{"id":506,"date":"2008-11-01T00:01:15","date_gmt":"2008-11-01T04:01:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=476"},"modified":"2008-10-25T15:56:43","modified_gmt":"2008-10-25T19:56:43","slug":"new-to-the-craft-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2008\/11\/01\/new-to-the-craft-2\/","title":{"rendered":"New To The Craft"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Green Religion <\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the main aspects that drew me to learning about Wicca is that is an earth-based spiritual practice.\u00a0 Honor and respect for our planet is now more important than ever as we hurtle ever faster towards a worldwide environmental crisis.\u00a0 Though of course it is not impossible to both care for the environment and follow a traditional Western religion or other path, earth-based practices differ in that they shift the focus of what constitutes the sacred.\u00a0 Wicca does not view the earth as a mere residence or a set of resources.\u00a0 To many she is the very Goddess herself: Gaia.\u00a0 Her green limbs extend upward to mingle with the light of the God as sun.\u00a0 Together their forces combine to produce and support all forms of life as we know them.\u00a0 Within the kingdoms of life are the plants and animals.\u00a0 As Starhawk details beautifully in her book The Earth Path, \u201cthe green things give off oxygen, which the breathers use in burning food. Gaia [begins] to breathe, passing her breath back and forth from red to green\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 In the interdependent dance of our planet Wiccans see the revealing of the divine.<\/p>\n

This alignment of the sacred with nature has a number of repercussions for our place in the world.\u00a0 When you see the environment as sacred it becomes impossible to rationalize earth-destructive behaviors.\u00a0 The question changes from \u201cwhy should I recycle?\u201d to \u201cwhy wouldn\u2019t I recycle?\u201d\u00a0 It also relieves the feeling of alienation that comes from seeing the world around us as a collection of inanimate objects.\u00a0 We suddenly realize that the earth speaks to us constantly if we have the ears to listen.\u00a0 We do not have to be separate; our very bodies cry to us that we are as much a part of nature as the trees and the birds.\u00a0 The illusion that we are somehow separate or above our physical being is part of the teachings of mainstream Western religion and Platonic philosophy.\u00a0 Wicca instead embraces the idea that mind, body and soul are united, and as such our spiritual self is no higher than our physical self.\u00a0 Physicality is celebrated and sex held as sacred.\u00a0 It ends the war between our rational minds and our sometimes irrational bodies that can refuse to conform to our wills.\u00a0 Following the lessons of the elements health is achieved through balance, without stigma for allowing our natural needs their place.<\/p>\n

Tied into this sacredness of the earth is a core idea that distinguishes Wicca from many other paths: immanence.\u00a0 Many of us grew up with the idea that God is a being above common existence and separate from it.\u00a0 This is the definition of a transcendent deity.\u00a0 At first this makes sense since we usually distinguish between things we hold sacred versus the common everyday.\u00a0 Yet immanence does not conflict with what is sacred, it implies that what is here and present in the physical world is the sacred.\u00a0 This is radically different from more traditional conceptions of what God may be.\u00a0 This re-thinking of the world around us allows us to care about and show reverence towards our planet and all forms of life.\u00a0 We are never alone; rather we are a part of a world much larger than ourselves, where we play out our lives and affect all of those around us as cells in a greater organism.\u00a0 Earth-centered paths allow us to embrace what makes us part of this world, and hold that world up as something worthy of our devotion.<\/p>\n

Journal for the Month of October: <\/strong><\/p>\n

When I sat down to write an article on nature the first thing that struck me was the realization that I hardly ever get outside.\u00a0 I mean yes I go outside to get into my car to drive to work in the morning.\u00a0 I\u2019m outside on the walk in to the building.\u00a0 I reverse that at the end of the day, and you know what?\u00a0 I am sad to say that is pretty much it!\u00a0 I have a nice view of local trees from my office window, but stale recycled air is no competition for a fresh breeze.\u00a0 I realized I hardly even open my car windows when I\u2019m driving.\u00a0 It\u2019s like living in a strange, artificial world with glimpses of a beautiful, green natural landscape on the other side.<\/p>\n

So in keeping with the theme of the environment, I took the opportunity to go on a guided nature walk at a local park.\u00a0 It was a lot of fun and I highly recommend tours by Wild Man Steve Brill<\/a> (for those in the North East U.S.).\u00a0 He teaches basic foraging skills and knowledge of local plants and their uses.\u00a0 Being outside for a lengthy period of time for the first time in years I was ecstatic.\u00a0 I was also pooped by the end of it.\u00a0 Yet I would do it again in a heartbeat, and I relish the time I spent re-learning to enjoy being in nature.\u00a0 Eating raspberries fresh off the stem, and finding that wood sorrel tastes like lemonade\u2026\u00a0 Not to mention learning to distinguish one green plant from another, or enjoying lunch in a field under a clear blue sky\u2026\u00a0 Such simple pleasures really, but ones that if we only took the time we could enjoy freely.<\/p>\n

Caring about the planet and the environment is an important first step, but it is also important to re-engage with the natural world many of us left behind in childhood.\u00a0 To truly value and fight for something it helps to know it in more than an intellectual way.\u00a0 This month taught me to remember to get myself back outside when I can, and connect with the God and Goddess in the natural world.<\/p>\n

Until next month, blessed be! )O(<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Green Religion One of the main aspects that drew me to learning about Wicca is that is an earth-based spiritual practice.\u00a0 Honor and respect for our planet is now more important than ever as we hurtle ever faster towards a worldwide environmental crisis.\u00a0 Though of course it is not impossible to both care for the environment and follow a traditional Western religion or other path, earth-based practices differ in that they shift the focus of what constitutes the sacred.\u00a0 Wicca does not view the earth as a mere residence or a set of resources.\u00a0 To many she is the very Goddess herself: Gaia.\u00a0 Her green limbs extend upward to mingle with the light of the God as sun.\u00a0 Together their forces combine to produce and support all forms of life as we know them.\u00a0 Within the kingdoms of life are the plants and animals.\u00a0 As Starhawk details beautifully in her book The Earth Path, \u201cthe green things give off oxygen, which the breathers use in burning food. Gaia [begins] to breathe, passing her breath back and forth from red to green\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 In the interdependent dance of our planet Wiccans see the revealing of the divine. This alignment of the sacred with nature has a number of repercussions for our place in the world.\u00a0 When you see the environment as sacred it becomes impossible to rationalize earth-destructive behaviors.\u00a0 The question changes from \u201cwhy should I recycle?\u201d to \u201cwhy wouldn\u2019t I recycle?\u201d\u00a0 It also relieves the feeling of alienation that comes from seeing the world around us as a collection of inanimate objects.\u00a0 We suddenly realize that the earth speaks to us constantly if we have the ears to listen.\u00a0 We do not have to be separate; our very bodies cry to us that we are as much a part of nature as the trees and the birds.\u00a0 The illusion that we are somehow separate or above our physical being is part of the teachings of mainstream Western religion and Platonic philosophy.\u00a0 Wicca instead embraces the idea that mind, body and soul are united, and as such our spiritual self is no higher than our physical self.\u00a0 Physicality is celebrated and sex held as sacred.\u00a0 It ends the war between our rational minds and our sometimes irrational bodies that can refuse to conform to our wills.\u00a0 Following the lessons of the elements health is achieved through balance, without stigma for allowing our natural needs their place. Tied into this sacredness of the earth is a core idea that distinguishes Wicca from many other paths: immanence.\u00a0 Many of us grew up with the idea that God is a being above common existence and separate from it.\u00a0 This is the definition of a transcendent deity.\u00a0 At first this makes sense since we usually distinguish between things we hold sacred versus the common everyday.\u00a0 Yet immanence does not conflict with what is sacred, it implies that what is here and present in the physical world is the sacred.\u00a0 This is radically different from more traditional conceptions of what God may be.\u00a0 This re-thinking of the world around us allows us to care about and show reverence towards our planet and all forms of life.\u00a0 We are never alone; rather we are a part of a world much larger than ourselves, where we play out our lives and affect all of those around us as cells in a greater organism.\u00a0 Earth-centered paths allow us to embrace what makes us part of this world, and hold that world up as something worthy of our devotion. Journal for the Month of October: When I sat down to write an article on nature the first thing that struck me was the realization that I hardly ever get outside.\u00a0 I mean yes I go outside to get into my car to drive to work in the morning.\u00a0 I\u2019m outside on the walk in to the building.\u00a0 I reverse that at the end of the day, and you know what?\u00a0 I am sad to say that is pretty much it!\u00a0 I have a nice view of local trees from my office window, but stale recycled air is no competition for a fresh breeze.\u00a0 I realized I hardly even open my car windows when I\u2019m driving.\u00a0 It\u2019s like living in a strange, artificial world with glimpses of a beautiful, green natural landscape on the other side. So in keeping with the theme of the environment, I took the opportunity to go on a guided nature walk at a local park.\u00a0 It was a lot of fun and I highly recommend tours by Wild Man Steve Brill (for those in the North East U.S.).\u00a0 He teaches basic foraging skills and knowledge of local plants and their uses.\u00a0 Being outside for a lengthy period of time for the first time in years I was ecstatic.\u00a0 I was also pooped by the end of it.\u00a0 Yet I would do it again in a heartbeat, and I relish the time I spent re-learning to enjoy being in nature.\u00a0 Eating raspberries fresh off the stem, and finding that wood sorrel tastes like lemonade\u2026\u00a0 Not to mention learning to distinguish one green plant from another, or enjoying lunch in a field under a clear blue sky\u2026\u00a0 Such simple pleasures really, but ones that if we only took the time we could enjoy freely. Caring about the planet and the environment is an important first step, but it is also important to re-engage with the natural world many of us left behind in childhood.\u00a0 To truly value and fight for something it helps to know it in more than an intellectual way.\u00a0 This month taught me to remember to get myself back outside when I can, and connect with the God and Goddess in the natural world. Until next month, blessed be! )O(<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"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-506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506","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\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=506"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}