Qabal-tastic!!!

Well, we had another great Roundtable with the Fellowship, studying the "Chicken Qabalah" (which I highly recommend). I absolutely adore this book - it dives into the Qabalah with the reverent yet carefree curiosity and joy of the Fool.

We had a lot of great insights tonight, and I found myself sharing something that I didn't even know I truly felt. We were discussing the Star trump in the Tarot deck, which is Tzaddi, the 28th path. This is the path between the Sephiroth Netzach (Victory) and Yesod (Foundation). It relates to words like hunt, capture, and adversary.

I'll be honest - I'm not terribly good with Tarot. I'm trying to learn, and honestly the Qabalah has taught me more in a month and a half than I have picked up in years of ardent (well, relatively ardent...okay, sort of ardent) study. But looking at Tzaddi in relation to the Star trump really brought up this fountain of understanding I didn't even know I had.

In the Rider-Waite tarot deck, The Star is the image of a young woman kneeling, half on land and half in a pond. She is pouring out two vessels of water, one into the water and one onto the earth. I have seen other decks where she is a white-skinned huntress, with a quiver strung across her back. She is leaping across a stream, with one foot on each side. To me, this card represents the singular and independent strength of femininity - she needs no sun to light her, and no other celestial influences cross her path. She hunts alone, and is terrible and beautiful in her solitude. Her strength is built on a foundation of the most primal intuition, the rawest form of a woman's sense.

Though she embodies the powers of woman, she is not a nurturing character. Nor is she actively cruel - she represents an independence that is awesome and lonely, the pinnacle of feminine power. But she is lesser than her other feminine counterparts, because no part of the universe can exist apart from all the other parts - her solitude, to me, is her only weakness, but also her greatest strength.

So much for neutral ground...

An article on CNN today shared that South Africa just refused a visa to the Dalai Lama, a visa that was requested to facilitate his attendance at an international peace conference in Johannesburg.

The archbishop Demond Tutu and F. W. DeKlerk are now boycotting the event, and I encourage all other leaders attending the conference to do the same.

Productive peace discussions can only take place on neutral ground, and South Africa has blatantly demonstrated that they do not intend to provide such a field for discussions. By bowing to China, (with whom they have profitable trade negotiations), and disallowing this visit by a nobel laureate, they hearken back to the days of Nelson Mandela's imprisonment.

They thinly veiled their refusal by saying it would take away from their hosting of the 2010 World Cup (HUH?!?) in a ridiculous attempt to save face.

I am ashamed of South Africa's actions, and hope that others see this ridiculous power-play for what it is.

Interesting WitchVox discussion

There's a fascinating discussion currently playing out on one of the Witchvox boards, relating to this article written by Kathryn Joyce comparing the "Extreme Motherhood" of Nadya Suleman and the 18+ Duggar Family. There are a lot of great comments and input from the community there - check it out and chip in your two cents.

Here was my response to the article, and the comments preceding mine...

ArachneDefiant (Whippany, New Jersey)

First of all, it is so awesome to be a part of such an active and idea-prolific pagan community. It's great to see so many people free to voice their opinions.

That said - here here to Snow Phoenix and the others who are holding back from wholesale ideology-bashing. I completely understand where a lot of you are coming from, but I think we need to take a quick step back in regards to how we view cases like the Suleman's vs. the Duggars.

I do not agree with Quiverfull's tenets, and find some of them to be a little out there. The same can be said of Mormonism, or basically any other religious tradition of which I am not a part. However, I don't think it makes sense to say that just because I'm not floating with their tide, doesn't mean that they aren't happy.

Cults like the FLDS take clear and blatant advantage of the women and children in their care - isolationism is frighteningly pervasive, and their marriage practices are proven to force young women and girls into the marriage bed.

However, if a Mormon woman (not FLDS, mind you, but normal Mormon) , is happy and fulfilled and content with the life she leads, who on earth am I to tell her that she's wrong? I would be perfectly happy to carry on a discourse regarding her religious choices versus mine, but it's up to her and only her to decide what makes her happy.

If she's a healthy, intellectually sound woman who is a happy camper staying at home with the kiddlies and doing her husband's bidding, then who on earth am I to say different? She could just as easily cry out in horror at my lifestyle, at my concept of god (or gods :-D) , and my choices regarding childrearing.

Let's take a moment to compare the Suleman mother and the Duggar family. Nadya Suleman is a woman who has made a series of decisions that are bad for herself and her family, and not simply because we don't ideologically agree. She can't feed the children she has, takes our tax dollars to take care of kids who don't seem to be getting the attention they need anyway, and still seems to find time (and money) to have beautifully manicured nails and professionally styled hair.

On the other hand, we have the Duggars. Who, most definitely, are a little out there in their beliefs. However, their kids are well fed, relatively well adjusted, and seem to be a lot more capable of taking on responsibilities than some of the 2 or 3 kid families I run into regularly.

Honestly, I have watched the Duggar's programs and have seen, in particular, Mrs. Duggar during interviews. She absolutely glows. She smiles, she looks lovingly to her husband and children, and holds herself proudly.

I see no signs in her that would indicate abuse, brainwashing, or any other forms of degradation. I would hope that her children, daughters in particular, would be free to choose the lifestyle they want for themselves. Not all of them will probably grow up to be like their mother. But some of them probably will.

And you know what? If they are happy, more power to them. There are lots of people who oppose gay marriage who use a lot of the same arguments I see on this board today - "how could they think this is right", "obviously they are fundamentally out of their minds", etc. etc.

If you're happy and you're not hurting anyone, have as many babies as you want. If you have the means and the desire to be home with your 18 youngins, go for it. Who am I to say otherwise?

Gardening - Getting Out There!

I absolutely love gardening. Right now, I'm actually recovering from a rather nasty illness, so fantasizing about spending time outdoors is a great way to pass the time in bed. And the great authors over at 2 Witches actually put up this post today specifically about the value of gardening!

With Ostara looming right around the corner (how did it get to be the middle of March?!?), it's the perfect time to start planning out how to work with the earth to create a beautiful outdoor sacred space, that can nourish our bodies with fruits and vegetables, nourish our spirits with good ol' fashioned outdoor work, and nourish our spirituality by connecting us with the Goddess.

I'm looking forward to planning out my garden this year - I want some morning glories and other climbing plants to adorn the otherwise blank exterior of my apartment. I'd also like to put down some marigolds and other 'sunny' plants to celebrate the beauty of the sun. And of course, I'm putting in some herbs and veggies to keep my tummy happy.

More to come - but for now, it's a fun fantasy. Indulge yourself in some pre-planting imaginations!

Handfasting

On Witchvox today there's a great article about handfasting (courtesty of author Zan Fraser), which covers this rather ancient rite from an Elizabethan perspective. As I usually equate handfasting with that wonderful scene from Braveheart (Mel Gibson, Huzzah!), it was interesting to consider it from the more rigid and (dare I say) 'civilized' Elizabethan version.

I would like to incorporate some version of handfasting in the ceremony my fiance and I have next May, but I want to keep it low key. This is not only because I don't want to upset any of the narrower minds on our guest list (no offense meant, it's just a reality of their condition). I also don't want the ceremony to be too much of anything. I want those who are watching to be able to see themselves and their partners, either was they were or as they hope to be, in our faces.

Sharing such a special moment with everyone's collective subconscious would be pretty nifty.

Just sayin'.

In any case, it's a great article and I recommend it.

Wonderful Transition

A friend of mine, Maggi, posted on her blog recently about the pain and joy of transition and change. This past year has been a time of enormous change for me - a lot of letting go and a lot of treading new paths. Last December I moved to New Jersey from PA to take a job (which I adore). Moving away from my family and then-boyfriend (now fiance!) was (and is) one of the hardest things I had to do.

However, my move gave me the chance to grow and evolve as a person that I never could have done without such an enormous catalyst. I'm learning to truly express my pagan spirituality, to rely on myself to get things done in every context, and to deal with life one on one.

I have an amazing partner in this life, and the wonderful support of my family. I am so lucky to be where I am today, especially when I have begun to discover myself and truly explore my individuality.

Blessed be, and thanks be for all the wonder of my life.