{"id":4931,"date":"2011-03-01T01:10:43","date_gmt":"2011-03-01T06:10:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=5011"},"modified":"2011-02-23T21:55:04","modified_gmt":"2011-02-24T02:55:04","slug":"pagan-theology-24","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2011\/03\/01\/pagan-theology-24\/","title":{"rendered":"Pagan Theology"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pagan Theology:\u00a0 Blessings<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Unitarian Universalist minister I know recently said that one of the purposes of religious practice is to empower us so that we may go out and bless the world [1].\u00a0 That idea of empowerment as a vehicle through which we both are blessed and bless the world intrigues me.\u00a0 How do we Pagans bless ourselves, so that we may be powerful enough to bless the world?<\/p>\n

As Pagans we talk a lot about blessings.\u00a0 Blessed be.\u00a0 House blessings.\u00a0 Blessing the working or tools.\u00a0 We even use \u201cblessings\u201d as an address when closing out letters or e-mails.\u00a0 But what, exactly, is happening when we bless?\u00a0 Who is doing the blessing, and what happens?\u00a0 In the Christian beatitudes there is a whole list of people and traits that are blessed, like the poor in spirit.\u00a0\u00a0 When we bless what do we place in the recipient of the blessing, and what do we retain for ourselves?<\/p>\n

One way to understand blessings is that they are given and received, thus establishing a relationship between the giver and the recipient.\u00a0 Blessings create a social contact between those involved.\u00a0 They are an exchange of magical energy that empowers both the giver and the recipient.\u00a0 The giver is empowered through the creation of the blessing and the contact with the other, while the recipient is empowered by the acknowledgement of a relationship between the giver and receiver, and by the happy generosity that is received.\u00a0\u00a0 Without the exchange, without the giving, there can be no real blessing.<\/p>\n

But we can bless ourselves, can\u2019t we? \u00a0Of course.\u00a0 You can do anything you want.\u00a0 But it may not be all that effective of a blessing.\u00a0 After all you can give yourself twenty dollars, but when you do you won\u2019t have an extra twenty to spend.\u00a0\u00a0 If you believe that there is something special exchanged in the social interaction between giver and recipient [2], then blessings require that someone give, and someone else receive.<\/p>\n

This is not all that hard, given that many things can give a blessing, and many things can receive.\u00a0 We can bless objects in the world, or, in the case of a circle casting, we can actually bless the world.\u00a0 We can receive blessings from the Gods and Goddesses if we ask.\u00a0 We can send blessings to our ancestors, or ask to receive them.\u00a0 But the idea of blessing seems inherently related to the philosophical concept of encountering the other, the \u201cnot me,\u201d who humbles us and reminds us we are not the center of the universe.\u00a0 Blessings tell us others are in the world, that they are part of a sacred whole, and that they are related to us, and we must relate to them.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlessed be\u201d as a neo-Pagan expression probably derives from the fivefold kiss [3].\u00a0 But it\u2019s an intriguing expression, one that perhaps deserves more analysis than it has been given [4].\u00a0 While the original intent was pretty clearly to bless, or acknowledge the already blessed status, of the vessel into which the Goddess would be drawn, the expression in isolation seems to convey a lot more intent.\u00a0 The archaic language, typical of early neo-Pagan rituals, would suggest that the statement is more of a declaration than a blessing, in effect saying that the bits being discussed (feet, knees (knees, really?), womb, lips, etc.) are already blessed and the kiss is simply a way of acknowledging that fact.\u00a0 In this sense the expression is saying you are already blessed, and you should exist in that state in peace.\u00a0 The fivefold kiss is also a way, theoretically, for the High Priest to acknowledge the presence of the Goddess in the Preistess.\u00a0 \u201cBlessed be\u201d acknowledges that everything is sacred, including the person you are addressing.<\/p>\n

If that were the case, that everything is sacred and blessed, then where would the exchange of blessings come in?\u00a0\u00a0 In this case the Goddess has already blessed everything by the act of creative existence. \u00a0She exists, and is constantly creating and destroying and in the process blessing the world.\u00a0 Then nothing needs to be done by us, other than to acknowledge the sacredness of that which is.\u00a0\u00a0 Blessing becomes more of an acknowledgement than a gift or a magical act.\u00a0 We are simply reminding ourselves and others of the fact that everything is blessed.\u00a0 This is a very static form of blessing, one that does not compel any action to be taken in the world, including the act of blessing itself (because its redundant).<\/p>\n

However \u201cblessed be\u201d has another, more existential, interpretation (which is why I like it so much).\u00a0 Instead of a static declaration of fact, we can emphasize the verb \u201cbe\u201d and see it as an imprecation to \u201cexist in the state of blessedness.\u201d\u00a0 The \u201cbe\u201d that just hangs out there at the end of the expression suggests a lot more than \u201cyou are.\u201d\u00a0 Instead it suggests that in making the statement we are recognizing the existence of the one receiving the blessing, the \u201cexistential otherness\u201d of another conscious being.\u00a0 Someone who receives the blessing just \u201cis,\u201d exists as an independent actor in the world, one who we are attempting to relate to through the expression.<\/p>\n

In this sense when we say: \u201cblessed be,\u201d we are creating an existential dialog between ourselves as subject, and the recipient as subject.\u00a0 We are actively blessing instead of acknowledging merely a static blessed status.\u00a0 After all if everything is blessed, then Fred the Druid is not much different than Barney the dog or rocky the field stone when it comes to being blessed.\u00a0 Somehow I suspect we mean something different when we say: \u201cblessed be.\u201d\u00a0 It is an address to an independent consciousness in the world, one that is the same as the Gods and Goddesses, and different from the rocks and trees, one that makes decisions, feels, and needs our blessing.<\/p>\n

This makes the expression \u201cblessed be\u201d a complex, three-fold, blessing.\u00a0 At one level it does remind us that all existence, \u00a0all \u201cbeing,\u201d is blessed by the Goddess.\u00a0 It also is a way for us to acknowledge the special \u201cotherness\u201d of those we are addressing, acknowledging that we hold the responsibility of treating them as a subject, as an equal, and not merely an object.\u00a0 And, finally, it is an exhortation to the recipient to \u201cexist in a state of blessedness.\u201d\u00a0 It is a magical expression that tells the recipient they are not alone, but that there are others who wish them the greatest happiness and fulfillment and will (hopefully) work with them toward that goal.<\/p>\n

But wait, that last statement, that we need to do more than just state the blessing, that we need to work toward creating the effects of the, suggests that we can\u2019t just bless and go, that we need to stick around and do something more.\u00a0 \u00a0To better understand how blessings work in the world we probably need to go to their polar opposite in order to understand how Pagan blessings work in the world.\u00a0 Curses.<\/p>\n

For some reason ancient Pagan blessings are less well preserved in the archeological record than curses.\u00a0 Perhaps this was because curses were often written down on lead tablets [5] made of lead and buried.\u00a0 Or they were buried in bottles or under thresholds, which makes it a lot easier to find them.\u00a0 The curse tablets covered a lot of different topics, ranging from stolen property to legal disputes.\u00a0 What is most important is that, by appealing to the Gods and Goddesses (of the underworld), people thought they could affect the world through their magic.\u00a0 The magic of the curses empowered them in the world, either directly by intimidating the victim, or indirectly by giving them a sense of assurance that their path in the world was being overseen by another.\u00a0 They had the power to affect their own outcomes, even if it was magical.<\/p>\n

In blessing something similar is happening.\u00a0 In giving a blessing we are giving ourselves the power to affect others in the world.\u00a0 By blessing the circle through casting we are giving ourselves the power to create the sacred in the world.\u00a0 By smudging a house we are giving ourselves or the owners the power to live in a blessed state.\u00a0 And by creating the sacred, we bless the world through our own actions.\u00a0 Likewise by blessing others, even if it is a simple \u201cblessed be\u201d in ritual or in an e-mail, we are empowering ourselves through our willingness to give some of our sacred self to others, and we are empowering others by telling them that they do not walk alone, that we are giving them some of our magical energy in support of who they are.\u00a0 In the case of \u201cblessed be\u201d we are giving this to them not only with respect for their own place in the world, but we are also telling them to remember that they are and are in a place that is inherently blessed.<\/p>\n

This inherent nature of blessing in the Pagan world means that Pagan blessings are not simple.\u00a0 They are individual exchanges of intent that occur within the broader landscape of a sacred existence.\u00a0 Everything is sacred, while at the same time we create the sacred within the sacred through our actions.\u00a0 By choosing to bless we are stirring the sacred cauldron in new ways, creating new weavings of connection between the blessing and the blessed.<\/p>\n

And once these blessings are out there, we never know where they may end up or what effect they will have.\u00a0 They empower us by opening up our hearts and minds to the other.\u00a0\u00a0 They give us the confidence that we actually can create the sacred, that we can stir the cauldron of the sacred with confidence and good intent.\u00a0 At the same time our stirrings touch others and the world, and cause effects we cannot see.<\/p>\n

Thus a Pagan blessing is the magical invocation of the sacred within what is already sacred.\u00a0 It is an absurd task, absurd because it is unnecessary.\u00a0 But this inherent absurdity, that it is being done without needing to be done, that makes blessing a great gift of power.\u00a0 We are doing something for another that does not need to be done, but that connects us by transferring our good intent.\u00a0 We ask for blessings because we need that connection, we need to have the other tell us that we do not journey alone, that in our journey we are blessed by the Gods and Goddesses.<\/p>\n

As Lisa Theil says in her song \u201cInvocation of the Graces\u201d [6]:<\/p>\n

Bless me with good means<\/p>\n

Bless me with good intent<\/p>\n

Bless me with good estate<\/p>\n

Finer than I know to ask.<\/p>\n

[1]\u00a0 Do not get me confused with a Unitarian Universalist.\u00a0 While I am a member of a UU church, I\u2019m a Pagan member of the church.\u00a0 UU is what I would call a very externally focused religion, despite its small numbers and tendency toward becoming an intellectually and socially isolated enclave of NPR listeners.\u00a0 Paganism tends to be an internally focused religion, dwelling on personal empowerment and growth vice social justice or righting the wrongs of the world.\u00a0 Its not like there are no externally focused Pagans, or internally focused UUs, but in general the things that Pagans talk about are magic and meditation and connection with the Earth while UU\u2019s talk about social justice, cultural equality, and connection with the Earth.\u00a0 The question inherent in all this is how \u201cblessing\u201d works in these two environments.\u00a0 The UU focus would be on blessing ourselves and each other so that we can do great things out in the world.\u00a0 The Pagan approach would be for us to bless ourselves and the world, with little focus on exactly what we are going to do in the blessed world.\u00a0\u00a0 This dichotomy is important, in my opinion because it makes us ask how our Pagan blessings change us and the world.<\/p>\n

[2]\u00a0 Throughout this essay I\u2019m going to talk as if two people are involved in giving and receiving the blessing.\u00a0 However all of the same discussion applies to the Gods and Goddesses giving and receiving blessings, they are, after all, existential entities that act in the world like we do.<\/p>\n

[3] Blessed be thy feet\u2026 Blessed be thy knees\u2026Blessed be thy womb\u2026Blessed be thy breasts\u2026Blessed be thy lips\u2026\u00a0 The fivefold kiss is part of the Drawing Down the Moon ritual where, in classical working, the High Priest draws the Moon down on the High Priestess.\u00a0 The fivefold kiss, in addition to being a nice way for HP Gardner to work with the young ladies, is done immediately before the actual invocation of the Goddess and represents a symbolic blessing of the vessel into which the Goddess will arrive.\u00a0 See, for example, Janet and Stewart Farrar, A Witches\u2019 Bible<\/em>, Phoenix Publishing, 1981.<\/p>\n

[4]\u00a0 While everyone likes to focus on the threefold law and the Rede as the foundation of Pagan religious ethics, something I think is a terribly weak foundation, perhaps if we mine other aspects of the early neo-Pagan religion, like the expression \u201cBlessed be\u201d we can come up with sufficient material to build such a foundation.<\/p>\n

[5] Curse tablets are found throughout the Greek and Roman Mediterranean.\u00a0 For a nice discussion go here:\u00a0 http:\/\/www.pinktink3.250x.com\/essays\/tablets.htm<\/a> or see John G. Gager, Curse Tablets and Binding Spells from the Ancient World<\/em>, Oxford, 1992.<\/p>\n

[6] http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Lisa-Thiel\/e\/B000APYA2E<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pagan Theology:\u00a0 Blessings A Unitarian Universalist minister I know recently said that one of the purposes of religious practice is to empower us so that we may go out and bless the world [1].\u00a0 That idea of empowerment as a vehicle through which we both are blessed and bless the world intrigues me.\u00a0 How do we Pagans bless ourselves, so that we may be powerful enough to bless the world? As Pagans we talk a lot about blessings.\u00a0 Blessed be.\u00a0 House blessings.\u00a0 Blessing the working or tools.\u00a0 We even use \u201cblessings\u201d as an address when closing out letters or e-mails.\u00a0 But what, exactly, is happening when we bless?\u00a0 Who is doing the blessing, and what happens?\u00a0 In the Christian beatitudes there is a whole list of people and traits that are blessed, like the poor in spirit.\u00a0\u00a0 When we bless what do we place in the recipient of the blessing, and what do we retain for ourselves? One way to understand blessings is that they are given and received, thus establishing a relationship between the giver and the recipient.\u00a0 Blessings create a social contact between those involved.\u00a0 They are an exchange of magical energy that empowers both the giver and the recipient.\u00a0 The giver is empowered through the creation of the blessing and the contact with the other, while the recipient is empowered by the acknowledgement of a relationship between the giver and receiver, and by the happy generosity that is received.\u00a0\u00a0 Without the exchange, without the giving, there can be no real blessing. But we can bless ourselves, can\u2019t we? \u00a0Of course.\u00a0 You can do anything you want.\u00a0 But it may not be all that effective of a blessing.\u00a0 After all you can give yourself twenty dollars, but when you do you won\u2019t have an extra twenty to spend.\u00a0\u00a0 If you believe that there is something special exchanged in the social interaction between giver and recipient [2], then blessings require that someone give, and someone else receive. This is not all that hard, given that many things can give a blessing, and many things can receive.\u00a0 We can bless objects in the world, or, in the case of a circle casting, we can actually bless the world.\u00a0 We can receive blessings from the Gods and Goddesses if we ask.\u00a0 We can send blessings to our ancestors, or ask to receive them.\u00a0 But the idea of blessing seems inherently related to the philosophical concept of encountering the other, the \u201cnot me,\u201d who humbles us and reminds us we are not the center of the universe.\u00a0 Blessings tell us others are in the world, that they are part of a sacred whole, and that they are related to us, and we must relate to them. \u201cBlessed be\u201d as a neo-Pagan expression probably derives from the fivefold kiss [3].\u00a0 But it\u2019s an intriguing expression, one that perhaps deserves more analysis than it has been given [4].\u00a0 While the original intent was pretty clearly to bless, or acknowledge the already blessed status, of the vessel into which the Goddess would be drawn, the expression in isolation seems to convey a lot more intent.\u00a0 The archaic language, typical of early neo-Pagan rituals, would suggest that the statement is more of a declaration than a blessing, in effect saying that the bits being discussed (feet, knees (knees, really?), womb, lips, etc.) are already blessed and the kiss is simply a way of acknowledging that fact.\u00a0 In this sense the expression is saying you are already blessed, and you should exist in that state in peace.\u00a0 The fivefold kiss is also a way, theoretically, for the High Priest to acknowledge the presence of the Goddess in the Preistess.\u00a0 \u201cBlessed be\u201d acknowledges that everything is sacred, including the person you are addressing. If that were the case, that everything is sacred and blessed, then where would the exchange of blessings come in?\u00a0\u00a0 In this case the Goddess has already blessed everything by the act of creative existence. \u00a0She exists, and is constantly creating and destroying and in the process blessing the world.\u00a0 Then nothing needs to be done by us, other than to acknowledge the sacredness of that which is.\u00a0\u00a0 Blessing becomes more of an acknowledgement than a gift or a magical act.\u00a0 We are simply reminding ourselves and others of the fact that everything is blessed.\u00a0 This is a very static form of blessing, one that does not compel any action to be taken in the world, including the act of blessing itself (because its redundant). However \u201cblessed be\u201d has another, more existential, interpretation (which is why I like it so much).\u00a0 Instead of a static declaration of fact, we can emphasize the verb \u201cbe\u201d and see it as an imprecation to \u201cexist in the state of blessedness.\u201d\u00a0 The \u201cbe\u201d that just hangs out there at the end of the expression suggests a lot more than \u201cyou are.\u201d\u00a0 Instead it suggests that in making the statement we are recognizing the existence of the one receiving the blessing, the \u201cexistential otherness\u201d of another conscious being.\u00a0 Someone who receives the blessing just \u201cis,\u201d exists as an independent actor in the world, one who we are attempting to relate to through the expression. In this sense when we say: \u201cblessed be,\u201d we are creating an existential dialog between ourselves as subject, and the recipient as subject.\u00a0 We are actively blessing instead of acknowledging merely a static blessed status.\u00a0 After all if everything is blessed, then Fred the Druid is not much different than Barney the dog or rocky the field stone when it comes to being blessed.\u00a0 Somehow I suspect we mean something different when we say: \u201cblessed be.\u201d\u00a0 It is an address to an independent consciousness in the world, one that is the same as the Gods and Goddesses, and different from the rocks and trees, one that makes decisions, feels, and needs our blessing. This makes the expression \u201cblessed be\u201d a complex, three-fold, blessing.\u00a0 At one level it does remind us that all existence, \u00a0all \u201cbeing,\u201d is blessed by the Goddess.\u00a0 It also is a way for us to acknowledge the special \u201cotherness\u201d of those we are addressing, acknowledging that we hold the responsibility of treating them as a subject, as an equal, and not merely an object.\u00a0 And, finally, it is an exhortation to the recipient to \u201cexist in a state of blessedness.\u201d\u00a0 It is a magical expression that tells the recipient they are not alone, but that there are others who wish them the greatest happiness and fulfillment and will (hopefully) work with them toward that goal. But wait, that last statement, that we need to do more than just state the blessing, that we need to work toward creating the effects of the, suggests that we can\u2019t just bless and go, that we need to stick around and do something more.\u00a0 \u00a0To better understand how blessings work in the world we probably need to go to their polar opposite in order to understand how Pagan blessings work in the world.\u00a0 Curses. For some reason ancient Pagan blessings are less well preserved in the archeological record than curses.\u00a0 Perhaps this was because curses were often written down on lead tablets [5] made of lead and buried.\u00a0 Or they were buried in bottles or under thresholds, which makes it a lot easier to find them.\u00a0 The curse tablets covered a lot of different topics, ranging from stolen property to legal disputes.\u00a0 What is most important is that, by appealing to the Gods and Goddesses (of the underworld), people thought they could affect the world through their magic.\u00a0 The magic of the curses empowered them in the world, either directly by intimidating the victim, or indirectly by giving them a sense of assurance that their path in the world was being overseen by another.\u00a0 They had the power to affect their own outcomes, even if it was magical. In blessing something similar is happening.\u00a0 In giving a blessing we are giving ourselves the power to affect others in the world.\u00a0 By blessing the circle through casting we are giving ourselves the power to create the sacred in the world.\u00a0 By smudging a house we are giving ourselves or the owners the power to live in a blessed state.\u00a0 And by creating the sacred, we bless the world through our own actions.\u00a0 Likewise by blessing others, even if it is a simple \u201cblessed be\u201d in ritual or in an e-mail, we are empowering ourselves through our willingness to give some of our sacred self to others, and we are empowering others by telling them that they do not walk alone, that we are giving them some of our magical energy in support of who they are.\u00a0 In the case of \u201cblessed be\u201d we are giving this to them not only with respect for their own place in the world, but we are also telling them to remember that they are and are in a place that is inherently blessed. This inherent nature of blessing in the Pagan world means that Pagan blessings are not simple.\u00a0 They are individual exchanges of intent that occur within the broader landscape of a sacred existence.\u00a0 Everything is sacred, while at the same time we create the sacred within the sacred through our actions.\u00a0 By choosing to bless we are stirring the sacred cauldron in new ways, creating new weavings of connection between the blessing and the blessed. And once these blessings are out there, we never know where they may end up or what effect they will have.\u00a0 They empower us by opening up our hearts and minds to the other.\u00a0\u00a0 They give us the confidence that we actually can create the sacred, that we can stir the cauldron of the sacred with confidence and good intent.\u00a0 At the same time our stirrings touch others and the world, and cause effects we cannot see. Thus a Pagan blessing is the magical invocation of the sacred within what is already sacred.\u00a0 It is an absurd task, absurd because it is unnecessary.\u00a0 But this inherent absurdity, that it is being done without needing to be done, that makes blessing a great gift of power.\u00a0 We are doing something for another that does not need to be done, but that connects us by transferring our good intent.\u00a0 We ask for blessings because we need that connection, we need to have the other tell us that we do not journey alone, that in our journey we are blessed by the Gods and Goddesses. As Lisa Theil says in her song \u201cInvocation of the Graces\u201d [6]: Bless me with good means Bless me with good intent Bless me with good estate Finer than I know to ask. [1]\u00a0 Do not get me confused with a Unitarian Universalist.\u00a0 While I am a member of a UU church, I\u2019m a Pagan member of the church.\u00a0 UU is what I would call a very externally focused religion, despite its small numbers and tendency toward becoming an intellectually and socially isolated enclave of NPR listeners.\u00a0 Paganism tends to be an internally focused religion, dwelling on personal empowerment and growth vice social justice or righting the wrongs of the world.\u00a0 Its not like there are no externally focused Pagans, or internally focused UUs, but in general the things that Pagans talk about are magic and meditation and connection with the Earth while UU\u2019s talk about social justice, cultural equality, and connection with the Earth.\u00a0 The question inherent in all this is how \u201cblessing\u201d works in these two environments.\u00a0 The UU focus would be on blessing ourselves and each other so that we can do great things out in the world.\u00a0 The Pagan approach would be for us to bless ourselves and the world, with little focus on exactly what we are going to do in the blessed world.\u00a0\u00a0 This dichotomy is important, in my opinion because it makes us ask how our Pagan blessings change us and the world. [2]\u00a0 Throughout this essay I\u2019m going to talk as if two people are…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"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-4931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4931","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\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4931"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4931\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4859,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4931\/revisions\/4859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}