You\u2019d never want a friend who\u2019s obsessed with scoring chicks, drinks all your booze, & usually leaves an almighty mess for you to clean up, right?<\/p>\n
Wrong.<\/p>\n
I was \u2018introduced\u2019\u00a0 to Pan by my partner early on in our relationship. When he 1st told me he considered Pan to be the closest thing he had to a patron Deity, I got a little worried. What? Was my would-be sweetie going to snap one day & turn into some sort of ravenous beast devouring every female in sight? It was a case, perhaps, of guilt by association. In our time together there have only been a couple of incidents involving the opposite sex that were lacking in the tact department. Eventually I grew curious. What\u2019s the deal? What did he see in a half frat-boy, half critter with a lousy reputation? At this point I actively chose to invite Pan into my spiritual life & work with Him in ritual. He wasn\u2019t at all what I expected.<\/p>\n
What about the girls?<\/p>\n
Ok, sure, so Pan might have done the wild thing with Seline & got a little freaky with<\/p>\n
a bunch of Maenads. So what? He\u2019s more like the host of one of those fishing shows<\/p>\n
you see on TV. It\u2019s all about catch & release. He gets off on the thrill of the hunt &<\/p>\n
the game.<\/p>\n
In hindsight I\u2019ve come to understand that I was going through a personal rough patch when we met. I was letting my insecurities towards life in general shape my perceptions of Pan & my relationship with my partner. I\u2019m not suggesting any of you treat your significant other with disrespect, but I am encouraging you to take a step outside yourself sometimes. Take what Pan has to offer, even in small doses. His is the gift of freedom, of finding the joy in small & simple things. Let go of a fear of failure & concentrate on just getting something out of the effort of trying, no matter what the outcome.<\/p>\n
OK, what about the drinking?<\/p>\n
Pan\u2019s the guy to go to if you want to get hammered. He\u2019s the God of All Alcohol, right?? Actually that description more closely fits\u00a0 Dionysus. Pan just enjoys the stuff, but is that really any worse than what some of us do on a Friday night?<\/p>\n
What happens when you get drunk? Booze breaks down your inhibitions. You act out of a place that\u2019s very raw & basic, before that pesky brain has a chance to edit anything. You can\u2019t get more honest than that.<\/p>\n
Pan embodies duality, being half a goat & half a man. His is the gift of unfiltered truth, which has its own sort of duality. Being truthful is usually a good thing & avoids all the stress of maintaining a lie, if nothing else. But let\u2019s face it\u2026 the truth can hurt. Imagine, if you will, what would happen if you got possessed of an irresistible urge to tell your boss his new policy stinks. Let\u2019s see how long you last in your office after that!<\/p>\n
As much as there\u2019s a sort of destructive side to Pan\u2019s brand of truth, I\u2019ve also come to respect His type of honesty. I feel like through His influence you can get someone\u2019s real opinion of a situation.\u00a0 There\u2019s no point in offering up a false picture of optimism that all involved know isn\u2019t possible. You can more easily assess the situation & come up with a situation that\u2019s realistic. From there you can move forward.<\/p>\n
Pan\u2019s personal lesson to me has been to open up without fear of what other people think. I don\u2019t really care what some random idiot off the street thinks. It\u2019s just what my small inner circle of loved ones thinks, like my partner or my best friend, that matters. Pan\u2019s brand of truth isn\u2019t easy to embrace. It\u2019s something I have to work at constantly. I think it\u2019s possible, though, to invite some of His sort of honesty in without letting it wreck things. I understand that it\u2019s not always appropriate to blast off & say exactly what\u2019s on my mind. Through Pan I\u2019m slowly learning how to manage my own duality & find a sense of balance between the 2 sides of my own truth. I\u2019m able to let the truth loose a bit more liberally instead of constantly censoring myself. I\u2019d like to think that the relationships I value most are improving, thanks to His blessing.<\/p>\n
What about His tendency to make a mess, both literally & figuratively?<\/p>\n
I vaguely remember these stupid ads for paper towels from a few years back. I think the tag line was something like \u2018Life\u2019s messy, clean it up\u2019. For most people mess or clutter equals strife. Strife or problems equal negativity. Not something you\u2019d really want in your life, but it\u2019s sort of inevitable. What do you know? There actually is some truth in advertising after all.<\/p>\n
I had a conversation with my partner about Pan recently. He told me he had a hard time seeing the same thing I do in the god.\u00a0 Hubby\u2019s supposed to be close to Pan & he could only see Him making a mess, not cleaning up one of any kind. So what hope is there for the average person to see past that particular image?<\/p>\n
For me it\u2019s not that hard. The times I\u2019ve felt closest to Pan are also the ones that my life\u2019s been a bit messy. As much as He\u2019s stuck with the reputation of ultimate party guy, for me he\u2019s also the Wise Shepard. One of the earliest images I have of Pan is of Him playing His pipes on top of a hill watching over his flock in the field below.<\/p>\n
He understands some form of responsibility. He might miss something happening to his fuzzy charges if He\u2019s been drinking on duty. He might even pick up the odd bit of rubbish on occasion. Since when do sheep enjoy a couple of broken beer bottles with their grass? Because this is such a strong image for me, I can easily see Him gently tending to some injured critter. It\u2019s not all that far-fetched to expect sensitivity & wisdom from Him, really. Isn\u2019t he the one who\u2019s said to have talked Psyche out of committing suicide over her thwarted love for Eros?<\/p>\n
None of this might not fit some of your ideas of what Pan is all about, but that\u2019s OK. This is just how I\u2019ve come to relate to Him personally. Overall, I can sum it up like this. I\u2019ve found in Pan a sense of balance. OK, so He\u2019s a little rough around the edges. He\u2019s also full of wisdom & strength. He embodies both Man & Nature. Like Nature, He should be given respect & can lash out if mistreated. Plus who doesn\u2019t love a guy with a good sense of humour? Some of His appeal also lies in that I see Him as being a little misunderstood, which sort of\u00a0 resonates with the part of me that I feel people just don\u2019t get.<\/p>\n
I could go on & talk some more about the Him, but remember what I said about the thrill of the hunt? Find joy in the chase. Discover Pan for yourself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
You\u2019d never want a friend who\u2019s obsessed with scoring chicks, drinks all your booze, & usually leaves an almighty mess for you to clean up, right? Wrong. I was \u2018introduced\u2019\u00a0 to Pan by my partner early on in our relationship. When he 1st told me he considered Pan to be the closest thing he had to a patron Deity, I got a little worried. What? Was my would-be sweetie going to snap one day & turn into some sort of ravenous beast devouring every female in sight? It was a case, perhaps, of guilt by association. In our time together there have only been a couple of incidents involving the opposite sex that were lacking in the tact department. Eventually I grew curious. What\u2019s the deal? What did he see in a half frat-boy, half critter with a lousy reputation? At this point I actively chose to invite Pan into my spiritual life & work with Him in ritual. He wasn\u2019t at all what I expected. What about the girls? Ok, sure, so Pan might have done the wild thing with Seline & got a little freaky with a bunch of Maenads. So what? He\u2019s more like the host of one of those fishing shows you see on TV. It\u2019s all about catch & release. He gets off on the thrill of the hunt & the game. In hindsight I\u2019ve come to understand that I was going through a personal rough patch when we met. I was letting my insecurities towards life in general shape my perceptions of Pan & my relationship with my partner. I\u2019m not suggesting any of you treat your significant other with disrespect, but I am encouraging you to take a step outside yourself sometimes. Take what Pan has to offer, even in small doses. His is the gift of freedom, of finding the joy in small & simple things. Let go of a fear of failure & concentrate on just getting something out of the effort of trying, no matter what the outcome. OK, what about the drinking? Pan\u2019s the guy to go to if you want to get hammered. He\u2019s the God of All Alcohol, right?? Actually that description more closely fits\u00a0 Dionysus. Pan just enjoys the stuff, but is that really any worse than what some of us do on a Friday night? What happens when you get drunk? Booze breaks down your inhibitions. You act out of a place that\u2019s very raw & basic, before that pesky brain has a chance to edit anything. You can\u2019t get more honest than that. Pan embodies duality, being half a goat & half a man. His is the gift of unfiltered truth, which has its own sort of duality. Being truthful is usually a good thing & avoids all the stress of maintaining a lie, if nothing else. But let\u2019s face it\u2026 the truth can hurt. Imagine, if you will, what would happen if you got possessed of an irresistible urge to tell your boss his new policy stinks. Let\u2019s see how long you last in your office after that! As much as there\u2019s a sort of destructive side to Pan\u2019s brand of truth, I\u2019ve also come to respect His type of honesty. I feel like through His influence you can get someone\u2019s real opinion of a situation.\u00a0 There\u2019s no point in offering up a false picture of optimism that all involved know isn\u2019t possible. You can more easily assess the situation & come up with a situation that\u2019s realistic. From there you can move forward. Pan\u2019s personal lesson to me has been to open up without fear of what other people think. I don\u2019t really care what some random idiot off the street thinks. It\u2019s just what my small inner circle of loved ones thinks, like my partner or my best friend, that matters. Pan\u2019s brand of truth isn\u2019t easy to embrace. It\u2019s something I have to work at constantly. I think it\u2019s possible, though, to invite some of His sort of honesty in without letting it wreck things. I understand that it\u2019s not always appropriate to blast off & say exactly what\u2019s on my mind. Through Pan I\u2019m slowly learning how to manage my own duality & find a sense of balance between the 2 sides of my own truth. I\u2019m able to let the truth loose a bit more liberally instead of constantly censoring myself. I\u2019d like to think that the relationships I value most are improving, thanks to His blessing. What about His tendency to make a mess, both literally & figuratively? I vaguely remember these stupid ads for paper towels from a few years back. I think the tag line was something like \u2018Life\u2019s messy, clean it up\u2019. For most people mess or clutter equals strife. Strife or problems equal negativity. Not something you\u2019d really want in your life, but it\u2019s sort of inevitable. What do you know? There actually is some truth in advertising after all. I had a conversation with my partner about Pan recently. He told me he had a hard time seeing the same thing I do in the god.\u00a0 Hubby\u2019s supposed to be close to Pan & he could only see Him making a mess, not cleaning up one of any kind. So what hope is there for the average person to see past that particular image? For me it\u2019s not that hard. The times I\u2019ve felt closest to Pan are also the ones that my life\u2019s been a bit messy. As much as He\u2019s stuck with the reputation of ultimate party guy, for me he\u2019s also the Wise Shepard. One of the earliest images I have of Pan is of Him playing His pipes on top of a hill watching over his flock in the field below. He understands some form of responsibility. He might miss something happening to his fuzzy charges if He\u2019s been drinking on duty. He might even pick up the odd bit of rubbish on occasion. Since when do sheep enjoy a couple of broken beer bottles with their grass? Because this is such a strong image for me, I can easily see Him gently tending to some injured critter. It\u2019s not all that far-fetched to expect sensitivity & wisdom from Him, really. Isn\u2019t he the one who\u2019s said to have talked Psyche out of committing suicide over her thwarted love for Eros? None of this might not fit some of your ideas of what Pan is all about, but that\u2019s OK. This is just how I\u2019ve come to relate to Him personally. Overall, I can sum it up like this. I\u2019ve found in Pan a sense of balance. OK, so He\u2019s a little rough around the edges. He\u2019s also full of wisdom & strength. He embodies both Man & Nature. Like Nature, He should be given respect & can lash out if mistreated. Plus who doesn\u2019t love a guy with a good sense of humour? Some of His appeal also lies in that I see Him as being a little misunderstood, which sort of\u00a0 resonates with the part of me that I feel people just don\u2019t get. I could go on & talk some more about the Him, but remember what I said about the thrill of the hunt? Find joy in the chase. Discover Pan for yourself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2361"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2361\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}