No. Not even a little bit. There's a new subforum on Gaia specifically for the supernatural and as a part of the header, whoever designed it has lumped witches in with vampires, werewolves, ghosts, UFO's and other not-real stuff (though I personally am on the fence about UFO's and have my share of ghost stories). I found a forum moderator and sent them the following message:
Hi there,
In the header for the Supernatural Subforum in the Lifestyle Discussion forum, I noticed that witches are lumped in with UFO's, werewolves, vampires and ghosts. I was wondering if there's any way to get the word 'witches' removed, as many Pagans who are practising refer to themselves as witches and I personally find it harmful to have real people lumped in with that which is very likely not real (I'm on the fence for UFO's and ghosts). By doing so it trivializes many Gaians spirituality and practise and associates it with bad 50's horror movies. Thank you for reading and I look forward to hearing from you.
Me
More as it develops.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Thursday, January 7, 2010
RPG and the Witch class
I love to play role-play games (RPGs). Getting away from it all for a few hours a week by imaging I'm someone and somewhere else gives me a much needed break from teaspooning, school & homework, and the everyday stress of being a parent and wife. Also, I love to get together with my friends around the table, chat about our days and have some real laughs. RPGs are some of my most social time, especially now since I have a Thursday night class and wont be able to make it to Pagans Night Out for a while.
We (the group) have recently switched from Wizards of the Coast's "Dungeons and Dragons" game to Paizo's "Pathfinder." WotC created a 4th edition of D&D that was an obvious cash grab and tried to play a pencil and paper game like World of Warcraft. 4th edition is also completely not backwards compatible with the 3.5 version of our previously favorite game, so the hundreds of dollars in books on the shelves are now obsolete. We were not impressed. Paizo, on the otherhand, took what was great about 3.5 D&D and improved it, as well as took the things that were overly complicated/rules heavy or broken and fixed them. They also released a lot of their content for free online so those of us with low or fixed incomes could still play our favorite game.
New content for playtest has been recently released and includes a full 20 level progression for a Witch. I read it over and I have to say that I'm disappointed. Not only is the class not very well created mechanically, but when it comes to flavour, it reinforces a lot of the negative stereotypes created during the Inquisition, stereotypes that persist to this day that many witches and Pagans such as myself are working hard to overcome. The image of the hag stirring a cauldron and hexing those who offend her is strong within the Pathfinder class and I feel needs to be changed or eliminated altogether. However, I'm fearful of voicing how I feel on the boards over at Paizo because I'm pretty sure I'll be shouted down as hyper-sensitive. An email to the developers personally probably wont do enough either.
We (the group) have recently switched from Wizards of the Coast's "Dungeons and Dragons" game to Paizo's "Pathfinder." WotC created a 4th edition of D&D that was an obvious cash grab and tried to play a pencil and paper game like World of Warcraft. 4th edition is also completely not backwards compatible with the 3.5 version of our previously favorite game, so the hundreds of dollars in books on the shelves are now obsolete. We were not impressed. Paizo, on the otherhand, took what was great about 3.5 D&D and improved it, as well as took the things that were overly complicated/rules heavy or broken and fixed them. They also released a lot of their content for free online so those of us with low or fixed incomes could still play our favorite game.
New content for playtest has been recently released and includes a full 20 level progression for a Witch. I read it over and I have to say that I'm disappointed. Not only is the class not very well created mechanically, but when it comes to flavour, it reinforces a lot of the negative stereotypes created during the Inquisition, stereotypes that persist to this day that many witches and Pagans such as myself are working hard to overcome. The image of the hag stirring a cauldron and hexing those who offend her is strong within the Pathfinder class and I feel needs to be changed or eliminated altogether. However, I'm fearful of voicing how I feel on the boards over at Paizo because I'm pretty sure I'll be shouted down as hyper-sensitive. An email to the developers personally probably wont do enough either.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
I have Truths
and I'm ok with that. There are fundamental Truths in my life that I'm not willing to compromise on or change in anyway. Sometimes they come into conflict with mainstream society, or family, but that's ok. There are things one has to hold in one's heart despite what everyone else thinks or says because those things are what make a person.
An thing must be true to it's nature. A tiger must hunt. A dog must track. A plant must grow. To punish something for its' nature is wrong. It's only doing what it must to survive, to live a full and happy life. A person who lives true to their nature is the same. Both Nature and Nurturing have a hand in who we are and that needs to be taken into account when dealing with people.
All humans, no matter their age, need to be loved, nourished and protected. I believe strongly that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights should be a legally binding document that supercedes any and all other gov't law, no matter the level (fed, prov/state, municipal).
A simple, happy life is not something to be looked down on. One does not need a 52" flat-screen tv or a four bedroom house to be happy. One does not need three cars or fancy china or silverwear to have a meaningful life. All a person really needs is to have enough; enough food, water and adequate shelter to be comfortable and safe, and something else that gives their life meaning--job, family, hobby, whatever. By not wanting to aspire to great heights I find myself content with the valleys. I need no castle on the hill, just four sturdy walls, a full fridge and the bills paid.
Love is the greatest thing of all, and truly, all one needs is love. If one is loved, one will have everything they need because those who truly love one another would never let someone go without. Families who love each member truly and equally help each other through the bad times, supporting those who have less by those who have more. Neighbourhoods and cities who care about those who live within their boundaries are the same. Nations that care for their people are also the same. Love of self, love of each other, and love of the earth are all we need. Why is this so hard?
An thing must be true to it's nature. A tiger must hunt. A dog must track. A plant must grow. To punish something for its' nature is wrong. It's only doing what it must to survive, to live a full and happy life. A person who lives true to their nature is the same. Both Nature and Nurturing have a hand in who we are and that needs to be taken into account when dealing with people.
All humans, no matter their age, need to be loved, nourished and protected. I believe strongly that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights should be a legally binding document that supercedes any and all other gov't law, no matter the level (fed, prov/state, municipal).
A simple, happy life is not something to be looked down on. One does not need a 52" flat-screen tv or a four bedroom house to be happy. One does not need three cars or fancy china or silverwear to have a meaningful life. All a person really needs is to have enough; enough food, water and adequate shelter to be comfortable and safe, and something else that gives their life meaning--job, family, hobby, whatever. By not wanting to aspire to great heights I find myself content with the valleys. I need no castle on the hill, just four sturdy walls, a full fridge and the bills paid.
Love is the greatest thing of all, and truly, all one needs is love. If one is loved, one will have everything they need because those who truly love one another would never let someone go without. Families who love each member truly and equally help each other through the bad times, supporting those who have less by those who have more. Neighbourhoods and cities who care about those who live within their boundaries are the same. Nations that care for their people are also the same. Love of self, love of each other, and love of the earth are all we need. Why is this so hard?
Monday, November 30, 2009
Thankful, peaceful
Dear God, we give thanks for places of simplicity and peace. Let us find such a place within ourselves. We give thanks for places of refuge and beauty. Let us find such a place within ourselves. We give thanks for places of nature's truth and freedom, of joy, inspiration and renewal, places where all creatures may find acceptance and belonging. Let us search for these places: in the world, in ourselves and others. Let us restore them. Let us strengthen and protect them and let us create them.
May we mend this outer world according to the truth of our inner life and may our souls be shaped and nourished by nature's eternal wisdom. Amen.
~Michael Leunig, Australian cartoonist and Living Treasure, from the book Peace Prayers
Sometimes I just open books and say "Show me something!" and They do.
May we mend this outer world according to the truth of our inner life and may our souls be shaped and nourished by nature's eternal wisdom. Amen.
~Michael Leunig, Australian cartoonist and Living Treasure, from the book Peace Prayers
Sometimes I just open books and say "Show me something!" and They do.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
A new thought
“Over the last few weeks I have begun to confront that my life, my actual existence, is a direct result of two people wanting to have another human being to share their love with, and this has been a humbling realization.” From A Celebration of Curves, found at www.acelebrationofcurves.com
It was an odd thought, a new thought for me. Both my sister and I were planned babies; our parents waited until quite a while after they were married before my sister was born, and then another 3 years for me. My emotional relationship with my parents has been...distant. I'm not sure if I can say they've done the best they can, or maybe they have but it's still not been enough. So to think about the idea that we were were planned, we were wanted, is completely new. Have I ever felt unwanted or unloved? I don't think so, but that sense of closeness has gotten very very infrequent as we got older, their belief we should do things on our own taking over from protective and loving care. It's created a real rift, at least for me, one that is deep, filled with a knowing that I can't count on them. I would like to be able to say that there isnt' anything they wouldnt' do for me, that there isn't a mountain they wouldn't move or something they wouldn't give if I needed it, but I'm not sure if I'd be lying or not. That troubles me.
It troubles me and makes me wonder about my own ability to be a parent, and how Gabe was not planned, that he was a surprise, that our other potential child was a surprise. If and when I get pregnant again, I want it to be planned, not a surprise. I'm tired of the stick turning blue or whatever and me thinking "Oh fuck." I want the stick to turn and for me to be happy, for Ryan and Gabe to be happy too. For it to be the right time, not the worst time. To not be afraid of losing my mind, of hurting myself or my new child, to be strong enough. I'm afraid that when Gabe gets older, I might distance myself from him more than I already have, that I'll push him out the door in order to make him independant and strong, but in reality, all it will do is make him doubt.
It was an odd thought, a new thought for me. Both my sister and I were planned babies; our parents waited until quite a while after they were married before my sister was born, and then another 3 years for me. My emotional relationship with my parents has been...distant. I'm not sure if I can say they've done the best they can, or maybe they have but it's still not been enough. So to think about the idea that we were were planned, we were wanted, is completely new. Have I ever felt unwanted or unloved? I don't think so, but that sense of closeness has gotten very very infrequent as we got older, their belief we should do things on our own taking over from protective and loving care. It's created a real rift, at least for me, one that is deep, filled with a knowing that I can't count on them. I would like to be able to say that there isnt' anything they wouldnt' do for me, that there isn't a mountain they wouldn't move or something they wouldn't give if I needed it, but I'm not sure if I'd be lying or not. That troubles me.
It troubles me and makes me wonder about my own ability to be a parent, and how Gabe was not planned, that he was a surprise, that our other potential child was a surprise. If and when I get pregnant again, I want it to be planned, not a surprise. I'm tired of the stick turning blue or whatever and me thinking "Oh fuck." I want the stick to turn and for me to be happy, for Ryan and Gabe to be happy too. For it to be the right time, not the worst time. To not be afraid of losing my mind, of hurting myself or my new child, to be strong enough. I'm afraid that when Gabe gets older, I might distance myself from him more than I already have, that I'll push him out the door in order to make him independant and strong, but in reality, all it will do is make him doubt.
Friday, October 16, 2009
All Soul's Night
Hallowe'en is coming up and for the first time in a few years I'm not going to be with my group. Thankfully I have noone to mourn, not this year, and my wounds are healed enough that I don't feel the need to grieve for myself. That being said, I'm posting up the lyrics below because though I may have noone who has freshly passed over, there are those who are gone who deserve to be remembered; Grandpa, Doug, Marie, and one other without a name.
All Soul's Night by Loreena McKennitt
Bonfires dot the rolling hillsides
Figures dance around and around
To drums that pulse out echoes of darkness
Moving to the pagan sound.
Somewhere in a hidden memory
Images float before my eyes
Of fragrant nights of straw and of bonfires
Dancing 'til the next sunrise.
CHORUS:
I can see the lights in the distance
Trembling in the dark cloak of night
Candles and lanterns are dancing, dancing
A waltz on All...All Souls Night.
Figures of cornstalks bend in the shadows
Held up tall as the flames leap high
The Green Knight holds the holly bush
To mark where the Old Year passes by.
CHORUS
Bonfires dot the rolling hillsides
Figures dance around and around
To drums that pulse out echoes of darkness
Moving to the pagan sound.
Standing on the bridge that crosses
The river that runs out to the sea
The wind is full of a thousand voices
They pass by the bridge and me.
CHORUS TWICE
All Soul's Night by Loreena McKennitt
Bonfires dot the rolling hillsides
Figures dance around and around
To drums that pulse out echoes of darkness
Moving to the pagan sound.
Somewhere in a hidden memory
Images float before my eyes
Of fragrant nights of straw and of bonfires
Dancing 'til the next sunrise.
CHORUS:
I can see the lights in the distance
Trembling in the dark cloak of night
Candles and lanterns are dancing, dancing
A waltz on All...All Souls Night.
Figures of cornstalks bend in the shadows
Held up tall as the flames leap high
The Green Knight holds the holly bush
To mark where the Old Year passes by.
CHORUS
Bonfires dot the rolling hillsides
Figures dance around and around
To drums that pulse out echoes of darkness
Moving to the pagan sound.
Standing on the bridge that crosses
The river that runs out to the sea
The wind is full of a thousand voices
They pass by the bridge and me.
CHORUS TWICE
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
The Starfish Story
A little girl is on a beach during low tide. Many thousands of starfish are stranded; the tide rolled out quick, the sun is hot, the seagulls are hungry.
The little girl is picking up starfish and tossing them back in the water one by one. A little boy comes up, "It doesn't make a diffrence," he says "You can't save them all."
She picks up another, tosses it back into the ocean and says "Made a difference to that one."
As told to me by my friend Nathan.
I can't save all the starfish, and I can't stop the tide from tossing them all over, but I can help some of them, and I will.
The little girl is picking up starfish and tossing them back in the water one by one. A little boy comes up, "It doesn't make a diffrence," he says "You can't save them all."
She picks up another, tosses it back into the ocean and says "Made a difference to that one."
As told to me by my friend Nathan.
I can't save all the starfish, and I can't stop the tide from tossing them all over, but I can help some of them, and I will.
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