Inspired partially by Hecate - here's a list of ten things I love about practicing my religion, from the big to the not-so. I didn't include "I love Deity," because that's kind of a given...besides, "love" in the context of a list like this seems like much too small a word for how I actually feel.
That being said:
1 ~ I love that we have things like the Chocolate Ritual, the Fraggle Rock Ritual, and the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Casserole. Self-parody is pretty much nonexistent in mainstream religion.
2 ~ I love the sweat-socks/marijuana/desert smell of burning white sage.
3 ~ Along the same lines, I love how most Witches' homes all have that underlying "50 Kinds of Incense" smell that permeates everything from our clothes to our curtains.
4 ~ I love the sensation of being gently but firmly pushed to the back of my own mind that occurs at the onset of Drawing Down the Moon.
5 ~ I love the fact that even though I don't speak their language, trees talk to me and I understand perfectly.
6 ~ I love that we don't have blasphemy. Otherwise I'd be in sooooo much trouble.
7 ~ I love that when my friends and I talk, I can say things like, "Her energy was all crispy and had all these green tentacles like a hentai sex monster, and it felt like she was poking me in the third chakra," and they know exactly what I mean.
8 ~ I love that having a vagina doesn't render me inferior or less "in God's image" than someone with a penis, and that I can teach, lead, and affect the evolution of my religion regardless of biology, sexuality, or race.
9 ~ I love my athame. (The picture doesn't do it justice.)
10 ~ I love when I'm doing a Rune casting for someone who previously didn't really believe in silly things like divination, and they give me the wide-eyed "holy fuck!" look that means not only am I right, I'm scary.
Very cool athame!
Posted by: Hecate Demetersdatter, Runnymeade Conspirator | March 27, 2007 at 05:39 PM
I gave it the old college try :) It will be interesting to see how many people will pick up on these lists and to see how much the same and how different we all are.
Posted by: Sonja | March 27, 2007 at 09:07 PM
Your athame is lovely, where did you find it? It seems the internet stores have a lot of the same ones, I can barely find anything I like, especially at a price I can afford.
Posted by: NenTara | March 29, 2007 at 03:56 AM
NenTara: I bought my athame from Autumn's Path, which no longer carries them; they are made in Britain, however, so you might try Googling "athame" with "black blade" and looking at sites overseas.
Posted by: Sylvan | March 29, 2007 at 07:02 AM
Thanks :)
Posted by: NenTara | April 08, 2007 at 07:34 AM
The athame is from Druids Keep, isn't it? It looks like one that I desperately wanted, but couldn't bring myself to buy overseas, on the internet, without touching it. Is it as wonderful as I believe it is?
Posted by: Ms. P | June 20, 2007 at 11:49 AM
Greetings, this is for NenTara! Can I ask you if you had trouble with your order form Autumn's Path? Did they take forever to ship and not reply to your emails?
Thanks so much!
Bright Blessings!
Posted by: Beth | June 26, 2007 at 03:17 PM
Ooohhh....sorry, the previous email was actually for Sylvan. I read the posts wrong. Sorry! Anyone who has info would be greatly appreciated!
Posted by: Beth | June 26, 2007 at 03:19 PM