Path of the Pagan Warrior

Faith without deeds is dead

2012-01-09T19:00:00.000-08:00

I’ve taken a break from blog writing to get my academic life sorted out. Last year I returned to University (because apparently a PhD in chemistry does NOT guarantee one a job), sometimes you have to prioritize.

Anyhow during my time “away from bloging” (does Facebook count?) I observed several people claiming to be “warriors” not living up to the title. As the title of this post (a line from a New Zealand singer song writers song).

The lines that got me thinking for this entry was

now that I have seen, I am responsible

Faith without deeds is dead

It is strange that a song by a Pentecostal Christian artist should elicit this response in an openly Neopagan curmudgeon like myself, but it did. I’ve long noticed a deep theme of non-responsibility in the neopagan subculture. The word duty (much like the warrior) often elicits a negative response. Our ancestors certainly understood the terms, yet today many people shy from these concepts. I have heard explanations such as “individuality” and “creativity” thrown about. Which is fair, except for a warrior, responsibility is indeed paramount , you take an action, knowing it most likely has consequences, an you are willing to accept those, because you feel you know the “right action”.

As the lines say:

now that I have seen, I am responsible

Faith without deeds is dead

So yes this means your personal life, your professional life, all of your life. To not accept this responsibility means you cannot be a warrior. Being a warrior is not a hobby, just as a surgeon, lawyer, or soldier is also no place for amateurs. You must strive to be excellent, and balanced. With power comes responsibility, and abuse of power is the path of the thug, despot, and criminal (none of which is a warrior).

Slan

Gareth

Problem? Yes indeed!

2011-04-26T19:58:00.000-07:00

It’s around fifty years (give or take a few depending on which stories you believe) since neo-paganism was born from the mind of Uncle Gerry. In times past that would make us an infant religion, yet neo-paganism has been fortunate to have been born just in time to catch the waves of globalization and more importantly the World Wide Web, and social media. Where a spiritual movements would have had to rely on the spreading of ideas as people migrated (even on a “missionary” quest that takes a lot of time!), now someone can share a YouTube video, or create a mashup, and you might get the attention of a few dozen, to a few thousand people!

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So it’s not surprising that in this intensely fluid environment, that a lot of “antagonism” can be built between people who may never meet. One of the “best (read worst) places to see this is Usenet where flame wars and trolls abound. What has also come from these situations are internet personalities who seem to think that they are the worlds experts on any subject under creation. Paganism is not short of these people, and what you will find with these people is that they will associate themselves with more legitimate personalities especially when they pass on.

Recently I saw a rash of borderline real personalities, and many internet personalities attaching themselves to the passing of Isaac Bonewits. While this is not uncommon with anyone “famous” who passes (and probably has not been a new trick for millennia), it is still in bad taste, especially with comments of “he was my student” and “we were great friends”. This behavior is usually to make the “personality” in question seem more authentic or to have more authority over anyone who questions them. Again these are not new tricks. However unlike in many other situations neo-paganism has the option of those in the role of the Warrior stepping in. I was fortunate to have talked to Isaac over one such claimant before he died, and he had replied that he was never a student of the person claiming it, also he barely knew the man. I had his permission to post his reply anytime it came up from this person, and I’ve done just that. This of course has made me no friends with the claimant, but to be honest I’m not out to make friends when I stand up to these sort of people, I’m there to preserve truth and the name of the person being victimized.

Isaac Bonewits reply

This is part of the role of the warrior: To do the unpopular job that no one else is willing to do, but do it for the betterment of the members of the tribe.

Slan agat

Gareth

Eating Bitterness

2011-03-12T12:42:00.000-08:00

The Shaolin monks have an expression they use to admonish students who become discouraged after encountering difficulties and obstacles in their path: Eat bitterness. I really like this analogy: You take that obstacle or problem, chew on it, extract the lessons, the value from it, process it, and then leave it behind you as waste that can become fertilizer for future projects for both yourself and others on your path. The knights of my Order of Scáthach dump the fears that they've overcome in a place outside our group astral temple in a place we call the "Perilous Glen": These become symbols of their achievement, examples to those that follow on behind them on this path of what can be overcome and reminders to them (should they need it) of obstacles to avoid in future. Obstacles become stepping stones to achievement and then symbols of their triumph.

Obstacles and reversals are a part of everyday living. There are some variables in life over which nobody has any control, like the earthquake and tsunami which just happened in Japan. Modern knights, however, place themselves fully in charge of those things in their lives that they do have control over. Doing this offsets the effect of life’s variables. We have control over many of the things that go wrong in our lives. It is amazing how many people out there fail to take advantage of this ability to control their fate. They sit back and pray for someone to help them instead of looking within for the means to help themselves. So ask yourself this: What can I do today to change my world? You are the only person who can change the situation that you find yourself in.

Modern knights are shape shifters, making adjustments to handle the situations that they find themselves in. You shape your life and behavior to sway life’s circumstances to your advantage. Modern knights own up to their mistakes and their shortcomings and do something about them. The Wiccan Rede tells us “harm none”, and that includes ourselves. If you want to master your situation, you need to master yourself first. You are not at the mercy of the elements and fate unless you chose to be. Chose power and you won’t have these problems.

And if you come up against an obstacle in your path? Simple. Eat bitterness.

In Her Service, Kerr Cuhulain

Order of Scáthach web site: http://www.dunscathach.com/

Kerr Cuhulain’s blog: http://kerrcuhulain.blogspot.com/

Kerr’s latest Smashwords book: Modern Knighthood: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/34975

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Wait did the earth just move?

2011-02-22T18:00:00.001-08:00

A short time after I wrote my last blog, a disaster hit New Zealand, and reminded me of a topic that should be near and dear to anyone who aspires to the role of a warrior.

Disaster preparedness, I am not talking about being a survivalist, I am talking about planning sensibly for an event which qualifies as a disaster. It could be an earthquake as that which occurred in Christchurch New Zealand, it could be tornadoes, a hurricane or cyclone, floods, or mass civil unrest. Whatever it is, being caught totally unprepared is a rather unfortunate thing.

A warrior should learn what likely issues can occur in the place they live. So let’s go through mine.

When I lived in Milwaukee WI, I had to be prepared for snow blizzards in winter, and tornadoes in Summer. To that end, I made sure at work I had a good jacket as well as one at home, as well as the ability to get home if motor transport was out (i.e. good weather proof footwear, and thermal undergarments to add if it gets bitterly cold), at home I made sure of a decent food supply that would not rely on power (cans, opener, MRE etc). In summer I knew to keep an eye on the weather and bug out to the evacuation point at work, or to the basement of my apartment.

Now I live in New Zealand and there are some other concerns. Thankfully I was raised here. Here earthquakes are a fact. We are on the fire ring of the Pacific, and while my home town of Dunedin is less prone to them, they still happen. Complacency is also not an excuse. Christchurch suffered its first ever earthquake September 4^th 2010. It was on an unknown fault. Yesterday a more shallow, weaker (6.3) earth quake has done much more damage, and caused fatalities (rising as I type).

So learn how to respond to an event like this. Keep supplies, extra first aid, get a first aid certification (Red Cross is standard), oh and if you possibly can, become trained in Urban and rural search and rescue. Serve your community, even if it is just checking on neighbors, or stopping tempers fraying, but serve them. Again I say, the warrior is there to serve!

You shall know the measure of a person….

2011-02-20T13:18:00.000-08:00

Warrior spirituality as I’ve often mentioned here, does indeed make many pagans a little “uneasy”, not in the least there is an implied if not explicit martial aspect. It is a common misconception in many circles that anyone who walks the path of the “warrior” is a hoplophile. A small percentage of those who ascribe to the warrior path of spirituality do indeed fit the hoplophile profile, they worship exclusively at the altar of the cult of the firearm or they must always be armed, and let the world know. This image is sadly a misrepresentation of the warrior.

One of these is a Warrior, the other two are playing dress-up. Can you guess which is which?

Warrior spirituality is not so much about the battles in the world around us, but more about the battles within us. When a battle is external, we still fight those internal battles; we strive to conquer our fears, our weaknesses, and our failings. We strive to seek balance. How we achieve this takes many forms, for some (myself included) it’s martial arts and exercise. For others it is inward seeking, and meditative. However, no matter the form it takes, it is not the form that matters so much as the battle waged with ourselves. We win some, we lose some, but we fought the battle, and that is what matters in the end!

So why do some people seem to feel weapons make the warrior?

Some who follow the warrior path mistake the tool for the spirit. In times long past, the right to carry a sword was earned and was a symbol of the warrior. It was a sign of office, as sign of responsibility, and a sign of duty. Not a sign of right.
Just as you will see many neo-pagans with a large amount of esoteric symbolism in jewelry, you will see some warrior focused pagans, who decide to carry a weapon as a symbol of their path.
I will be blunt about this; the person carrying a weapon is a poser. They like the look, they like the feel of people being shocked at the large stainless steel wall hanger (i.e. piece of junk) sword they carry, or the gun they always have to point out.

Over the years I’ve seen a few individuals who have missed the point of Warrior spirituality totally. These have ranged from late teens who fall into category 3 above. I’ve also had the misfortune of knowing one “gentleman” who decided that anyone who wished to disagree with his views on the subject, was an enemy, and to be threatened.

It returns to the point of what I feel a warrior is: Someone who forges themselves into a weapon and who struggles within themselves to seek balance of body, mind and spirit.

Edit: I am clarifying a point here:

I am not saying a warrior should not be or never is armed. I'm almost always armed on some level, however for me it is always to the level the law lets me be so armed. In Milwaukee WI I carried a small folding knife to the size allowed by law, however I never obtained a gun, because WI is a non Conceal Carry state, owning a hand gun was pointless. Here in New Zealand, one may never carry a gun for self defense. I am planning on obtaining a gun licence, and a fire arm (with a gun locker), however that is not a self defense item.

What this post has been about is those who feel to be a warrior they MUST have a weapon visible or they need to announce they carry one. Sorry that is not a warrior, it is indeed a poser. The warrior is the weapon not the tool. Like they say "guns don't kill people, people do", I say "Swords don't make the warrior, disciplined training does".

The Rebel vs the Warrior

2011-01-24T07:56:00.000-08:00

Rebellion is often a useful instrument of change, as we've just seen in the recent citizen's uprising in Tunisia. Yet simply rebelling and doing the opposite of whatever friends, family or society seems to want for you is not the Warrior's way. That isn't rebelling for change, that's rebelling to avoid change. the Warrior is not just a rebel. The Warrior tempers his actions with the responsibility implied by the first half of the Wiccan Rede. Rebels raise and use energy only for themselves. To accept freedom without responsibility is to turn hedonism into religion. The rebel is the shadow side of the Warrior.

The malcontent has no boundaries. Malcontents identify others as the source of their problems, rather than taking responsibility for the changes needed in their lives. Blaming others is simply making excuses for what you don't like about yourself. Indian doctor and author Deepak Chopra tells us that "When you blame and criticize others, you are avoiding some truth." Nobel Prize winning writer Herman Hesse tells us that "If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself."

Malcontents don't take responsibility for their lives. You can't sit back and hope to turn into what you want to be. You can't sit back and hope that life turns out the way that you want it to. You must forge your reality. As author Hanns-Oskar Porr once said: "Don't just find yourself. Make yourself." If you don't see yourself as being the way that you would like to be, no one else will either. Remember the old African adage: "Nobody will think you're somebody if you don't think so yourself."

I have encountered people who profess to be Wiccan who seem to interpret the Wiccan Rede to mean: "Do whatever feels good". Perhaps they are thinking of Crowley's "Do as thou wilt"? I run into Pagans now and again who bully their way through the community using that excuse. Hedonism is an attitude that Pagans cannot afford to indulge in. You cannot be so self centered and claim that you follow the Rede. You cannot embrace freedom without any consideration for how your actions will affect others. You must accept responsibility for yourself.

Using the right for individual expression as an excuse for behaviour that is harmful to others is reprehensible. It is a direct violation of the Wiccan Rede. Our Pagan community has fought long and hard for society to take us seriously, and such irresponsible behaviour threatens that sought after respect.

If you want respect, you have to give respect. If you're upset about how people think of you, the first thing to do is to look at yourself. Playwright George Bernard Shaw once said that "Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it." A Warrior must be impeccable. To earn respect you must make yourself respectable.

I'm not saying that you should conform to other people's ideas of who you are or what you should be. The other half of the Rede tells us to be all that we can be, to go out there and be glorious. That is what "do what thou wilt" means. As we say in the Order of Scathach, who dares, wins, and what you must dare is to be yourself. American poet and lecturer Ralph Waldo Emerson tells us: "Insist on yourself. Never imitate." Remember the old adage: "Be yourself. An original is always worth more than a copy."

In Her Service, Kerr Cuhulain

Order of Scathach web site: http://www.dunscathach.com/

Kerr Cuhulain's blog: http://kerrcuhulain.blogspot.com/

Kerr's Latest Smashwords book, Modern Knighthood: https://smashwords.com/books/view/34975

Check out Kerr's daily affirmations:

http://twitter.com/#!/warriorwitch

http://facebook.com/home.php#!/kerr.cuhulain

"I don’t follow the norms of society. " So what do we do?

2010-10-11T15:28:00.000-07:00

I don’t know about the rest of you, but for me this is a red flag for concern when I hear it from someone, when they are explaining their behaviors. While it could be said, being a Neopagan is of it’s self shucking the conventions of society, that is both debatable, and minor. Often one hears this sort of comment when something that is highly questionable occurs. It can be from those who decide that they want to “Turn on, tune in, drop out” and honestly that is probably also a minor concern. What people decide to do to their own perceptions, in their own time, is their own business. However if they decide to do it at a public venue, while loudly claiming it is their “pagan right”… then it is something to be concerned about! Pagans have fought tooth and nail to become somewhat accepted by society, and someone deciding they are going to flaunt a law they (and perhaps no one else) dislikes, is both discourteous to the pagan community, and willfully ignorant (of the consequences).

However there are even more dangerous conventions some will flaunt. Sadly one of the most common “conventions” that certain memebers of out community decide they wish to not follow, is the age of consent. I am not one hundred percent sure why males (and it’s almost always males) decide it’s ok to take on female students and then proceed to bed them? I’ve seen the arguments that there is “nothing wrong with sexuality” or “it’s an ancient tradition”. Lets look at both of these.

Indeed there is nothing wrong with “Sexuality” however in the role of teacher, it is our moral obligation to keep ourselves distant from certain aspects of our students. Taking a student on, just because we want to sleep with them, is disingenuous to the student, and ourselves. Also if age is a concern (ie you are breaking the local age of consent laws), you are endangering the entire community, by not keeping it zipped.

Ancient traditions that are no longer observed like this are usually no longer observed for a reason. Indeed other ancient traditions include, cattle raiding your neighbors, single combat to find the truth, and the cutting off of the heads of ones enemies, preserving them in oil, and a keeping them in a cedar box, to bring out to entertain important guests. I sometimes wonder how the people who flaunt sensible laws, under the guise would feel about the reintroduction of some of those other ancient traditions?

Thus the warrior needs to be aware of both the rules of the greater society that we live in, as well as the wishes of the community they serve. If the two are opposed, they need to remind the community of the consequences of actions. While that ides not stop the Warrior from acting for the community it does at least remind the community of a potential outcome of actions. In the end the warrior can always beg out of an action, based upon their own moral compass.

2010-10-07T18:33:00.000-07:00

It’s my right to attack your path

How often do we see this? I’m not talking about asking questions about “why do you do it that way” or “I’d never ever do that”. Those are discussions of Orthopraxy.

No what I am talking about is the very common phenomena of “You are so wrong on that it’s not funny, but don’t worry I will harass you till I get you to recant your evil ways”.

Neopaganism has a nice fallacy that “If my personal code says it’s ok to do this, every one has to agree”. I call it a fallacy, as it holds as long as it does not impact another person. So it holds, up until the point that someone begins to affect someone else. If I were a Wiccan (which I am not) I would talk to the rede with “If it harms done, do as you will”. The point where it harms someone, you just violated that guideline. My own personal path would be the rules of hospitality. One should be a gracious host, and a good guest. When one stops being that, it’s time to go home, and not be at the adults table anymore.

So what sort of behaviors does this entail. Many of us will have seen, heard, or read about rituals that degenerate into nasty arguments over “you are banishing the elements wrong!” Discussions like this should be reserved for after the ritual, yet some one will take it upon themselves to be the Pagan equivalent of a barracks room lawyer.

Recently I was posting on a board, and got accosted by a previous acquaintance . I had been posting that if I was running a ritual, and attached the name ADF to the ritual I would have to be using the COoR, it’s part of the deal with being part of ADF, you use COoR in public rituals if you call it an ADF ritual, end of story.

What proceeded after this was a nasty case of toy throwing, and bad boorish behavior. The poster proceeded to say all organized groups were evil, and that the tribal nature of them meant that outsiders were singled out for abuse. He then degenerated to posting private posts from my Facebook, out of context. Which is technically a crime in New Zealand (viz the Privacy of Information act, this is a boarder line incident, hence I use the term “technically”).

His excuse for this behavior, it is his “great work” to fight against organized pagan groups.

That is nice. If he had been doing it in a constructive manner, he might have made his point, but swearing, insulting, threatening, and posting private information, is basically the equivalent of a small dog on the end of a leash yapping, spinning, and snarling. No one really takes them seriously, and you apply the rubber stamp “wanker” to them.

The point on this is the moment he decided, that “Because Gareth is in an Oragnized group he is a target”, he broke the rule of hospitality. A Warrior can choose not to respond to threats, but he should never turn his back on them. That is blatant stupidity. To politely challenge them is a good first step. Sadly in this case (as of this typing) he’s gone on to attack others who have told him to chill out.

So a warrior gets to “protect” their territory. That is vitally important. It comes back to the concept of the Ape Dance. Young male Apes will gather as a group, and get into the face of those they perceive as “weaker” or “in a precarious” position. The bet response is to act bored, and stare them down. It short circuits their “logic” circuits. Indeed a firm, and definite, but non agitated response, will totally shut them down. I’ve seen bouncers and cops, calmly apply a restraint technique, while talking to colleagues, and the person who required it, is wondering what just hit them.

Now there are some caveats here. Many of these arguments occur online, and with out subtle hints body language and facial expression give humans.

Respect is given not earned.

2010-09-01T22:17:00.001-07:00

Our ancestors generally had a prohibition against waring againt themselves. It was considered a highly undesirable pastime. It’s why Druids could theoretically walk between waring armies and call a halt to the battle. Our ancestors respected authority. Indeed our ancestors were big on respect. Insults were saved for ones foes, and those in need of a good reminded of what a culture found virtuous.

Yet today, respect seems to be a thing seldom found. We’ve cheapened lives, communication once crafted carefully and following a set of rules, is now “instant”. Where we once walked to the boarder of our lands, and talked to the other tribes, and would agree not to steal each others cattle too often, let alone go to war. Now we jump online, and type off a missive, which may or may not have meant what we meant it to say. Today we are “literate” yet we are not. People don’t take the time to check the meaning of a word, or to read another’s email. It’s about who shouts loudest.

So where does this put a Warrior? In the past (even well into Christian times) Warriors went about armed. To carelessly throw words about, was inviting some to try and remove bits of you with their weapons. So there were codes of conduct. Distilling it down it came down to this. Don’t show disrespect (at least publically) to anyone, be civil, and don’t be an ass.

If we look at a number of Warrior cultures, we see they expected the warrior to be eloquent, able to recite, and create poetry. Cowardice was not just running away in battle, but it was also how you acted in battle. More often than not the Warriors would give the other side “quarter” when asked for. That other side would slink off (or sit quietly) and not cause trouble. Bloodshed was not quite as indiscriminant at portrayed. Mind you at times it was, if you pissed the Roman off, they tend to wipe you off the face of the planet, just ask Carthange, Vercengetorix, or the Druids of Anglesey….oops you can’t. But if you look at history, Carthage and the Gauls both were well warned, and the massacre on Anglesey might actually never have happened!

So lets return to the point. As modern warriors, we need to be respectful, and mindful of others. We should never go to war on our own tribe. Warriors don’t suddenly go berserk for no good reason.

Indeed the Berserkers were worked up into the rage and probably took some interesting substances to get there. They were not allowed back in to society, till cleansed (or at least they bathed, and were calm). Similarly Cu Cuhlain, when he was in warp spasm had a way out (being thrust into barrels of cold water). We need to be mindful, that the warrior is capable (due to training) of causing extreme hurt, but that that is, like the sword, only to be drawn against enemies, and to be treated as a thing of respect.

So next time you post on a forum, reply to an email, or want to text angrily, remember the rule of how a Warrior should communicate. Respect is given till someone takes it away, not respect is earned.

"Did you just threaten to hex me?” aka "Are you lookin at me?"

2010-03-31T08:59:00.000-07:00

Raise your hand if you have heard that said by a pagan? Raise both and wave them about like Kermit the Frog if someone has said that to you.

Neopagan spirituality is to be blunt in it’s late pre-teens to early teens in it’s maturity. By this I mean, it really still is trying to find who it is. You have groups like the British Traditional Witches and the Revivalist Druids of OBOD who might even be mid teens. There is a little more maturity there with the “we are XYZ” but they all still are prone to tantrums over things. It’s to be expected. I believe the early Christian movement had “Did you just threaten me with Jesus?” or “did you wave that piece of the one true cross ™ at me? “. For the most part the Abrahamic Faiths have moved past that (into adult games of territory and back stabbing each other). Buddhism in it’s various forms probably is a mature adult shaking it’s head at the young adults of the two younger Abrahamic faiths (Islam and Christianity) and offering the older adult of Judaism an pat on the back.

Ok enough analogies. Back to the threats of Magic, and the accusations of threats of Magic.

Most Neopagan Faiths have what the majority of them call magic (or Magick or even Magyk) incorporated as part of their practices. Be this energy work, formulaic spells, or full fledged ceremonial summoning of beings to do your bidding. It’ there in some shape or form.

It’s also contentious as to what “magic” is. Through late 14th century Old French magique, the word "magic" derives via Latin magicus from the Greek adjective magikos (μαγικός) used in reference to the "magical" arts of the Magicians (Greek: magoi, singular mágos, μάγος); the Zoroastrian astrologer priests.

I will list a few of the more modern definitions that are out there.

"Magick is the Science of understanding oneself and one's conditions. It is the Art of applying that understanding in action." Crowley from the Introduction to Magick, Book 4
“Magic is a social phenomenon, akin to religion and science, but yet a distinct category. In practice, magic bears a strong resemblance to religion. Both use similar types of rites, materials, social roles and relationships to accomplish aims and engender belief.” Marcel Mauss A General Theory of Magic
“Science, and religion all have their own “quality of rationality,” and have been influenced by politics and ideology” Tambiah, S. J. (1990). Magic, Science, Religion, and the Scope of Rationality
“the art of focusing your will and emotions to effect change in the world around you and the world within you.” Unattested (likely Gardner)
“The use of natural energies within ourselves and the world around us to effect a physical change in a condition or life situation. Spelled with a "k" to differentiate it from stage magic.” Unattested (likely a combination of Crowley and Gardner)
" This magick can perhaps be defined as the essential energy which circulates in the Universe of the Gods, as well as in that of humans." French scholar, Christian Jacq, who made a study of Egyptian Magick.

As can be seen, there are a lot of different ways to define Magic ™ and I did not even touch on the cultural differences.

Essentially the Neopagan community has for the most part adopted the idea from Wicca “An it harm none do what ye will” and the idea that karma is repaid three fold. While not universal it is I believe the majority.
So why would people threaten or imply the use of magic(k) which is supposed to be sacred?

Simply I return we are in our spiritual teens. It seems to be about points, and cliques, and being right. Not about spiritual growth. Many of us believe we are not like that, but take a moment (I certainly have) and ask yourself. Have I ever done this? I know personally in the 1990’s when I was still dinking about, I’d get into on line flame wars, and often be accused of “casting bad magick”. On one occasion I even stooped to posting “Don’t worry about that headache” to a poster. It’s one of the few occasions I did even in malicious jest what I am talking about here.

Was it mature. No. It was not. But flamewars are never mature. Which is a nice segway into the next topic. Witchwars.

Yep Witchwars again. Witchwars are just a name for bullshit arguments (pardon my anglosaxon). No one is 100% sure when the term witchwar entered the Neopagan venacular. It was used in an episode of Charmed in 2004 (episode 132 in Season six, and yes I googled that I hated that show). An article on this topic appears in Witchvox posted in 1998. I certainly saw the term when I started posting and flaming in alt.religion.wicca in 1995 or so. Whenever the term came along, esentually a Witchwar is an ego driven conflict between two or more Neopagans (they do not have to be “Witches” or “Wiccans”). They are about power, and influence, and ego (yes I keep mentioning that).

In a Witchwar ™ someone always accuses someone else of casting a curse, or hex, or whatever. Both sides always perform banishings and or bindings on the otherside. But it’s ok becasuse they are doing it for the safety of all concerned, right…….. Right??

I’ve personally been on the receiving end of that last one. A local confilct between myself and a local coven leader, had a coven implode due to the leader deciding I needed a good Cursing and Binding. I found out months later when some ex Coven members told me. Now it’s second hand news, and I don’t really care.

But this comes down to the crux of it. In a witchwar, one side will get pushed to the point of breaking their own ethics. We as humans (or Otherkin for those with that bent) are not perfect. We do things under pressure which is out of character.

But that is only one half of the problem. To be honest the use of Magic ™ offensively is in the minority. I will talk about that later.

The accusations of it’s use however is epidemic. I got the Imbas for this blog post from a recent conversation in chat. Here is the line in particular which set me off “Gareth- I pray you are not threatening me magically so I am hiving you the benefit of the doubt”. This was from a discussion on event security, and whether on not someone was allowed to come, due to their previous behavior towards a presenter.

My response was “Dude don’t even go there…” but on reflection I acknowledge he possibly felt that he was under threat of attack. Not from the words I had used, but rather from the fact that in our communities someone would threaten that. So I am not going to attack his beliefs.

So is it ok to use Magic ™ as an offensive weapon? See I finally tie this back to Warrior spirituality ;)

That would depend on ones path. Someone who follows the Rede in it’s initial form (no “if it do harm, do as you must” addition because to be blunt that line is in violation of the first, making the whole thing invalid, and thus letting you be a douche with out having to admit it!). Then no, you ethically believe the deliberate causing of harm by yourself is a violation of your spiritual path, and that you will suffer karmic inflation in return (the Three fold law of return). If you like me are a Reconstructionist of some sort (Celtic, Greek, Germanic, whatever). Our ancestors certain thought it was acceptable. We have evidence from various sources that they did do some less than nice mystical things. Now to be sure, some of these sources are biased. Be they pagan Romans, or Christians, or other groups looking to bad mouth a foe (vanquished or not) .

So lets assume that you are ethically willing to do it (or say screw it all). Should you shout it from the roof tops? Well metaphorically speaking. Sure if you are engaged in a psychological action where you want to keep someone paranoid…. I guess. But that’s like putting your hand in Fenris’ mouth and having Thor hit him in the Nuts to see if he will bite. It will go bad. Honestly if you are going to do it. DO IT. But consider what the consequences are. Its’ the same as physical action. Only do it if you are up to it. Only do it knowing possible outcomes. If the person is mentally unstable, on something, or some such. Don’t do it.

Personally I see Magic ™ as the weak way out. You don’t know if it will work, you don’t know who else will get affected by it etc. Most things you can do with Magic ™ are achievable with much less effort, almost guaranteed success and less danger simply by physically doing it.

If someone is ill. Take them to the Dr. If someone is mentally ill and a danger to society, have them committed. If someone threatens you and you are scared. The police are there for a reason. If someone threatens you and you are not scared. Confront them (in public so nothing stupid happens) etc.

Live your ethics. Be part of community, and don’t think you are above someone because your ego says so or someone is fluffing that ego.

Magic is a tool to be used with caution. As is any weapon. There are not colors of magic (i.e. black or white) just intention by the user.

Which brings me to what is perhaps a benevolent form of Magic with out consent. The “sending healing energies” that we hear all the time in our community. I never do it, even if asked. Why? Because it is not my gift. I am not a healer in that sense. Nor will I ever accept energies from someone who is not very close to me either! If you see someone or hear about someone who is ill, sad, whatever and just decide to cast a spell ™ or send energy ™ then you are no better than someone casting a curse. Bindings are the same. Binding someone who has not asked for it (and some do) is a …. CURSE. You are probably violating your ethics.

Can you live with that?

No?

Yes?

Don’t Know?

Think it over. Or perhaps just act. Someone will probably mop up your mess. Perhaps me.

2009-12-23T07:50:00.000-08:00

*Ghosti

Some of you are probably looking at that title and wondering if my “world class spelling skills” are back. No that is a real word. *Ghosti is a reconstructed Proto Indo-European (PIE) word. The * denotes reconstruction. The word is where the terms host and guest both have evolved from. It deals with refers to the reciprocal relationships of hospitality.

This is an important concept. Many conflicts start where one half of this is ignored. People showing up expecting a gracious host, but forgetting that they themselves are expected to be good guests. Many Indo-European (IE) tales tell of misunderstandings that stem from this flaw. A host forgetting to make sure the guests are all well taken care of, and one of those guests is in fact a deity in disguise (D’OH). Or the “Heroes portion” being disputed.

If we take this to the real world. How often do we see people take umbrage that they were “ignored” by the host. Or that their guests were rude. I can personally admit I recently screwed up with*ghosti at an event. A guest decided to be less than good and bad mouthed the event. I in return publicly berated them. We both failed the *ghosti test.

So in this silly season (the holidays). Will you be a good guest and or a gracious host?

The Myth of Power Scarcity

2009-12-09T12:49:00.000-08:00

One of the things that becomes obvious the older or more mature (not always the same thing) you get is that there is no scarcity of power. You not having power, in this day and age, most often is a conscious decision. Be it you choosing not to educate yourself (and I am not talking about degrees here, some of the most educated people I know, have done it for themselves). You can choose not to let others have power over you most of the time. This of course discounts those wolves in society who would prey.

In the Neopagan community most arguments center around the “myth of power scarcity”. By this I mean they feel that there is only so much power to go around, and we need to horde it like dragons. How many of us have heard “So and so showed me no disrespect” or “Shop owner X lowered his/her prices just to screw me (Shop owner Y over”? I know I have. I’ve heard even more far-fetched ones.

The fact remains. Power scarcity is a myth. If there are only two Neopagans in an area. There is room for them both. If there is 100, there is room for all ideas, all views, more than one shop or coven or Grove etc.

But we return to the fact people fear loss of power. They see someone doing something they wish to do, meaning they can’t try. They see the success of others, as failure of their own dreams. I know that this has been a pattern I have followed for a long time. As I said the older I get, the less I care.

I recently started reading a rather interesting little book called “Meditations on Violence”. Now yes that is a rather macho title. It is in fact the opposite of Macho. It is a study in the myths of martial arts, and also the myths on self-defense. The author makes one very important observation early on. He is a corrections officer as well as a martial artist, and has a degree in Zoology. If you look at say a wolf pack. The adult male or female does not kill the Pups who get a little… over ambitious with their pl;ay fighting and bite the adult. Indeed they often romp with them. They seem to enjoy it. When adult wolves fight. They don’t fight to the death very often. He then goes onto describe the “monkey dance” which human males undergo.

Step one: What you lookin at?
Step two: I ain’t looking at nothing
Step three mutial self chest beating
Step for PUNCH
End

He said the best way to not playing in to this, (and by the Gods if I knew this years ago I would have had a less “interesting life” ) is to act bored.

Step one: What you lookin at?
Step Two: *Yawn* Nice day neighbor…looks away.
End (usually).

Power Struggles are like this. If you show boredom at the chest pounding. Show lack of concern for the situation (and by this I don’t mean for the other persons feelings, but that you don’t need their power) it will get diffused 9 times out of 10.

Now that tenth time? That is when the warrior needs to be awake, if appearing bored. I am often thinking to myself.

“Why are they doing this?” Understand where they are coming from
“What are their goals?” Are they really a threat, or are they socially inept, or perhaps just grumpy today?
“What can they do to me?” Seriously, will they physically, verbally, mentally, or spiritually attack me?
“If I back down, what do I loose?” Nothing usually. The wise warrior understands they should pick when, how, and how hard to fight. The last part is easy. Fight to win. You play fair in sparing, and competition. Real fights are to win. Second place is the looser. Know economy of force. If someone starts spreading a rumor to “take power” have evidence to combat this.

For example. “Hey Noinden likes to Tip Cows” is being spread. Responses that could be used “Cow tipping is a myth”, “Ahh so you were in the pasture with me?” “Yawn, sure is a nice day “. The first one leaves you open to the myth spreading. How do you know it’s a Myth? Trial and error? The middle one, is a funny come back, but is an escalation. Use it only if you have to fight, and follow it up with ten or so extra “strikes” do it to win, not for points, there is no gold medal. The last one? Well they will wonder what the hell happened?

Remember there is power for all.

Ego

2009-11-23T08:50:00.000-08:00

Pronunciation [ee-goh, eg-oh] Show IPA –noun, plural egos. 1.the “I” or self of any person; a person as thinking, feeling, and willing, and distinguishing itself from the selves of others and from objects of its thought. 2.Psychoanalysis. the part of the psychic apparatus that experiences and reacts to the outside world and thus mediates between the primitive drives of the id and the demands of the social and physical environment. 3.egotism; conceit; self-importance: Her ego becomes more unbearable each day. 4.self-esteem or self-image; feelings: Your criticism wounded his ego. 5.(often initial capital letter ) Philosophy. a.the enduring and conscious element that knows experience. b.Scholasticism. the complete person comprising both body and soul. 6.Ethnology. a person who serves as the central reference point in the study of organizational and kinship relationships.Origin: 1780–90; < L: I; psychoanalytic term is trans. of G (das) Ich (the) I Ego…. Such a dirty word in Neopagan circles. Almost with out a doubt the negative connotations (meanings 3 and 4 mainly) are all that people consider. This is somewhat understandable. It like the word honor has been used and misused by people for a long time. But is ego really that bad? Is having an ego a flaw?? Egotism surely is bad at times. Someone who has a self inflated self image, and forces that upon others, or takes decisions upon themselves with out taking the time to think “what will this do to those besides me?”. That is a bad example of ego. Recently someone said to me “you have to remove ego from the situation”. He was dead serious. He thought he was coming at it from an “eastern philosophical” point of view. He also tired to imply the warrior should be with out ego. That there is the crux of the argument; this is where I shall concentrate this post. I will concentrate on my friend’s comments first. He has a valid point of view for his own personal gnosis. A personal gnosis is an individual's spiritual insights (or gnosis). A gnosis comes from a greek word for knowledge and refers to insight into the infinite, divine and uncreated, rather than mundane knowledge. For my friend, a “warrior” is with out ego, for him the Neopagan society needs to be with out ego. With out divulging to much of his past, he’s seen egotistical actions destroy the local pagan community several times. Egotistical attacks on him have caused him great stress and pain. His idea of the “warrior” much like mine is of one who serves and protects the community. So in a sense he is correct, the role of a warrior is not a place for very much egotistical action. Similarly the community really could benefit from a lack of over sized egos walking around like Dragons eating up all the lesser creatures in their way. I differ from his point of view past this however. Lets start with the Warrior. I don’t follow an eastern philosophy. My “martial art” (Combatives) is something that does not lend itself to “Zen”. My ancestors (the Cymric and Gaelic tribes of Britain and Ireland) certainly did not appreciate unthinking unfeeling warriors. Even my Cymric Ancestors foes, the Roman Legionnaires did not go all “Zen” about being soldiers. My own personal gnosis tells me the warriors needs to embrace their ego. They need the self-confidence to stand against the enemy, to attempt the impossible. Lack of Ego, will mean failure, which is unacceptable. However at the same time, to be egotistical is bad. To not take into account your fellow warriors, your tribe, the people you do service to, that is equally as bad! My ancestors embrace individuality on the battlefield. Single combat was the name of the game, or fast and dirty raids, over large set piece battles. It honestly lost them any chance they may have had against the Roman Legions (who embraced a more hive mind approach to battle). But as a reconstructionst pagan I am behooved to try and understand the thought patterns of my ancestors. Moving on to being a Neopagan. I am unclear where the hatred of ego comes from. The first Neopagan faith (Gardnerian Witchcraft/Wicca) had a great deal of input from one Alistair Crowley. Yes the great beast himself! Gerald Gardner was given a license (or so it’s said) to take over the work Crowley had begun with the OTO. Ceremonial magic has no such fear of ego (as a concept or in action), though again egotism is a problem. So for the first decade or two, the idea of having ego was not a bad idea. The very act of magic is an act of ego. Forcing ones own will on something else, to enact change. This still should hold in Neopaganism, yet again egotism is a terrible idea. It’s one of the reasons the “rede” is so important to Wiccans and eclectic pagans. “Do as tho wilt, an it harm none” could translate to “do it, but don’t be a jerk about it”. Or as a Welsh friend once said “Don’t be a douche”. What about community? This is where my friend was talking about “ego” having no place. Again you need to have a little bit of ego. You need to be able to stand up and say “hey I can do that” or “Hey that is not ok”. Both are acts of ego. It is ok for a Warrior to have ego. It is ok for a Neopagan to have ego. Indeed my preferred definition of ego is the fifth one. A complete person has an ego. A machine, an android, a soulless creation has no ego. But a human being does. Neopagans should not shy away from this idea.

“Dear Weed....”

2009-07-13T13:28:00.001-07:00

I’ve mentioned here, and else where, that Neopaganism’s greatest strength and weakness is it’s acceptance of differences. By both a strength and weakness I mean that, as a spiritual path, it is theoretically true that anyone will be accepted. That is great. You do not expect to get proselytized at, victimized, or see bigotry. Of course that is just the theory. That is another post for another day. As a weakness, more often than not the community will be afraid to deal with antisocial behavior.

This is where it gets murky. I mean by antisocial behavior, such things as use of elicit substances, allowing minors to partake in activity that is not appropriate to their development, allowing someone to be just a plain old jerk, because it’s not Kosher to tell them not to be like that etc. The acceptance also causes a lethargy in community when it realizes that they have to do something. Most Pagan groups are either lead by consensus OR by (sorry for this) dictatorship.

It is not however healthy for the community, and most non functioning communities, groups, Covens/Groves etc are bogged down from this antisocial behavior.

Now to be fair, many groups that I have seen have a way of dealing with this, that is both fair and equitable. Sadly some don’t. They either do not have a process for dealing with it, or the process is rather biased.

I will give an example:

One of the worst places to get an introduction to Neopaganism is an online group or forum. Yahoo, Usenet, and various Fora, come in two general varieties. Moderated, and Unmoderated. The worst by far are those with no moderation policy, these are the land of flame war, witch war, and abusive behavior. Some of us tend to reside there to provide some stability, but it’s like sticking your finger in a dyke to stop a leak, it never works for long. Moderated groups come in two general forms. Those with a well balanced team of moderators, and rules to try and prevent abuse, and those which have a clique in charge. If you get on the wrong side of that clique, you best be up to the abuse.

That is online interactions, and to be blunt (and this is funny from a blogger), online is not really real life.

In real life there are several ways you will interact with fellow Pagans.

Festivals. Here you will be able to shop, attend workshops, and do ritual. These are supposed to be “neutral ground” and any antagonism kept away. Usually this works. But it will depend on how good the event security is. By good I mean, impartial, effective, and sane.

Meetups, Pub Moots, lectures. Again these are in theory “neutral ground”. Any problem should be dealt too, after the event. Pub moots in particular are renowned for places to hear people speak ill of others. Alcohol is a great remover of social niceties. I say this after having worked Bar Security for many years as an undergraduate and early post graduate student.

Covens, Groves meetings, rituals etc. One would hope that any Coven or Grove (insert other name here for your faith) would have vetted their members early on. But the older and larger the group. The more likely there will be long standing issues. Here it is the job of the leader to retain control, unless it is a consensus driven group. I would note, that consensus driven groups have less issues, but also achieve less.

So lets get to the meat/tofu (for the Vegans who read) of the post.

The Weeds in the Garden.

Any group of more than 2 people (and then perhaps even 2) will have the potential for personality clashes. Add spirituality, and a power structure to this, and you shall see a much better chance of problems.

These problems are usually things that if every one asked “what do you mean by ….?”, “Hey did you really say…?” or “Could you clarify this?” then nothing would happen. But every now and again you get someone show up (or change into) a social nightmare.

In the case of public events, this nightmare could be as simple as someone smoking an illicit substance, or drinking (when it’s illegal) and getting militant that they don’t follow that law. It is why I specify in any Public event I’ve run, or helped run “No Alcohol or Drugs”. Weapons are a similar issue. In any of those cases, it would be a legal and PR nightmare if the Police showed up, and found something like this. It would be a disaster for that area’s Pagans, and father afield if the Media took hold of the story. The correct way to deal with this is to ask the peson to stop, if they will not, then they must go.

Another issue that may occur is socially unacceptable behavior will occur. One of the most common in Pagan circles is sadly older men and women, getting into relationships with younger persons. I personally have no tolerance for anyone “dating” anyone who is not the age of consent. Sadly Pagans tend to “turn a blind eye” and gossip about it. My local pagan scene has several people who have done this, and not a single reprimand, attempted intervention, or consequence has occurred. It is one of the reasons I am reluctant to interact with the community.

Sadly as Neopaganism (and heathenism) become more prevalent, we also attract people at the extreme fringes of society. Gangmembers, racists, convicts, etc. These are people who if they cause a problem, I call the weeds (hence the title of this blog entry). I’ve seen perfectly functional groups implode when you get any of these people.

Lets take the most destructive in my opinion. The racists and bigots. I’ve sadly encountered several of these creatures over the years.

My first introduction was back in 2002. I was helping run a Student Pagan Network. The Law Speaker (president) was a very liberal Asatruar. We had a woman show up claiming to be an Asatruar, and all seemed ok. Then one day we got on to the topic of politics. The new “Asatruar” when it came to her turn proudly proclaimed “I am a Third positionist” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Position) this is sadly a nice way saying they are right wing bigots. It is what many Neo-Nazi, racist, and bigoted groups hide themselves under. In the end we had to politely tell her we were not comfortable with her presence. We could not ban her (it was against the groups student charter), but she left. I later found out she was in fact a “Satanist” (unspecified allegiance to any group) who was looking for recruits.

In 2007 I helped run an alternative to Pagan Pride Day (which had been canceled, and has yet to happen again). We called it the “Gathering”. I will not go into the organizational issues, as they are not really relevant here. We did however get one person who ruined the whole event. He claimed again to be an Asatruar (I am not picking on this group for the record). He was dressed in a paramilitary manner (camouflage Jacket, black cargo pants, army boots, etc). Over the course of the day he proceeded to alienate every one. He began by trying to assert his superiority to all. He stalked a woman, to the point she asked several of us to be “escorts” when she had to do something. He encouraged some children to play dangerously with fire, and he began to preach sedition, uprising and a number of questionable ideas towards the government. I also caught glimpse of him having several non legal knives, and what appeared to be a hand gun under his jacket. I note this as Wisconsin does NOT allow concealed carry or open carry of hand guns. Later checking would show that this person had a non molestation order from a young woman he had stalked. He was also a school teacher.

What I found so disturbing about this gentleman was not so much he existed, or found us. No. Rather the response of the community leaders. The leader of a Pagan group for the area, was adamant that he could not be “banned” from attending. Despite all the evidence (stalking of a Pagan community member, anti social behavior, and apparent armed nature). The woman at the even he had stalked had been previously harassed/stalked by her ex husband. The community leader who was refusing to act, herself had had some very bad experiences. The gentleman showed up several more times at other events and businesses, yet still the community leadership would do nothing. Other than gossip, kibitz, and bemoan he was there.

The Gentleman was a weed.

He is not the sort of person a community wants. He was unstable, but not in the “if they stay on meds they are fine” type or the “they have good and bad times” type. He was the dangerously unstable type.

Another example, which made the media. Was of a woman in an area near where I live (Milwaukee) being arrested by police for several things. The story boils down to, she illegally burned various items including tires, and plastic, while listening to her iPod. The police arrested her, and her defense was it was a “Wiccan ritual” (burning plastic and tires? Really? Wow Wicca must have dropped the “respect mother earth” aspect since I last investigated the faith). She claimed it was religious persecution and her rights of religious freedom were violated.

I was at a Pub moot the day after his happened. A leader at the moot stood on the table, and proclaimed a number of things, all without the whole story. I remember putting a hand to my head and muttering how stupid this all was. Why defend a person obviously trying to play the bigotry card? My view probably would not have been to popular to be honest.

Ok what if YOU are the weed?

What?

Well I say this as it is very likely you will find a group that does not fit your needs, views, or whatever. Or you will become embroiled in an argument that can not be solved. I personally became a weed to one small community of late. My stance on lawfulness, responsibility along with many poor decisions of my own, made my presence disruptive. I made the choice to walk away. To “weed” myself out. I do not regret this. I unsubscribed from all the lists, I stopped attending events held in that area of town. I cut all contacts. I found I am much happier. I also hear that my absence has not changed the group what so ever. Thus I realize I made the right decision. I am no longer the agitator (by my presence) or the convenient scapegoat for them.

So what does this have to do with being a warrior?

Well firstly it emphasizes responsibility, duty, and honor. But secondly, you may find yourself in a place where you have to do the weeding!

Here is what I recommend.

(a) Be polite but forceful
(b) Don’t ever (EVER) antagonize them.
(c) Make sure you are acting in accordance to the wishes of others (if you are in a consensus based group) OR you have the authority to make this decision.

My last example I will use, is one I will be understandably vague about. In a group I belong too, it became known to us, a member was planning on coming to events and ritual illegally armed. This was against the laws of the group, and many states (where this person could appear) laws. Further this person had previously been an agitator in discussions, and had a terrible attitude to most others. The decision was taken to send the groups standard way of dealing with this a letter that is euphemistically called “Dear weed” and the use of the letter as "Weeding the Garden".

Slan

Noinden

Ritual etiquette? OR how not to be a Jerk

2009-05-05T11:28:00.000-07:00

Ok this is a term that comes up quite often in pagan circles. What they are usually talking about is behaving yourself during ritual.It is not the main part of my blog today, however since it comes up so often, lets skim itTurn your cell phone off (and leave it outside circle) also don’t talk away during ritualDo not disturb the people running it to enforce YOUR wishes. If the ritual is not being run in your preferred style (and face it there are many styles which work and exist) do not come back, or politely discuss why it was done a certain way, AFTER the ritual.Do not walk in and out of circle (unless you are told you can).Be straight (in chemical dependency terms) so do not be drunk, stoned, high, smokes a cigarette.Find out the dress code before hand. By this I mean, if it does not explicitly state, “sky clad” do not come into circle naked and wonder why they are not happy.Don’t carry your atheme or similar ritual tool in a menacing manner.What happens in circle STAYS in circle. Unless otherwise stated.That is a quick and dirty run down of what is usually expected. Many variant forms exist, but the general rule is “do not be a jerk” and you will be fine.Ok my blog on ritual etiquette is actually about how I think you should act to other beings during a ritual.This post stems from a list post to a group I belong to. Some one who has a Ceremonial Magician friend was wondering about this Ceremonials shock that the group I belong too (the ADF) not having what he considered “appropriate countermeasures” for the beings we deal with.It simply is a difference in attitude and etiquette.How do you deal with the various beings in your rituals and occult life? This CAN be humans (and I will give examples) but also deities, land spirits, ancestors, demons, angles, power animals etc (note I don’t actually deal with all of these and shall limit my self to Land spirits deities, ancestors and “out dwellers” but feel free to work out how your various beings fit into this :)In any ritual I design, run, or have a say in. I tend to take the same approach to “mystical beings”. Which is, be respectful, but don’t grovel, and treat them as any other being. Again do not be a jerk.I never invoke or evoke a being in a manner, which seems to order them, command them, or tell them what to do. I invite them in.For example I will invite the deities of the ritual in by name, asking them to join us.Similarly I will ask the spirits of the land and ancestors of those taking part to be with us.No “I command you to appear”. To me the Gods and Ancestors are respected members of my tribe/clan/tuath. I would not want a kid in my family telling me to “come here now” and be rewarded with me doing just that. It is bad behavior. So why would I do that to my Gods? I show particular reverence to the Irish Deity known as the Morrigan. Anyone who has read the stories of her knows what pissing her off does. It is not a great way to live a long life.So I invite them in. If they choose to come. More power to me (and them). I also offer them hospitality (a drink and a bite to eat). It for me is the traditional and ethical way to honor a guest.So The Gods Spirits of the land and the Ancestors are each asked to attend. There is no command. It is a simple non RSVP invitation.Which brings the subject of what is to be considered a God, a Land Spirit and an Ancestor.I am using terminology, which the ADF calls the 3 kindreds. But the premise is, that there are three types of spiritual being which you might interact with.There are Ancestors. Most commonly these are blood relatives, recently passed, or long gone, but long remembered. It can also be heroes of your people (I would cite Sir Edmund Hillary and Sir Peter Blake as two for me, being a New Zealander).Spirits of the Land. Various cultures give them names. They are the spirits that inhabit a piece of land. They are unique to the place. They may be primal or sophisticated.Deities. Ok this is where Pagans usually have the most difference of opinion. As a hard polythiest, I am of the opinion that every deity is unique, and real. Including the Abrahamic one. That being said. To me there is no supreme being, they are not omnipotent or onipresent. They are fallible. That being said. There are my “Gods of worship” and within those my Matron, the Morrigan. I develop a personal relationship with them, and her in particular.Other deities are still deities, just not MY deities. I am polite, but disinterested.Some pagans see all deities as a face of a whole (be it all goddess are an aspect of THE Goddess, and all gods are an aspect of THE God, or be it every deity is a piece of the whole).What about out dwellers and Outsiders?Ok So Outsiders I have touched up. Outsider Deities. Gods and Goddesses who I do not worship. Be they not part of the pantheon I follow, or be they something else (like the Abrahamic Deity).Outdwellers are beings at the edge, or beyond my cultural spiritual framework.Indo-European cultures had a caste based system. The intellectuals (Priests, Druids, Flamen, Brahman etc) the Nobles (the warrior elite) and the Producers (Farmers, artisans, etc). Each on some level had a fourth caste. Even if it was not formal. Thralls, those the Druids had removed rites of sacrifice (excommunication, but to the point of you having NO rights), the Hindu “unclean”. There was also the mad and crippled at the edge of society. Beyond the society there was the outsider, they had different rites in different groups at different times.Spiritually, there are beings like Angles and Demons, whom to me are Outdwellers. Not gods, but spiritual beings who are not part of my path. There are also beings like the Tuatha De Domman (Fomaire) Titans, They are antagonists to De Dannan. Also there are the Fir Bolg.You do not go out of your way to annoy them. Indeed I often make an offering before ritual for just them.So the first and most important rule is in many ways. Don’t be a jerk. Or more importantly. Be hospitaipal. Chances are they will be hospitaipal back.Now you are in ritual. Every one (human or spiritual being is behaving) and someone or something comes along and tries to mess with that. This could be the perennial “Sorry I am late can I jump in” pagan who is running on PST (pagan standard Time). Or it could be a nosey land spirit who was sleeping, a deity who crashes the party (I am looking at you Bacchus!) etc. The way to handle any of these is much the same.I prefer rituals with the warriors (or Dragons or some similar name for ritual security) on the outside (and able to come inside) prepared for this. You calmly explain to the being “You are late, if the preist/preistess want to let you in they will indicate that”. Generally people take this polite but firm “wait” with grace. If they do not, you call in back up. I’ve never encountered a spiritual being who did not wait. I have encountered humans who feel entitled to this.Similarly if you have a problem inside ritual. Chances are it is a human. I have seen rituals where someone spat (in disgust) at someone over a long standing (and childish) grudge. It was let pass at the time, and the person dealt with before the next time. But a Warrior could (if the person running it wants this) walk someone out of circle. It is again your job.Ok but what if a spiritual being acts up. Well personally the Gods have always been above reproach (this means they follow what the ritual is about, so if it is Beltane, the Dagda has been known to be frisky, Bacchus wants the grog, and Loki can play pranks, that might be a little cruel). The land spirits are similarly nice. Ancestors…. Those on the other hand might decided to chide a decendant. This is usually during Samhain (when they are in abundance).My advices… keep out of it. Help the person after, but don’t get involved in a “family domestic”.After the ritual is over. Don’t dismiss the beings. It’s again rude. They will stick around as long as they like anyway! Do not miss out on a chance to interact with them either. My best moments with the Morrigan are after ritual. I was chilling out, in the dark, alone. A raven settled near me and eyed me up. Then another, then a third. I shared my ritual bread with them, and felt at peace. It was quiet and deep.It returns to not being a jerk. Consider you ritual as a party (with a purpose) and the beings your guests. You should consider that some will hang around past when you are ready, and cope.For the Warrior, this means staying on guard. Know the local customs. One example I beat many Americans over the head with, is the First Nations peoples, in general, consider that the pouring of Alcohol on the ground, as poisoning the earth. I follow not doing it (I burn it like any good pyro). A person I know said when I stopped her “well they can get stuffed (actually they used an Anglo Saxon word) my ancestors did this”. While you can do it. Chances are YOUR ancestors did NOT do this in North America. They did it somewhere else, where it was seen as ok by the local Land Spirits (the way the alcohol is given to them in Germanic cultures was often pouring some on the land). Find out what you can, and develop a relationship with the spirits. Each is different than the other.After a ritual, watch to make sure people seem grounded. If they are not. Ask them if they need help. Or just listen, talk, be there. Clean up after every one (or ask them too help). This goes energetically as well.Before the ritual make sure every thing is in order. Fire permits, the authorities know you are there and why (if public land) or at least not to freak out. Every one is legally compliant (no weapons, drugs, etc). Ground yourself, and be ready.Etiquette is deeper than this, but this is a start. The beings are just as important as those humans taking part. Don’t be a jerk ;)

Finding your place in the world.

2009-04-27T10:46:00.000-07:00

That’s not fair I never thought that would happen to me Why, what did I deserve to get this? Words we probably all have said at least once in our life, and likely will say many times more. Junk statistics and popular psychology tells us that “today’s youth has an unrealistic view of their future”. I think what they mean by this, is they are told they can do anything. Indeed you can do almost anything if you try. Try is the bit the youth forget. They assume a degree from a university guarantees them a high paid job. They assume they too can one day be president of the USA (or similar). What no one told them is that every dream requires work. Requires luck, and sometimes no matter how much we want that dram to be true, it cannot be obtained. We don’t prepare ourselves for failure. Indeed seldom do we have a back up plan. One of the best illustrations of this for me was when I was teaching undergraduate Chemistry. The freshman course, taught me how badly people want a dream but how poorly they chase it. In my University (University of Otago). The various professional health science careers (Pharmacy, Dentistry, and medical) along with law, have a cap of 200 entrants to the next year. Each freshman class is around 2000 students, and of those around 1900 of them think they are going to make it. Statistically, they have a 10% chance. What they also don’t know is it’s more like a 7% chance as the courses will also take graduates with degrees into them and show preference for that. But every year about 3 weeks out from the Chem 112 exam I would ask. “Who is going into Medical School/Dentistry/Pharmacy?” and then “So if you do not get in what will you do?” Every year the majority of these students had no back up plan. It was medical/dentistry/pharmacy school or else. OR the back up was one of the other professions. It’s not realistic if you do not have a back up plan. But we are taught to dream high. There is nothing wrong with that. But we don’t get the idea of “plan B” (and C and D). It is all about finding your path in the world. You should always strive, but you should also be prepared for the worst. One of the defining natures for a warrior should be how practical they are in a situation. By practical I mean being able to take action, and reduce or remove a problem with the minimum amount of fuss and bother. In the various Indo-European cultures there was the concept of “fate” or something similar. By fate, I do not mean the modern “it was destined to be and always was”. I mean the consequences of your actions and others actions is such that this is how you got here. To the Scandinavian and Germanic tribes there was Wyrd. To the Irish there was Dán. Many of us are familiar with the term wyrd. Sadly like many things the Neopagan subculture has latched on to it, and misuses it (appropriation anyone?). Dán (dawn) is very similar. It is about walking the path of your life, as you should. Your place in life is your Dlùth (dluck) is your true nature, the person you are meant to be. You walk a path to your Dán when you start becoming more and more like your Dlùth. Dán is something you have control over. Your actions bring you there; the actions of others too bring you here. But it is not set in stone. So a warrior when they find themselves in a situation, they should not spend too much time in moments of “how did it come to this” and “that is not fair”. The warrior knows life is not fair. Nor is it unfair. It just is. It is more important to deal with the here and now, than wonder how you could have stopped it. That is for after dealing with it. So a skill to learn is what is called “fast mapping”, where by you learn to deal with something as it occurs. Also observation is important too. Prevention is better than a cure they say, and the same goes for situations. If you prevent or reduce the problem before it occurs, you have one half the battle. In history wars are won with both those who adapt faster and better (fast mapping) and strategy (observation). Life is the same (and no I am not saying life is a war). We learn from our mistakes better than our successes. Similarly if we do not repeat mistakes, we are doing better as well. Finding a place in the world, and accepting that at this moment that is where you are will get you a lot further and make you a lot happier than denial.

Sacrifice of Self

2009-04-20T10:19:00.001-07:00

Sacrifice of the Self. One of the hardest parts of being a Warrior (at least in my eyes) is that through service there may need to be some self-sacrifice performed. In any functioning community, every member should be at least willing to do this. The self-sacrifice is the time and effort that is required to have a functioning community. However Neopaganism encourages individuality. That in turn can lead to an apparent dearth of people willing to actually do this. The warrior should be willing to do this and more for his or her community of choice. Be the first to volunteer. BE the first to offer to give something up to get the job done. I am reminded of the scene from “The 13th Warrior” where the old seer calls for 13 warriors to undertake the quest. Each of the first 12 responds, “I will be the 1st (or second or) man” with pride evident on their face. The warrior in the community should be the same. If a call goes out to set up tents and tables at a festival, any “warrior” in the community should be “I shall be there” and be there, early preferably and do the job. That is one example of sacrifice. Another is putting yourself into conflicts way. As I said Neopagans love their individual natures. This leads to flame wars on lists, which lead to Witch wars outside of lists, which in turn gives us long lasting grudges. A warrior should stand up to this sort of behavior, no matter the cost and ask for it to stop, if you have the power (list moderation, or venue security) then you should also remove the trouble makers, NO MATTER WHO THEY ARE! The warrior should question their leaders (fellow warriors and others) who also are acting wrongly. It’s your job. What if the community sees YOU (the warrior) as the problem? Examine their gripe. Were you too aggressive and authoritarian? Were you acting against their wishes? Are they not willing to play by the rules they said they would? Any of those scenarios should be a red flag to you. Did you over do it? Yes? No? How can I do better next time? Should there be a next time? Did you misunderstand their wishes? Should you have asked for clarification? Did they know what they were asking? They don’t want you there, because you make them play by the rules? Consider walking away. Don’t be meek and mild if it’s a situation that is against your ethics. Own up to YOUR mistakes. Don’t be shy. Also make sure others know what went on. But go. Leave. Do not look back. Make that sacrifice. No community is the totality of Paganism, even if they think they are. If you walk away. Take time to heal, take time to think. But do not play by their rules. Stay away. Stay strong. Find a new place to serve. Learn and grow. Make that sacrifice and hold your head high. Remove drama. Or remove a point of contention for you. Brendan Myers in his book “The other side of Virtue” talks of the heroes sacrifice as being one of the highest levels of virtue in the old warrior cultures. Lets return to the 13th Warrior as an example. Each of the 13 Warriors risks that. At the end, the dying chieftain lives up to his oath to protect the Village, knowing he was dying, but keeping his word. Learn by examples like this. They are throughout the various myths, legends and stories of our spiritual and perhaps actual ancestors. No many of us will not go into physical battle. But many of us will go into metaphorical battle. Live by our ethics. Live by our virtues. LIVE and be proud. It is that simple. To be a warrior means to be willing to sacrifice. Slan agat Noinden

Taking up the Challenge

2009-04-03T12:25:00.001-07:00

For those of us who are Neopagan “warriors” chances are (I am assuming a lot I am sure) that we are aware of the idea that we shall face challenges, ordeals, and yes conflict. We hope we will not (again I am assuming a lot) have to do this too often, but we are willing to make sacrifices to save others from having to do this too much. At some point in our spiritual growth, we reach the point where we are willing to take up the challenge (as I will refer to this as). We may have trained for years in martial arts, and suddenly have to apply them. We may be come activists for the earth, first nations, or similar causes, spearheading the charge for change. We may even be so bold as to decided to work energy/cast spells to maintain some sort of peace. I will not judge any on those paths. But I would caution that I believe that to serve should be done with the consent of the community. But to take up the Challenge is a rite of passage. It should mean that we are steady in our ideas of what is morally and ethically right, it should mean that we are attuned to what others want, otherwise how can we claim to be taking “right action” and not dictating our own wishes? We should be skilled at the job ahead, not some thug out to prove a point. So in my case I “felt the call” about a decade ago. I had recently joined the ADF (http://www.adf.org/core/) as I had been searching for a Druidic organization, which fitted with my own belief structure. Once I joined I discovered the “guild system” within the organization (http://www.adf.org/groups/guilds/). I had for five or so years (it is a little murky how long) been identifying with the idea of the “warrior”. Early on, what this just was was a good question. But it called out to me. I discovered the Warriors guild (http://www.adfwarriors.org/) and this began to help me formulate a lot of the ideas, which I now have. The study program at the time was a little different than what I was after, but like all things in the Neopagan world, it has grown and changed over time, and I am proud to say I’ve even managed to put a little of my own influence in there. So if you feel called (or have felt called) you might understand exactly what I am talking about. But to try and put this into words. I felt the need to serve my community. My community at the time was the University of Otago Pagan Network (http://au.geocities.com/pagan_otago/ sadly this appears to have died out since I left :( ). I took upon myself (with the blessing of the group) dealing with an antagonistic Student president who had claimed, “We were all bloody heathens who should be burned at the stake”. My actions basically were to harass him, the student newspaper, and the Otago University Students Association (OUSA) until he apologized. I was not subtle, and I probably dragged this out for a few months longer than I would have today. But that was my calling. I was capable (mentally) of battling some affront. I personally was less offended than others, but was not about to let some small minded individual get away with bigotry. From there I realized I was not totally equipped to perform that role every time. If it had been a physical threat, chances are I’d be in trouble. Spiritually, I was not as educated as I wished, and did not want to miss speak too often. So I realized calling is all well and good. But that calling does not make me a warrior; it is just the first step. The road of the “warrior” should (again this is just my opinion) be one of continual learning and growth. Reassessing what we know and not assuming we are perfect. Basically we should neither be arrogant or meek. We should strive to improve. Mistakes are ok. Indeed we learn more from mistakes than we learn from successes. So what sort of skills do you need? Again this will depend on you. For me I’ve broken down the areas a warrior operates in to internal and external and within each of these are the Physical, mental/emotional, and spiritual realms. Physically I think we should try to strive to be “fighting fit”. This does not mean rippling muscles, it means having the ability to perform some physical activity for decent periods of time. I also think some level of skill in self defense is needed. Again I am not advocating having a black belt in several styles. I’m a “humble” phase one student of the Todd Group system of Close Quarter Combat (http://www.closecombatschool.com/) I’ve known others who have no training, and many who hold several belts in different systems. To me the fact remains, you should be able to at least know what to do in conflict. Even if know that you are out classed and to follow the example of Brave Brave Sir Robin (1) Mentally it’s similar. I think we should all learn some logic, some debating skills, and also how to defend ones own ideas through words. I also think we should always be learning history, tactics, and similar things. Spiritually. This one is hard. Many Neopagans will be going “Is he saying we need to learn to throw curses”. Ummm I guess you could. It is up to you. But I think you should cultivate a relationship with deities and other beings that are more militarily minded. I think you should also understand the mechanics of the more distasteful aspects of occult practice. Often in the community you will get someone who is just an ass. They will claim to throw curses, bindings, and similar ideas. In reality they are doing nothing except playing mind games. Recognizing this is a great way to disarm them, and even turn it back on them. Like I have said. All of this is a continual learning process. There is more than that but I should save some ideas for another post. So you “felt the calling” and trained a little or a lot. Good. You are a step or three ahead of your average armchair warrior. You probably did not spend time drooling over the nice shinny wall hanger swords, or know the mussel velocity of a Magnum 44 Supermag. If you did… it is ok every one needs a hobby! One day it will come to a point where there is a challenge. More often than not it will be INSIDE the community, but sometimes it will be outside of it. Here is when you have to decide to act. It is just that. Decide (a) Am I up to it and (b) How to act. The first part is the most imperative. If you are not up to the job (and I have said this before) call someone who is. Be that the police, or the high priest/priestess. Either way, don’t play hero. The second is harder. If you over do it, you will cause more problems (perhaps a law suit if it gets violent, or you say something stupid) if you under do it, you might get hurt. Sadly only experience teaches this level of response. But if you see something to act on. ACT. It’s what should separate you from the others. You are willing to act. You are willing to risk. You are willing to dare. You are also willing to fail. When acting in a role as warrior I do certain things. I ask the people running the festival or ritual or meeting “ok so what do you want from me and what do you NOT want from me?” If I cannot give them either. I turn the role down. It’s the ethical thing to do. I was once asked to “delay the cops” if they showed up. That was a stupid thing to do. So I walked away. Know your area of work. If you are to act as what reclaiming witchcraft calls “the Dragon” (a spiritual guardian role). Then know the order of ritual as well as you can. Look at the people participating as they enter. Do not over react. It is the best way to kill a ritual. Do not under react it is the best way to kill a ritual (yes it is a catch 22). But know your battlefield. At a festival know entrances and exits, know where the first aid kit is. Watch for people acting strangely. Does someone seem nervous and aggressive? Does some one seem upset? Is that “quietly intense conversation” giving mad energy off? Etc I added this one, after a Lughnasd ritual two years back. There had been some very bad blood in the community I live in, and well every one was on edge. I was asked to be “Dragon” for the second ritual running in a week. During the day. A young guy and myself I was training. Saw this guy come in to the festival. He seemed nervous. Probably his first. He annoyed some people. But not too bad. Then 30 minutes before ritual, he returned in garb. Ok cool. He was carrying his atheme (and we had banned all blade weapons) in a fist. Jimmy (the young guy) and I both saw it and both went running. It turned out to be a misunderstanding. But it had the potential to be bad! Luckily we did not over react. Calm people down. A few calm words help. Ok this is physical and mental. Now spiritual. During a ritual, if you feel aggressive energy. You hopefully will know how to ground and transform it. The ritual before the one I mentioned above (guy with knife) was a pub moot. Generally those have no energy. People are mellow, well fed, and the ritual is some nice bonding group theater. Not always but generally. Well this one was not. Like I said there was bad blood. I had been asked along with 3 young guys to act as Dragon here too. From the moment the circle was cast. I felt as if my skin was crawling with energy. I had been to several pub moots and I was lucky to notice the fire, let alone raised energy. So something was up. We spent the ritual grounding, channeling, making sure people were ok etc. It was out job to “take one” for every one. All except one of us got sick. The young guys sadly spent a lot of time trying to wipe spirits that showed an interest out. I had to split my energy on stopping them, and stopping the others stuff. I maintain it was real and so do about 30 others! Perhaps the beer had something in it? Ok some of you will be going “this was mellodramatic play acting” right? Possibly except as I said, I’d never felt energy at this Pub moot before, and many others never had. At other times during a ritual you will get what the ADF and Reconstructionist pagans call “outsider deities” show up. I’ve had Loki show up even before the Dagda and Lugh showed up, and I asked them. What to do? Again that is up to you. I don’t suggest trying to banish them however. Commanding them does not seem like a good idea either. I guess my last pieces of advice are also the most important. Be ready for the challenge. Try not to go looking for the challenge! Don’t escalate; don’t decide to go on a “cattle raid” into their territory (no matter how tempting). Treat your behavior as if you are the face of your community. Do not do anything that they would be embarrassed about. Oh and do not compromise your morals and ethics either. (1) “Run away! Run Away”

Responsibility

2009-01-27T11:13:00.000-08:00

Yes I currently have a theme going on in my blog. Like I’ve hinted I’ve am going through a very turbulent time at the moment. It culminated a few days ago with an email from someone who should have been a friend. Someone who led me to believe I could rely on them no matter what. The email was in essence an attack at my ego. Each line was finely crafted, and toxic. Each attack was gauged to attack what was a perceived weak spot. This person calls himself or herself a warrior. This person claims to be above such things. But they like me are frail and human and prone to mistakes. Unlike me. They do not admit this. It is others not them. It failed. I did not fall in to despair. Rather it lit a fire in my brain. I took the criticism that was valid, and filtered the rest away. I was panning for gold. So after accountability. There comes responsibility. Those who tread the warrior’s path. Need to remember this word. A warrior out of control is not responsible. A warrior who does not repay a kindness is not responsible. Along with balance and accountability comes responsibility. It again is ok for a warrior to be human and make mistakes. Our gods are not perfect so how can we be? However it is still our responsibility to be responsible (sorry I was waiting to use that one). If someone helps you, and in turn needs help. Then you give it. Or if you cannot, you find someone who can. If you see someone in pain, you find a way to lessen it. If you make a pact with someone, you keep it. If you call someone friend, you act like one. If you act poorly, you admit it (accountability). It’s that simple. A warrior is not weapons, martial arts or mystic mumbo jumbo. No a warrior is someone who tries to live life in balance. Who owns up to mistakes, and lives up to obligations. When they fail. They admit it, and do better. If you make a mistake, and you admit it. NO ONE and I mean NO ONE is allowed to beat you up over it. If it is breaking the law. Then you pay a consequence. But you cannot be bullied, blackmailed or guilt tripped forever over it.

Accountability. (YES THAT MEANS YOU)

2009-01-26T11:22:00.000-08:00

My that is a rather large word. It has a lot of implications too. The path of the warrior (and this is simply me) relies on the person involved being accountable. Notice I say accountable. Not perfect. No one is perfect. But if you are accountable, you are being true. We all make mistakes. Trust me on this one. I’ve made some huge ones lately. Here comes the accountability part. I owned up. I took the consequences. I did not flinch. I am making the changes I have to make to not make them again. This is what it means to be a warrior. It is not being perfect. It is not about a cold heart. It’s not even about accepting the consequences. That is part of it. But learning is more part of it. Don’t make the mistake again, or at least try too. To blame others (voices in the head, the Devil also count as blaming others) is the path of the weak. That is self-delusion. Own up to what you did. Stand tall and admit it. I’ve done this enough times. The warrior will dust himself or herself off and move on. They don’t angst over it for weeks, months, and years. They do not say they are the victims when they willingly went to the situation. No that is not the Warrior. So a warrior holds themselves accountable. Even when they are wrong. Even when they screw up. I have a message for any one who cares. If you have any questions. Email me. Otherwise just keep reading
PS yes this post was pointed at some people (Fearn, Amanda *Wave*)

Bullies

2009-01-21T06:45:00.000-08:00

We probably all have been bullied in life. It’s part of the human condition. Or so they tell us. I personally was a great target as a kid. I was big, but pacifistic. It was my mother’s philosophy. Don’t fight, never fight. So for a time I listened. Then one day around 12 or 13. I was in the schoolyard, watching a game of “fives” (hand ball) and some charming older ape, decided to throttle me with my scarf. I am talking seriously throttle. I am told I was going blue. At some point something snapped in me. I lashed back. I got a solid connection with my back fist to the bastards nose. HE ran off to the teachers saying I had attacked him. What he did not get was the teachers lounge looked out over where this occurred. He and his parents were told that his badly broken nose was the consequence of his bullying. I learned three valuable lessons that day. (1) Do not over react to a situation. My level of force while appropriate could have gotten me in serious trouble. (2) Be aware of your surroundings. I never wear my scarf with the ends hanging behind me any more. I was in a sense “asking for it”. Being an easy target and not well liked by older students. (3) Only I allow others to bully me. So I actually went through much of the rest of my life, not allowing myself to be bullied. I appeared calm and intimidating in the face of threats, or I avoided the whole situation. To be honest it was not exactly healthy. Fast forward to almost 5 years ago. I moved to the USA. New culture. New rules. In New Zealand “staunch” was acceptable. It was attractive even. Staunch meaning “no worries nothing can touch me mate”. Here? It’s apparently arrogant and unacceptable. Vulnerable is the way to go I was told. I was a fool and listened. I allowed my first job to get to me. I lost 70lbs of muscle mass and allowed the CEO to bully me. I lost that job. I wonder if I was hard to get too, if he would have gone else where for his jollies> I allowed the local Pagan community to get to me too. Again I was an easy target. I was a male, with a view, and they hated that. If I had laughed at them. They would have gone elsewhere. But I allowed them to see me ruffled. That was a mistake. As a result. I have minimal contact with them now. What I do have is on my own terms. I’ve allowed family, loved ones, and even friends to bully me too. Guilt trips. The ultimate form of bullying. ‘ Here is the point. You notice at the start of each of the last few paragraphs I have written “I allowed” or some form there of. That is it. I, me, no one else. Allowed this. The warrior has to take responsibility for themselves. They cannot be a victim. They cannot play the blame game. While at the same time, they cannot allow others to be free of responsibility. It is a fine line. So when confronted with a situation. Ask yourself. Have I allowed this to happen? Or Should I allow this to happen? If you say yes. Then it is on you. If you say no, and the person doing it still does it. It’s a declaration of war. Don’t take it. Appropriate responses are allowed. Someone threatens you physically, or fucks with your mind, or even your spiritual self. Back them off. Learn the techniques. Take a martial art or self-defense class (both would be better). Learn to verbally get back at them. Learn to shield, learn to ground, and learn to redirect energy/spells. Don’t be a victim Also don’t allow others to be victims. Tell them to stand strong, yell at the person who is doing it that they are wrong. Be the balance between light and dark. See the shades of grey. He lives in the grey.

What to wear?

2008-07-06T11:47:00.000-07:00

Ok so you are serving as a Warrior in some capacity? What to wear? That is a common question for every pagan. “I’m going to a ritual, with a new group, what should I wear?” It’s important, you don’t want to stand out, offend, or look foolish (unless you wish to achieve any of those looks). So by serving as a warrior, consider what that will mean? Are you acting as a mystical buffer inside and outside of a ritual circle? Then practicality is less important and symbolism is probably more important! So ask the ritual leader(s) what they would like. However you are acting as “event” security, direction, first aid etc? Dress practically. Screw looking impressive. I do not recommend any form of weaponry be visible, however ceremonial it is. More on that next. I recommend dressing for the weather (and having back up for changes in the weather) wearing good sturdy footwear, and something to carry supplies (first aid kit, water, cell phone etc) in. I also recommend that ritual/festival goers be informed look for the person wearing this, and have some sort of easily recognizable but unique “uniform”. Uniform? No I do not mean look like a member of some militia, but rather every one wears the same thing, and it’s not a generic thing brought from a store either. The ADF Warrior’s guild (of which I am a member, and have been since 1999) decided on a red sash, with the Guild crest. The only people with the guild crest are members of the Warrior’s guild who have paid their dues. I’ve seen others wear a red t-shirt printed with “XYZ event aid” printed on it. Ok weaponry. While as a warrior you should not be against the ideas of weapons (as symbols or tools), they do not often aid in conflict resolution, and have no use in a first aid situation. So resist the temptation of carrying a large knife, sword, etc though a staff may well be appropriate. There are legal repercussions about carrying a weapon too. If the Police come on site, and they often do, they will get nervous when they see a lot of weapons on display. If a situation gets so bad that you NEED a weapon you have bigger issues! That being said if you can carry a legal knife in your area (a small folding one) then do so, it can be useful as a tool, just do not wave it about! So we’ve gotten down to a “uniform” for ease of identification, no big weapons, and practical footwear if you are serving in a practical role, and whatever is appropriate in a ritual only role. How about other people attending? If you are involved in the planning of an event, make sure any “media releases” (i.e. what will get people coming) explicitly states what is and is not allowable. Remember some pagans still think sky clad (weather permitting) is the way to go, but again police are not going to be that interested in the aesthetics as they handcuff the naked man who is screaming about his religious rights being violated. Similarly take a note from the SCA and Renaissance festivals, anything weapon like is either banned or peace bound. I recommend the banning of weapons (legal definition) but that is up to the entire organizing committee.

Patron Deities, Alters and offerings

2008-06-24T09:19:00.000-07:00

So if you are reading this, I will assume: (a) You are Neopagan (b) You have an interest in the Warrior spirituality And (c) You have an open mind If you are not in (a) through (c) and can stay polite, read and comment on ;) Otherwise the door is over there *points* So I’ve talked very little about he spiritual side of the Neopagan Warrior thus far, time to change that. Taking on a Patron Deity: So generally in Indo-European cultures (upon which a good 90% of modern Neopaganism is based) a warrior (a member of the warrior caste) would be beholden to a Chieftain, King, Council, etc. Think of the Patron Deity/Deities as something akin to this. Those, which make you more than a baseless thug, those who give you a place and a meaning. Indeed you may have adopted a community to serve, but you need a sounding board, a place to have a steady footing. This (to me at least) is the Deity/Deities we honor. So if you don’t have one, go research the deities out there. It can be Jehovah (though chances are you need to go to the nearest church to talk to him/it) or it could be Coyote (in which case please keep the pranks to a minimum). Once you find a deity that seems interesting (or indeed a whole pantheon of them, and no they do not have to be of the same cultural group, though mine are). Begin to make a working relationship with them! Reach out to them in meditation. You don’t meditate? Ok Trance work? Astral Traveling? No? Hmm find something. Assuming you meditate, when you “hit the sweet spot” as I call it (where you feel your mind soar away, and can maintain it). Go looking. Say it’s Odin (not one of mine, but a deity I respect), are there a pair of Ravens near by? (There usually is for me, and another singular raven (more in a second about that one). Follow them. They are Huginn and Muninn (Thought and Memory), and they are his spies, yeah I said it, spies. He also has a pair of Wolves Geri and Freki (also Gere and Freke. Freki is translated as "Ravenous." Geri is "Greedy", if they are there. Don’t bug them, just trust me. Those ravens will likely take you back to a one eyed, intimidating gentleman, who may or may not be hanging from a Tree. Talk to him. So look for a sign of a deity, this means you will have to research them. Personally I hold the Tuatha De Dannan as my Patrons, most particularly the Dagda, Lugh, Danu, and the Morrigain. But any of them have my service if they ask it (and a repercussion of this is I have their “protection” if I need it). It took me years of meditation, and self-searching, yeah I’m a bit slow, to forge this. So you now have a deity or two you call patron. You have researched them. Time to show them honor. Chances are you have picked a martial deity (but this is not certain, I will progress as if you have). Set up an alter to them. If you have more than one deity, and they are from different pantheons/cultures, I’d advise separate alters. They don’t have to be huge. Does your deity have a known representation (statue, art work, wall painting?), if possible have one. If not, it’s not essential. Does your deity have a weapon of choice? Thor liked his hammer, if you follow Him, a hammer (usable!) might be a good idea. This may take some time to find, and should not be the first piece of junk you come across. Junk? Yeah Junk. Say a sword is the symbol; say you have a “Celtic” deity you honor. Don’t buy a cheap and nasty Katana, not only is it ethnically wrong (the Katana) it’s not very polite to say “here is a weapon to honor you, it cost me sweet FA, and will bend in a slight breeze, but thanks you are a cool deity”. I am not saying you have to have the most expensive thing out there, but well made, and potentially ethnically correct helps. Personally I have a very nice sword, hand forged in England. It is worth a lot more now than when I got it. Next have an offering bowl/plate on the alter. It’s nice to leave something for the deity. A glass of beer/wine/mead/whisky to share, some fresh water, some nuts, whatever. I do not advise something that will turn putrid however, unless the smell does not bother you and anyone else who may “sample” it in the air. Offerings out side the alter? This is a touchy one. Offering implies sacrifice (yes it does) and the s word turns most Neopagans queasy. Any of the religious Reich into frothing lunatics (sorry more so) and is not wise. By sacrifice/offering we mean giving something of value up. NOT a chicken/small child on an alter. So offerings. I make offerings to my patrons as often as I can (every high day, and oft times when I feel like it). These are often in the form of silver jewelry and small but well made knives to a river, lake or the sea (a common path way to the “other world), mead or whisky to the earth (and I share it) and poetry/prayers and incense to the air. Fire is not something I use much, it’s the vector to the air for me (burn a bit of parchment with the ONLY copy of a prayer or poem, burn the incense burn the witch… uh sorry). But like water, fire is a vector. You don’t have to (nor should you) ruin yourself for the deity in question. That certainly is not being responsible or honorable! Ok so Shrines, offerings, what else? Dedications. I when I exercise dedicate it to a deity. “Just ten more reps for Lugh” “I will bench 100 kg by June 1st in honor of the Morrigan?” Deeds speak loudest. So if you are going to do something of note (even of just to you) dedicate them. The Abrahamic don’t have to have all the monopoly; though don’t be obnoxious about it either. Don’t “thank the goddess” over and over. Just let them know (the deity) it was for them! Ok so that is a start. More soon

When it all goes pear shaped....

2008-04-07T11:22:00.000-07:00

There is a British colloquialism about things going “pear shaped”, I guess the American equivalent would be FUBAR (f****d up beyond all recognition). In either case it means something has gone terribly, terribly wrong. We like to avoid that… right? In the Neopagan community, we have a self-destructive little habit called the “witch war”. It’s almost always over something pointless, and it’s almost always the older members of the community that are doing it. Witch wars are all about power, influence and ego. Ego? But we are enlightened beings right? Yeah right. So for those of us who have been caught in the middle of a witch war, we feel it is totally pear shaped. What to do? How to handle it? First identify the main players. The herald, the source of all the fuel for witch wars…gossip. They may not even maliciously be doing this, but they are spreading rumors. “Did you hear about XYZ and her coven?”, “That group from the next town over are doing black magic” etc The “Victim”. The person ostentatiously being targeted by someone. The “Aggressor”, the person who is apparently attacking the victim. The goons. Both the aggressor and the victim (whether they want it or not) are likely to attract a gang of goons, who do deeds in their name (whether they are asked too or not). These are the main players. So you are now in the middle of a witch war? As a warrior the first tendency is to, well, do war. Not a wise idea! Chances are you are with out the full story, and thus vital information. Also no one has asked you to help yet. So as I’ve stressed before we are here to serve and protect, not enforce. Gather information, but be cunning about it, being seen to poke your nose around may make it worse! Gather both sides of the story. Ok so done that? Is the aggressor really the aggressor or actually a victim, or both? Probably the last. Is the victim, a victim or the instigator, or both? Is the herald spreading the information in a clear and concise manner? Are they skewing it? Is it even real? Ok got the information? Take a step back. Observe the community. Is this being ignored? Is this splitting it down the middle or worse into many fragments? How bad is it? Is this contained in a mailing list? Is it public? Has violence been threatened? All of these items are incredibly important to consider because how you deal or do not deal with them depends on the context and the level. If the witch war is on a list. Ignore it. Stay out of it; it is typical of any mailing list. The typed word is a blunt instrument for conveying emotions, humor etc. Joining in, even to chastise both sides will not help. The exception is the moderator of a list (if it is moderated) if you are the moderator it is your job (and only your job) to enforce rules of civility. Don’t take a side even if your best friend is involved. Just deal with it. If people can’t behave you throw them off the list! If it’s public, try not to get involved if it’s words. You will paint a huge target on yourself if you do get involved. I know I’ve done this and while not regretting the outcome, regret the personal repercussions! If it escalates to pending violence. This is where you step in. Make sure you calmly, and clearly get in-between the antagonists. Be rational and firm. Do not threaten, and be prepared to act, acting may include calling the police. Be warned this last action will make you very unpopular in a community, no matter how justified you are. So levels of response? This can range from a “cut it out” to a “you are not welcome here”. In ritual if two antagonists are in circle, keep an eye on both. I’ve seen a ritual where one antagonist had for weeks been pushing buttons, including spitting at a proclamation about the other party. This was seen by the other party, and they began to make demands. If it had been allowed to go unchecked, I think the so-called ritual knives (athemes for you who call them that) might not have been purely ceremonial to be honest. It was resolved with myself and three others acting as “Dragons” outside circle, and the ritual leader (a well respected member of the community) telling the spitter they would behave or be banished for good! In this instance, the apparent problem was well behaved. Sadly there were other problems… another story for another day! So lets recap. Your community, be that a coven/grove/circle or the actual community, is in the middle of a witch war. As a warrior your first instinct is to “get em”, but that is wrong. You take several steps back (I recommend about two meters… sorry Combatives joke about reactionary space in a knife attacks) and observe. Take the time to gather intelligence, and then start forming a plan. Don’t act unilaterally; the community will only remember that action not the cause! This aside violence is never acceptable, and you are obliged to stop it. Violence can be mental, physical or metaphysical. Last reminder. We (the warriors) are NOT the pagan police; we are protectors and servants only at the sufferance of those who accept our authority! If you have no place acting, don’t! The caveat to this is once asked to act, remind the person(s) who asked exactly what they are getting. Check before acting in most cases, and adjust down the level of response, never up. Your first instinct is usually the best, but it’s still just instinct! Slan agat Noinden Note This information was mostly gained from years of being online (the major area for Witch wars) and Reading Mr. Hubbard’s "Witch War survival Guide"

Choosing a Martial Art to fit my Spiritual needs.

2008-03-23T19:36:00.000-07:00

What? What does a martial art have to do with spirituality? Well grasshopper, if you go to some TMA (traditional martial art) dojos, you will discover you are being taught along with board breaking (uh sorry martial arts) some eastern spirituality. Even if it’s a little, it’s there. So what should a Neopagan (be they a warrior or not) be looking for? That is a loaded question. Because we as Neopagans are generally proud of being an eclectic bunch, thus meaning the answer is going to be vague. I’ll skip that and move to, what as a Neopagan warrior should one be looking for? Lets assume (a) You are a Neopagan warrior who is fresh to the path and has no training at all (probably a bad assumption) (b) You are of the type of Neopagan warrior who sees that action is often required (i.e. not he Peaceful warrior) and (c) You are mentally, spiritually, and physically up to the challenges training will bring. So what should I be looking for? Trainer: This is the MOST important part. You could be learning the right style (for you) but have the wrong trainer. A trainer should first and foremost be modest. Not humble, no that is a bad trait, but modest. They do not overstate (or even lie) about their accomplishments. This sadly is all too common. There is a feeling that you have to be “the best” to teach. That is not so, you have to be competent, and able to teach first. A style that fits you: If you are slight of build, grappling arts (say BJJ (Brazilian Jujitsu) are probably not what you should learn first. Sure it’s important, but in a situation, grabbing the 800lb Gorilla that is trying to rip your ears off, is not the brightest move, similarly if you are that 800lb Gorilla type, learning a style that relies on speed and fine motor skill (say Capoeira) is probably the wrong choice too. It’s best to start with a primary style then branch out. I say start, as part f the battle is to learn to trust yourself. So if you manage to progress in a style, picking something new up is easier. The best approach once you’ve “blooded” yourself is (in my honest opinion) to train Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). It can be a competiton based MMA, or just mixing different styles in to what you know. Why is this the “best”? Well it gives you a wide variety of skills, hopefully at least two instructors, and hence perspectives. Modern MMA is most known in the cage fighting circuits. Here BJJ is ‘king”, as most of these fights end in grappling and submission. It would be wise to remember that in a real fight submission is not as effective as in a competition, because you eventually have to let go (unless you really wish to cripple the opponent). Apart from sports MMA, there are other styles too. Military Unarmed Combat aka Combatives is a form of MMA (even if the zealots in sports MMA will have a stroke over this statement), as it mixes various techniques (including ground fighting (aka grappling) to form an effective style. So with style, pick one and move on to others, take the best and forget the worst. Confrontation control: This is an undervalued skill. A teacher that shows you how to first assess, then avoid, and last option deal with confrontation, is the best. A fight avoided is a fight won! Sadly many MMA’s ignore this as they are competition focused (even if they are selling themselves as “self defense”). They will teach you effective ways of causing joint and muscle pain, but there is always the chance you screw up, and having tried to apply a hold on Mr./Miss double joints, he/she may decided to retaliate, when a few simple soothing words would have fixed the problem Medical consequences: What you are taught always has consequences. Know them Would I use it? Would you use a technique or a style? Seriously outside the Dojo/gym would you see yourself applying this? NO? Then don’t try. It’s that easy, learn another option. Does it fit my mentality? An important ideal. Many who walked into my Combatives School, walked out fast as it was “too rough” for them. Which is fine, don’t do something you do not agree with. Forcing yourself to try will only cause internal conflict. Ok so that is some considerations, physical and mentally, how about spiritually? Well assuming we are partaking in a Neopagan faith that has martial deities in it (or at least as aspects of the deities they have), why not? Do we think Mars or the Morrigan will appreciate a nice little peaceful turning of the other cheek? Or perhaps letting someone get hurt when we could stand in the way? Probably not. Similarly our actual act of training can be dedicated as an offering to the deities! It’s always hard to make a non material (silver, gold, etc) offering to a God. If (like me) you suck at poetry, it’s some food, drink, or something else. I’ve dedicated my exercise and training to my four patrons (three of which are martial like) Dagda, Danu, the Morrigan and Lugh. Your actual sweet (and in some cases blood!) make a much better offering than just going and buying some cheap silver and offering that! Indeed I think they perhaps enjoyed the lumps and abrasions and cuts I took in Combatives much more than anything else? Weapons: This is a very touch subject. Martial arts at higher levels usually incorporate weapons training into their syllabus, many modern WMA’s (Western Martial Arts) actually focus on weapons exclusively too. A friend of mine (online only) Phil Elmore even wrote a book (Street Sword) on the use of the sword in self-defense. Admittedly he also pointed out it was not he most common way of doing it, but an option. All that said and done. Training with weapons is a great focus. In eastern styles weapons kata’s (ok all kata’s) let the Martial artist achieve an almost meditative state. Can you apply this to your path? Obviously you are not going to be walking around with a sword (Right?) most of the time, so it’s not so much a personal defense option, as a spiritual one? Indeed can you work magic/energy while you train? I certainly can, and it’s a lot easier than you would think. One thing though make sure you are (a) Alone (b) in a room with room (my old bed room at the family house (recently sold) has scars thanks to me not getting this point and (c) Unlikely to be seen by the police! “Officer it’s a ritual” he screamed as he was hand cuffed and taken in for mental evaluation So to close the answer is “ummm it’s difficult” but yes pick and choose for you! Ok in addition to this, are there any martial arts I would avoid? YEP, I’ll not name them directly but at least ONE martial art out there claims to be a survivor of pre-Christian Germanic/Scandinavian times. All evidence points to it being a modern invention (indeed the forms are from eastern martial arts). Don’t be suckered in by fanciful claims. Just like don’t let a high priestess/priest say she/he is from an unbroken line of pagans, it’s rot! Don’t try to learn just from DVD/books, get a training partner at least.

Pagans and the Law.

2008-03-03T08:55:00.000-08:00

This is a topic many in the community hate to see, as it actually implies that we “shock horror” have to conform to societies norms on some level. At one time Neopagans were at the edge of society, the rich and strange or the hippy. But never middle class normal. Sometime around the mid 1990’s this began to change on a few levels. Thanks to Practical Magic, Charmed, etc Pagans became an acceptable path to the majority of society. Sure the ultra hard right still saw us as dangerous weirdoes and used us as excuses for many things, attacked us even, but on a whole, wearing a pentacle (if that was your thing) was no longer painting a bulls eye on your back! With this acceptance came the realization, we could be more public in what we did. Public ritual became commonplace. Indeed some of the best Pagan festivals are open to all, in the middle of cities, or at least in easy reach. So when we went public, certain things had to change. Ritual nudity was not a great idea, and the “great rite” went to a symbolic thing (the arrival of HIV also had a big part in this). What some realized and others did not, is our ritual tools were also something to reconsider. Every decent pagan ritual usually involves fire. Funny thing about fire is the authorities tend to worry about it. Thus the people running a ritual really should invest in training as fire wardens (accredited training) and also getting a fire permit. Imagine if a large fire was sparked by a careless ritual, the media would probably not be too understanding. Ritual Knives, swords, Staves, sickles, and even wands. If it looks like an offensive weapon, if it can be used as one, then it IS an offensive weapon. The law will not differentiate “ceremonial” over “functional”, so it’s wise to either talk to the law first, or not use them. Use of illegal substances in public. This can range from alcohol to hallucinogenic, and every thing in-between! No just no is all I have to say to this. No alcohol in public, and absolutely nothing that can get you arrested. Just don’t. End of story. This leads to the point of “attitude”. Be polite, be calm. Show the police, fire service, or security guard the utmost respect, even if they are idiots. Kerr Chulainn gives the best advice for a ritual in progress that the police try to stop: Stop and listen to them, place the items that may be “weapons” under the alter or the center of the circle, you can reconsecrate them later and they HAVE to be returned anyway (as they are holy items) step out of the circle (you can ground later, it’s not going to kill you or end the world, no matter what some people think), and obey them (gun beats knife). DO NOT try to cut a door in the circle (that will be brandishing a weapon to the police). Ok what rights do we have? The same as every one else. Neopaganism is a religion, and in the USA and most of the Western world, it is free from obstacles. HOWEVER: We are no MORE entitled than any other to practice what we do (i.e. we can not demand reparation for centuries of mistreatment or whatever) but we cannot be persecuted for what we do either. Many Afro-Caribbean Mesopagan faiths (Voodoo, hoodoo, etc) have won court cases to be allowed to follow their faith with out persecution, thus by extension we can too. Find a nice pagan friendly lawyer if people start to question your rights! Ok so we have duties and rights, remember that we have both! Not just rights. Act like a responsible adult, and try to enforce it in the community. If the community will not listen, don’t be a part of it, as the law and the media will not make the distinction between members!

Balance, and no this does not involve an gymnastics beam!

2008-02-01T21:42:00.000-08:00

Something I think every human should try to achieve is balance. In life, be it physical, mental or spiritual. It’s vital.

Studies have shown that many of our modern “illnesses” are due to an imbalance of lifestyle. Nutrition has suffered, we eat “ready to eat” junk food, and suddenly society in the west is plagued by obesity and malnutrition. We work to hard, and stress (generally mental in nature) causes us to loose years off of what should be a higher life expectancy. We feel disconnected with the world (somewhat a spiritual issue) and society stops being societal, and we become individuals in the worst sense. This leads to people like the Unabomber, serial offenders in violent crime, or just a plethora of sad individuals that make society hard to maintain!

For a Warrior, balance is vitally important. As we deal with conflict as part of our path, we need to be able to “decompress”. Studies during the second world war onwards showed that soldiers (yes I know not always a warrior) who could not take a break, suffered mental “issues” at a higher rate than those who took a break. I think the most startling of this is the residents of Stalingrad (considered the longest siege in history, as it was pretty much 24/7 for months, while Medieval sieges would stop (generally) at sun set) had a life expectancy at least a decade less than those who were not there. The stress was constant, thus they could not ever relax!

So a warrior needs to find something that they have a passion for that is not warrior related. Art, poetry, whatever, but the warrior needs to be able to not be a warrior at times.

So for those of us on this path, even though the idea of “being vigilant” is there, there also has to be the idea of “doing it for yourself’ sometimes, because we are of absolutely no use to our community if we can not function at peak performance when needed. Worse still we may go off the path of the Warrior onto other less acceptable paths, and may never find our way back.

Out side of the community issues, or how to deal with "persistent" missionary nuisances

2008-02-01T18:33:00.000-08:00

Perhaps the most serious threat to large Pagan events are the “proactive” Christians. I use the term proactive as to be honest it’s how they see themselves. They are here to stop Satan and save the souls of the poor misguided sinners. Generally they are “Jehovah’s warriors” and thus the enemy for the Neopagan Warrior. They are making war on us, and we need to (a) respect them and (b) be ready for them.

Wait a second, I said respect? Yes indeed. Respect is not accept. Acceptance is admitting defeat, respecting is admitting they exist and can possibly be a treat.

Now some of the more skeptical of you will argue that how can they be a “threat”. I might even get the old rhym “sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me”. But I would like you to consider the following links (part of a very fine Blog FYI).

http://www.wildhunt.org/2007/02/god-wants-you-to-be-intimidated.html

http://www.wildhunt.org/2007/01/freedom-to-harrass-us.html

If you clicked the links you will have seen that a group of overly zealous evangelical, extremists (I am avoiding the T word) picked on a little girl. Well gee how bloody brave of them. They will of course if confronted about the tactic us the time honored get out of jail free card of “saving souls” or “Christ compels them”.

That latter one really should not be a defense for poor behavior as a number of mentally unstable individuals have committed crimes and tried to use “the Devil made me do it” or some such as a defense. However as Christianity (and the other Abrahamic faiths) are widely accepted in the west (yes even Islam was till 9/11), allowing them free reign to be arses!

So what can the “Warrior” do? Well any large event needs security in my humble opinion. The security is there to stop problems from legitimate attendees and interlopers. A small well disciplined, trained and motivated group of individuals can maintain order with out being seen as too authoritarian by the community. There job is not to tell most people how to act, but rather stop a small number of people affecting a large number of people in an adverse way.

So at that pagan pride event if there had been such a group, they could have “quarantined” the group of Christians early on, and waited for the Police to show up and remove them.

Now getting the pagan community to accept that this is a necessary evil is a whole other matter. But the larger we get as a community the worse this can become. So far it’s been minor harassment in the grand scheme of things.

The question is, do we want this to escalate. Because as there are members of our community are willing to “lash back” at perceived injustices, and to be honest, untrained, undisciplined “warriors” (as they see themselves) are vigilantes and terrorists, and no society should accept that from it’s members. Take the high road, you can drop rocks on them better from up there :P

Honor (quick count the spoons)

2008-01-08T11:33:00.000-08:00

For this post I would like to deal with a touchy subject.

Honor.

I am reminded of Samuel Johnson's comment on a certain dinner guest: "The more he spoke of honor, the faster I counted my spoons."

That attitude (the speaking of honor) is what makes this a touchy (contentious even) subject!

You cannot talk about honor and be honorable. Honor is actions, not words.

It’s also very misunderstood (VERY).

The dictionary definition of Honor at it’s most simple is:

Honesty, fairness, or integrity in one's beliefs and actions: a man of honor.

Now as per usual the dictionary does not convey the spirit of the idea. But that will do for a start.

Sadly the concept of honor has become convoluted, misunderstood, and reviled on a lot of levels.

During what some people would call the age of Chivalry, it became codified. This formalization led to a lot of the problems. Rules as opposed to a way of life mean there are loopholes. You could CLAIM to be honorable, while still being a dirty rotten scoundrel (sorry Mr. Martin).

The idea of an honor price also got perverted. Where it was SUPPOSED to be a deterrent for members of society from breaking the rules (the more important you were the more expensive it was) and not disposing of those who did the misdeed (because people are important in these cultures, they each play a role). It became an excuse for the rich and important to not follow the rules.

So over time you can see the word honor probably pissed people off. Add to that Duels and well yeah you get the idea.

So in the Warrior societies of the past what exactly did honor mean.

As you may have gathered I am most experienced with the Indo-European cultures, specifically the “Celtic” ones (and more specifically the Gaelic cultures).
In the Gaelic Culture, the traditional word equated with “honor” is oineach (derived via ainech back to old Irish enech) literally means face, and we can derive the terms “saving face” and “loosing face” from this idea. That study in linguistics was probably very enlightening but not explaining why I’ve used it?

ENECH (as will refer to it now) implied that ones “honor” was something that was derived from how one was seen in the community (the face you show the community).

There was a second term that would also be applicable herem, that is CLÙ. This term roughly translates to fame or reputation and derives from an Indo-European (IE) root word meaning “to hear.”

To the Warrior caste, the saving of face and having a good reputation was paramount. They would go to great lengths to undo a misdeed, to avenge an insult etc. In many ways “honor” was the check society had on the Warriors. Tales are told of Bards being able to depose a king with a simple satire.

So it can be seen in the pre-Christian (and early Christian) cultures of Eire, honor in a form meant a LOT to the Warrior caste.

Other cultures are replete with similar ideas, from the Samurai of Feudal Japan, to the Cheiftains of Pacific Islands.

How can honor be applied today?

Well while many people will point “sagely” at the Wiccan Rede. That is (a) For wiccans and not all pagans are that (b) a Guideline not a law and (c) Some cleaver souls have managed to amend it such that they can justify being none ‘redy”. The “amended” version that is fairly recent (sometime in the late 1980’s at the earliest) reads “Do as tho wilt, an it harm none. If it cause harm do as you must”. That last part basically says “if you see someone doing harm, act however you need to, to stop it.

This version is often quoted by those involved in witch wars (another post for another day), and those who are justifying their stance. Usually it’s quoted by weak leaders who are unsure of their position, and are thus resort to unethical stances. To me (as an outsider (non Wiccan) it is a cop out!

So back to honor.

The concept can be used as a way for a warrior to hold themselves in check. I define an action as honorable if it is “just”.

I ask myself before I take an action, is it earned? This applies to good as well as bad acts, a person who rewards someone who has not earned it is being just as UN just as someone who punishes an innocent!

If it is just, then you have to meter our the level of action.

Next you must ask is it lawful?

How will it reflect on myself (my enech and clu)

On my community (will what I do cause the media to have a circus over pagans?)

Finally would I proud if my family (or coven or whaever) saw me do this.’

Once you have done this, then you can act.

Of course this is still a contentious subject, because Pagans are one of the most, if not THEM most non conformist religions out there, thus they dislike rules being put down. This is only my thought I wish to share and I am not the honor polic, or the Pagan Police.

A warriors myth

2008-01-07T12:26:00.000-08:00

Many ages ago, perhaps only a few short years after the world had been made, a young lad by the name of Setanta set out on a journey. He decided that the farm, where he lived with his mother and his cousins, was too small, and there must be more in the world to see and know. His father, who was always away on travels of his own, belonged to a special group, recruited only from the most skilled and honorable of warriors. Setanta decided it was time to take up his birthright, follow in his father’s footsteps, and join the Boy’s Troop of these Red Branch Knights. For someone walking alone, at that time in the age of the world, roads and spaces between settlements were always wild and dark places. The distance between Dundalk and Emain Macha was long and dangerous. Setanta had to be wary of wild animals, brigands, and the elements. He played with his hurly and lither to occupy his mind during the long days of tedious walking. At night he slept rough, on a bed of leaves and mosses, a stone for a pillow, and his cloak for a blanket. All along the road, the shadow of a crow followed him, far enough away to be unobtrusive, but close enough to be a constant presence. On the third morning, he emerged from his sleeping hole, at the side of the road to find a woman standing over him. She seemed to be taller than any adult he had ever seen before, and darker. But perhaps that was just an effect of the light, for the sun was rising behind her? Her wild red hair and dark green cloak with black feathers seemed to be stirring in a light breeze that he could not feel. A golden Torc the sign of a sovereign, was around her neck. In one hand she carried a bright long spear, with a tip as long as a sword, and in the other a stout wooden shield, with metallic reinforcements designed into intricate knot work. Her face was hard to see, with the sun behind her head, but there was strange warmth glowing from it. She was beautiful, but she had the kind of beauty one finds in thunderstorms, and the wild seas. “Do not be afraid,” she said to him. “I am a great queen of this Island, and I have been watching you for a long time. I am here to tell you your destiny.” She sat down on the ground, closer to the boy’s level and spoke further. “If you want it, you can have a long and happy life, with a good home, a wife and children who shall love you, and when you die, you will be very old, and healthy, well loved and happy” The boy thought about this future prospect, intrigued but also bemused. “BUT there is another life for you,” continued the magical woman “You could become a great hero, and live a life of adventure, passion, and danger. If you choose this life, you will create a great name for yourself, and the poets and storytellers will be telling your tale in this land forever, but you will die very young. The women then stood again, and thrust the rim of her shield into the ground, just within reach of the boys right hand, and then thrust the blunt end of the spear into the ground just to his left. “I offer you this choice today” she said to him “the choice you make shall transform your future irreversibly. Which life do you choose to live?” And with out hesitation Setanta made his choice… This is known as the “Choice of the Morrigan”. Setanta of course is better known as Cu Cuhulain, the greatest warrior in Irish Legend.

I have borrowed this excelent telling of the myth from "Mysteries of Druidry (Paperback) by Brendan Cathbad Myers". I can not recomend his writtings more highly!

Ethics and all that

2008-01-04T20:02:00.000-08:00

So I’ve spoken about Honor, now lets talk about ethics (and all that).

I’ve alluded to the fact that I think a lot of Wiccan’s use an amendment to Rede as a back door to being unethical; similarly I’ve suggested I think the modern Pagan community is a little self absorbed and individualistic.

For the warrior acting ethically is unquestionable. For a community to accept you, you have to show you can be trusted to serve. You cannot decide when and where you will behave in the manner that the community wants. Now this behavior includes acting WITHIN the laws of society.

Imagine (if you will) a pagan “warrior” getting caught acting in an unlawful unethical manner. The media would have a field day. We would be branded a dangerous to society (well ok more so than we already are by the religious Reich). The idea of pagan warriors would be warped to an “anti government militia” or worse “terrorists.”

Overreacting am I? Look at how Islam is being branded. Not only are the extremists (rightfully) being labeled as dangerous (any religious extremist is dangerous) but your average Muslim is also being considered suspect.

Now this is very unfair, as the number of dangerous Christian groups out there is on the rise, but it happens.

Thus being ethical is paramount.

Slan

Noinden

What is a Neopagan Warrior?

2008-01-03T20:38:00.000-08:00

When Gerald Gardner (dear old Uncle Gerry) lit the “fire in the mind” of the first generation of Neopagans, he was hoping that the English people (and if we are honest this was his intended audience, not the rest of the world, that was just a nice bonus) every man and woman who joined, would became his or her own priest and priestess. He saw a deficiency in letting some dry old theologian preach at the masses and tell them how to think. It certainly seems to have lit a fire in the mind of a lot of people. However I doubt very much he would recognize much of what he started in today’s Neopagans.

Mr. Gardener was a white, conservative, middle class, British male. Most of his coven members (and those who followed) were similarly conservative, middle class, Brits, as a whole they were very well educated, and not pacifists. After all they had just survived the Second World War. But as Neopaganism spread, the demographic changed. Gardnerian Witchcraft (those who spawned from Gardner’s first Covens) had to compete with imitators, and schisms, Druidry crawled out from stone circles and poor history to begin to show an interest in reconstructing what actually went on (with in reason) with the various Celtic Tribes, Asatruar begun to feel it was safe to be openly Germanic and Heathen (they prefer this to pagan) and not be labeled a national Socialist. But over all, those who follow the leafy path have become very liberal.

Liberalism is a great thing, it allows for rapid growth, and a positive environment for the exchange of ideas. The Goddess movement became very prominent, and with them the Pacifists. No longer were Neopagans a bunch of middle-aged men and women in robes (or nothing at all) following a formula. Now they were the Hippies, young academics, and so much more.

However in this environment there was an aspect of our ancestors that was ignored (or dismissed) and a portion of our community that was marginalized: The warrior archetype! When the Warrior was acknowledged, it was often the “way of the peaceful (read pacifist) warrior”. But we had pagan Soldiers, Police, and martial artists, what about them?

Some time near the end of the 20th century, Neopagans allowed that the idea that perhaps the Warrior was important, to flourish again. Soldiers who were Neopagans began to get support from their community, Police did not have to worry that every member was seeing them as a sell out, and martial artists did not have to pretend it was purely an art form they practiced, but rather it had applications in the defense of the self and others. It was a start.

Defining the Warrior.

As we grew up we all had an idea of what a warrior was. Through stories, books, and other forms of media, I think all of us had an image. Be it a Knight on a horse, to a Samurai standing on the battlefield, or a soldier fighting the “foe”. We all I think compartmentalized the image. For many of us we really respected it, even yearned to be one, perhaps as we grew older, it no longer had the draw, or perhaps that draw was stronger? But lets take a moment and think: What is a warrior?

If you rely solely on a dictionary a warrior is “One who is engaged in or experienced in battle.” That seems a little too generic and bland though. What about a Knights honor? Or a Samurai’s adherence to the code of Bushido, stories of valor from our Grandfathers perhaps, might even our sports heroes to be warriors? So lets toss that dictionary away (or prop a table up on it) and go for the soul of the matter.

If you look at various cultures over time, a warrior fulfilled an important role in society.

Samurai were leaders and the glue that held Feudal Japanese culture together. Admittedly that culture was a harsh one, and one we’d not like to live in today, that was however their function. Knights were variously holy crusaders, servants of a monarch, and eventually fraternal orders (e.g. the Knights of Malta) or members of the peerage (the title conveyed by the modern British public honors system includes several “Knights”, this is often mirrored through out the British Commonwealth, a great example (is Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to climb Mount Everest, and comeback down alive, along with his friend Tenzing Norgay).

Both the Knights and the Samurai had honor codes, but also other non-martial skills to learn, roles to play. Today our soldiers may or may not be warriors, but we have the Police, and Fire service, who most would agree certainly fill the role. When I was growing up the Police officer was some one you could (no SHOULD) trust.

The Indo-European (IE) peoples lived in a caste-based system. Three major castes existed, Producers (farmers, crafters, i.e. the common people), Intellectuals (priests, judges, bards, etc) and the Warriors (the Nobles). Members of the Warrior caste did have certain perks (like being able to carry weapons, and “ruling”) but they also had huge responsibilities. The safety and well being of the lands the people inhabited, making sure every one was well fed and safe. There are may legends of the land itself falling ill, either because an unjust ruler (like Bres) or when the King was himself ill (like Arthur during the grail Quest). There seems to be a mystical link to the well being of a land (the people!) and the Warriors. Similarly the warriors in these various IE cultures generally had a code of ethics they had to follow (in Celtic and Germanic/Scandinavian cultures the idea of an honor price was held, that is the more important a person was, the more expensive for them to break the law it became, for they had to pay the honor place based on their position and reputation within the community).

So it’s simple to see that in the past a warrior has been seen as more than a trained killer. What about today, in our Neopagan community? What role can or should we play as warriors?

Well one very well know Neopagan author (Starhawk) who is also a pacifist and an activist has this to say:

"Earth is the element of nurturing, grounding, of the practicalities that assure our sustenance. Dragons keep the group grounded, in touch with the practical, the realistic. Dragons also live on the boundaries of the wild, guarding hordes of treasure with their claws and fiery breath. The Dragon in the group guards its resources and its boundaries and articulates its limitations. ...

Dragons establish boundaries that give the group a sense of safety, and limits that keep the group's service sustainable. They may be perceived as throwing a wet blanket on the fires of fresh enthusiasm, but they may win great appreciate from those in the group who are feeling overwhelmed and can't buck the driving force of the Crows and Graces."(Truth or Dare, Starhawk, p. 281-82)

This is put another way by the Reclaiming Witchcraft movement (a mystical tradition based around Starhawk’s teachings):

"Dragons" guard the perimeters of circles in public outdoor spaces such as beaches so that participants can work undistracted by curious passersby; they do not directly participate in the work of a ritual because they are providing a buffer between the public and the inner circle. In this role, Dragons are similar to what are called in other traditions the Summoner or the Man in Black.”

This is one very common role that people take on in ritual, and it has spread beyond the Reclaiming Witchcraft Tradition.

During public ritual, Neopagans have quickly realized that they are opening themselves up to public scrutiny, and that will not always be positive or friendly. There have been incidences of evangelical Christian groups “invading” public rituals and Festivals, to proselytize. Understandably the Neopagans involved are unappreciative of this, and often have wondered how to handle this.

The ADF Warriors Guild states their mission as follow:

”The Warriors Guild of A.D.F. is dedicated to serving the A.D.F. community with members who are trained in spiritual, mental and physical defense, designing & performing liturgy for Warrior spirituality, and emergency response. All this is done through study of warrior magic, history, strategy, and physical training.”

Another group is The Royal Order of the Knights of Herne, and they state:

“The Royal Order of the Knights of Herne is a fraternal spirituality and service group for men of Earth-centered faiths, organized along the lines of ancient orders of chivalry such as the Knights Templar. Though primarily dedicated to the exploration of men's spirituality through Pagan, Heathen, and other types of earth-centered rituals, we also have a strong commitment of service to the community.”

Another role the warriors groups that are around have taken is one of organization for these rituals and festivals. Often there is a shortage of people willing to actually pitch in and help, setup, run, and clean up events. The warriors often are these people, generally in good physical shape, and generally service oriented.

So beyond ritual/festival security (or whatever candy coating you want to give it) and organization, what else makes the warrior?

Well personally I break this down into Three sets of three areas to focus upon.

Physical, mental, and spiritual.

Service, Integrity, and Balance.

And

Personal, community, and global.

Physical: This is self explanatory. Physicality is one of the trade marks of the Warrior, action, and results are part of this. But it is also about understanding the physical nature of yourself and others, how the body works and responds. Nutrition, first aid, and even appearance all are part of the Physical world of the warrior.

Mental: Mentality. This encompasses learning, strategy, Psychology. Knowing how things happened in the past, and not making the same mistakes, understanding your mind, and a little of others.

Spirit: Spirituality, it is hard to be a Neopagan with out this aspect, indeed I would say impossible! So for a warrior spirituality is what guides us. The idea of ethics, morals, virtues, and perhaps even the example of our deities and heroes. A warrior worships in their own way, it can simple or elaborate, but they feel it!

Service: A warrior should only function within the community if they are asked to do so. To assume you are wanted there is either an issue with an overblown ego, or not being in touch with the community. To force a service on a community will only ensure they are resistant to what you have to offer.

Integrity: Integrity is acting according to ones conscience. We as adults (generally) intrinsically know right or wrong action, assuming we are functioning human beings. A warrior needs to have Integrity, as a community will not trust someone who has been shown to be untrustworthy. This will include ideas such as courage, honor, loyalty, etc, but may in general be called integrity.

Balance: Balance is trying to ensure that actions you take are just, that things you do are not extreme. Balance means not neglecting an aspect of yourself ie building muscles over cultivating a mind, or understanding your soul. An unbalanced warrior is a danger to themselves as well as their community.

Personal: By personal I mean focusing on yourself, you do this first before trying to help others. It’s the first rule of getting the job done. Make sure you have the skills (physical), understand your mind (mental), are solid in your faith (spiritual) because if you are not focusing on one of them, or worse ignoring it, you will not be balanced!

Community: Given we have talked of service, who exactly are we going to serve. Only you (and that community) can decide this. It could be a Coven, or Grove (or insert an appropriate name for a small group) or as large as your nation (and then you should be in the military if you already are not), and anything in-between. Once you decide upon your community, you should then approach them as a whole and offer your services, they may rebuff you, or test you, or accept you with out question, it is just important to decide who that community is, and remember that that is the limit to your influence. For the warrior the community is central to existence. Sure some of you might be thinking of stories of Ronin out of Japanese folk law, but to be honest, they are simply no more than stories.

Global: Don’t look just at yourself and your chosen community, look at the world as a whole, look for paterns and trends, always be scanning. You will see problems earlier, you may be able to make alliances faster etc.

Ok so what types of Neopagan warrior are there out there?

The Activist: They fight for an ideal. Often they will not themselves act violently but they are willing to place themselves in the way of violence and conflict. They may or may not see themselves as warriors, and will probably not recognize many of the other aspects of a warrior as valid.

The Martial Artist: They study the forms and applications of violence, but perhaps never ever place it into action.

The Peaceful warrior: These warriors, will not use physical violence under any circumstance, but will stand in the way of danger, will try to resolve conflict through words, and example. They are every bit as much a warrior as the others, they just act in a different manner. They will often not agree with any application of force.

The Professional: A soldier, Police Officer, Fire service member and even Emergency Response personal. Their job IS the job of the warrior. While being in one of these jobs is not a guarantee of following the warrior’s path, many of them still do. Usually they see those who play at being a warrior as a menace and bad for their image.

The non-professional: I probably fall into this category. I train hard, study hard, and try to practice, however my job is not to be a warrior, my passion is. I try to serve my community in the role. Those on this path have “day jobs” but when needed step up. I am not talking about a “pagan militia movement here” as that would be scary (to me at least), rather perhaps like a Guardian Angles movement that is only active during large public affairs. This group however has to be self-regulated to avoid becoming a menace (like a militia or vigilante movement), they require strong leadership, and vetting of members to avoid this.

The Mradu: In several forms of the Vampiric subculture, there is a caste system that includes the Mradu, or warrior caste. I separate them here as they are in a much more structured environment than your average Neopagan.

Beyond the types of warrior there are also organizations that specialize in the path, they can be local, national, and in one case international!

The ADF Warriors Guild: Formed in the late 1990’s, this group like the rest of the ADF emphasizes serious study and testing over every thing else. To progress in the guilds three circle structure, you will be tested (written and physical) on skill. You agree to follow the syllabus, and code of ethics (along with bylaws, and pay yearly dues (not much)).

Craobh Ruadh: This is a small group of “druidic” warriors who are made up EXCLUSIVELY of current and former US military, Intelligence, and Federal law enforcement personnel.

Mradu caste of the House of Dreaming (and others): I’ve mentioned them as a type of warrior, but in reality they are also part of an organized group.

The Military Pagan Network (http://www.milpagan.org/) the name is self-explanatory. However it is one of the groups dedicated to supporting Neopagans in the military.

The Officers of Avalon: Is a group for serving members of the US military, law enforcement, firefighting and emergency medical personnel and their families. It provides support and resources for these fine individuals, that till recently the Neopagan community and government did not deem important.

The Royal Order of the Knights of Herne: based almost solely in North Carolina, this group of individuals encompasses every aspect of what I am writing about. They while regional are open to any Neopagan.

The Warrior Wolves: A Texas based group of Neopagan Bikers who identify with the wolf totem. It is exclusive and membership is by invitation only!

Who might we have to deal with as warriors?

Fellow pagans: This can range from a simple of pointing out the way to the facilities at an event; to actually removing a drunken idiot from an area they can cause mayhem. It is also our job to make sure people follow the law, or at least know it. This last part is contentious in the extreme. There are a lot of “you are not the police” and “fascist bully boys” thrown about, it causes flame wars on lists, and schisms in community. The fact however remains Neopagans whether they like it or not are part of the greater community, and do not get to choose what laws they follow and which they ignore.

The General Public: Curious onlookers, even more curious missionaries, and the odd malicious fool. We have to politely but firmly handle all of these. During ritual as Dragons we stop anyone crashing a ritual, as well as making sure those inside ritual have manners. In the USA Pagans have to realize there is the guarantee of free speech and freedom to practice religion that allows them to be pagans, at the same time, Evangelical Christians are similarly free to proselytize at you.

Police/Fire Service/Emergency response personnel: It is probably the warrior who will get to deal with them first. During ritual, we are often on the outside, and alert, at festivals we are often serving as organization. Whatever the reason, we need to politely help these people do their job, and reduce friction between the community and them.

Slan

Noinden

Beginings

2008-01-01T11:49:00.000-08:00

Who am I

Hello there I am Noinden Tain. I’m a Neopagan Druid on the red branch of the warrior. Well ok I am a Neopagan Gael-centric spiritualist who focus’s on the warrior caste. That tends to elicit rather glazed expressions, so I stick with Neopagan Druid Warrior;)

What does that mean? Well what it means is I study the ways of my genetic ancestors (the Gaels, ie Scotts and Irish, also the welsh and the Scandinavians) and try to adapt these to a culturally acceptable form for today. This means no head hunting, blood eagles, Wicker men, and only the occasion deposit of hordes in lakes.

As a “warrior” I try to serve as a buffer between conflict and my chosen community. To that end I set up a non-denominational Warriors Lodge (the term for a grouping of Warriors who seek to connect spiritually) about 2 years ago. It currently has between 10 and fifteen members (depending on how many graduate the current intake of learners). We are NOT Jedi , or a pagan militia and we run the whole range of Neopagan and Mesopagan faiths. We are not the pagan police (unless asked to act that way) and are not affiliated with any one group.

I practice Military Unarmed Combat of the Fairbairn-Applegate-Sykes-Todd lineage, this is my “marital art” although it’s not your typical competition art, as we don’t hold competitorns or have fancy belts for achievement (there are three levels of achievement and only two are tested, the third is on going learning). I also am active in the ADF (www.adf.org) and their warrior’s guild (http://www.adfwarriors.org) and have been since mid 1999.

So how am I “qualified” to speak on this topic? How is anyone qualified to speak on any topic? I’ve studied, screwed up, and talked with others. I’ve taught and learned. Read and written. This is MY journey and not the definitive journey of the Warrior. Enjoy. Show respect or be net koped ;)