave us the power to speak to people around the world and access all the information in libraries around the world they would call it one thing. Magic. As a reader, I can't tell you where my talent comes from. I know that as I have changed my environment to remove distraction. Limited my exposure to television as well as other types of media I have found that my ability to read more accurately has increased.
I think the same holds true for other gifts. As the mind relaxes the brain opens up to allow more information to flow. As it flows we are more in tune with those gifts. Allowing for readings that are more accurate. Our ancestors in antiquity had little to no electronic interference and therefore had more connection to the magical. My grandmother was able to tell when someone was coming to see her. She was able to tell when she was getting money and assorted other gifts. I inherited most of those from her. As I continue to grow spiritually and spend more time with myself in nature I believe that eventually these gifts will become more powerful. And many years from now, far into the future I will not be surprised to learn that what I see now as a rare gift, that we will learn through science that we can all access them.
Posts
No comments
Post a Comment