the Hearthwitch

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Posts posted by the Hearthwitch

  1. 11 minutes ago, Key said:

    I tend to avoid confrontations. I don't like conflict, so I avoid having enemies. But if I should come across one, I don't try to escalate things unless provoked. And if that happens, watch out, I have a terrible temper!

    Sounds like we're all pretty much in the same boat, then! :)

     

    • Like 1
  2. 13 minutes ago, RevTom said:

    Most often, it is to my regret and chagrin that I meet brutality in kind. I often feel guilty afterwards, but I don't think I would do anything differently. I told my son, who was small for his age while in school, that if he got suspended for defending himself to consider it a vacation.

    Can't say as I blame you, for telling your son that. I wish this wasn't true, but from what I'm seeing, the youngers are mostly being taught by their parents that it's OK to be a bully. Seems to be the case, around here, anyway. :( It's why we're moving my youngest to a different school, in fact.

    I do think that sometimes brutality does have to be met with brutality, guilt or no. You, good sir, are exactly the sort of fellow I'm looking around for while I shriek like a harpy, when I see a domestic in progress! ;) Thankfully, there are a lot more of you guys out there than the wife-beaters, LOL! 

    • Like 2
  3. 4 minutes ago, RevTom said:

     

    I suppose I have a harder stance against those who would do harm against others. I believe that if you can do something about someone harming others - even if it comes to physical action - and you don't take that action, you become an enabler for that person committing the abuse, bullying, etc. 

    Good on you! I feel the same way! But....Not having a huge amount of upper body strength someone limits one's ability to take a very hard stance, I'm afraid. LOL This is why I tend to just get in the way of threats- I'm no warrior. I know I can't take 'em down (probably), but I can interfere until help arrives.

    I'm a meddlesome woman, rather than an Amazon. :P It's a little different for us gals who don't "carry", I guess.

    • Like 2
  4. 5 hours ago, Key said:

    Much like warding off a bear sometimes. LOL  Sorry, just imagined you that way as soon as I read that.

     

    *Giggle* Exactly! Never thought of it like that, but yeah, I guess you're right! :lol:

     

    What about you, Key? How do you deal with enemies? 

    • Like 1
  5. 2 hours ago, Jonathan H. B. Lobl said:

     

    No snark intended.  I have come to accept that our beliefs open us up to different experiences.  The experiences in turn shape our beliefs.

     

    I don't want to sidetrack the conversation.  For now, let us say that I've had my own experiences.  

     

     

    Thank you- I appreciate you having clarified that. It's so hard to tell on forums- the cues aren't as clear. ;) And I'll admit, my skin is probably thinner than it should be. This is why I usually avoid forums, but I'm trying, here. (And hoping not to get cut too badly! LOL)

    It would be so much easier, if we could just...prove things. Experiential stuff just doesn't wash, for the empirical crowd, usually. 

  6. 15 minutes ago, Jonathan H. B. Lobl said:

     

    "Some things need to be believed to be seen."  Yes?  

     

    Not necessarily. I do hope that you're not being snarky- a question was asked, and I answered it truthfully. I think some folks are dealing with their deities and Others directly, and some aren't. I don't think one is necessarily better than the other, either. It's just a thing that IS.

    I was not raised by people who wanted anything to do with this, although I found out, near her death, that my mother had been dealing with it for her entire life, but tried to deny it. That was pretty sobering.

    I have had to make my journey on my own. So have a lot of other people. It wasn't a matter of having the belief ahead of time, for a lot of us. Weird stuff happens, whether you're looking for it, or not. ;)

     

  7. On 1/14/2016 at 9:08 AM, cuchulain said:

    In reexamining my beliefs, I realize that this is ultimately what it boils down to.  Is there any reasonable evidence for supernatural events happening?  If there is no evidence for the supernatural, then clearly there is no evidence for any sort of deity.  Supernatural is defined as some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature.  Deity is defined as a god or goddess, divine character or nature, especially that of the Supreme being.  Reasonable is defined as having sound judgement, fair and sensible, capable of reasoning, rational.

    So, I pose the question:  Does anyone here have any reasonable evidence for supernatural happenings?  I would consider a preponderance of anecdotal stories from reliable sources as evidence, meaning stories from people who haven't been diagnosed with some sort of mental disorder, or who don't clearly promote a specific agenda, and in numerous amounts.  I personally have that "one" story from my own experience, and having had three friends with me as witnesses that it actually occurred, but whether or not the event was supernatural is undetermined by those of us with a sound mental background.  The other person who was convinced it was supernatural later ended up in an institution, with the firm belief he was a werewolf, so for obvious reasons I disbelieve his accounting.

    I'm going to play that ball where it lays, so to speak- no quibbling about terminology. :)

     

    Evidence, as in empirical? Nope. I can't prove it. But I Know it. I See it, Hear it, and Feel it, more often than some people brush their teeth. (I am using the capitalizations somewhat facetiously- not wanting to be dramatic, but I have no other way to express the ways that I sometimes perceive things that other people apparently don't.) Some of my experiences have been witnessed by others; a lot of 'em weren't. Knowing is good enough for me.

     

    I think some of this has to do with deities, including one whose messenger is still knocking stuff over at my house, apparently to irritate the dog and cats. And my husband. (And I'm STILL puzzled as to why S/He sent that One to us! LOL) I don't have a lot of contact with Beings that present as Gods or Goddesses, but the times that they have, I've found to be pretty convincing. I've also dealt with some really, really (for the lack of a better term) EVIL ones- the best I can do is to say that they presented as something demon-like. Mostly, though, I just get the ones I call the Visitors- whether they're ghosts, wights, whatever you want to call them- they're a little different, and mostly harmless. I don't always find out why they came to visit, either, although sometimes I get lucky.

     

    There are a ton of other folks who are experiencing this, too- check out Patheos Pagan sometime- there are LOTS of anecdotes there, of experiences with both deities, and other Beings. Also, my family all have experience with this...my youngest son just came into his Sight last year, and it was a doozy of an experience! ;) I think this is more normal to some folks than others. 

  8. As a woman, and a mother, the only beings that I see as enemies are threats to my children, myself, my husband, our pets, or to others. And to qualify as an enemy, there has to be an immediate threat of violence or harm.

    I never, never wish for harm to others without serious provocation. I don't even bother, with minor stuff- gossips and that sort of thing, it's better to just ignore 'em- they almost always hang themselves with their own rope, given time. I have asked for help from other Beings, from time to time, in speeding up that process, but I do not generally use spellwork for direct harm- it's cleaner and simpler to aid them in their own defeat. Even when there have been direct magickal attacks on my household, my husband and I both have simply done a Return To Sender. No sense in making a bad situation worse, or owing debts we aren't willing to pay. ;)

     

    Like you, I don't have a guidebook that I follow. I'm not Wiccan, so even the Wiccan Rede doesn't apply. I am my own moral authority.

     

    How I respond to threats is dependent on the situation. If someone who is human is physically threatening any of the aforementioned beings (family, friends, furbabies, or even strangers), I have a really odd reaction for a shy person: I get right in their face, as loudly and as attention-drawing-ly as possible. If it is a male human, attacking or threatening a child or woman, I'm twice as loud, and will often try to draw their violence to me, because 1. I know that I can take a hit, and 2. I can really, really draw a crowd if I have to! The sight of a man hitting a screaming blonde gal has a tendency to get things stopped in a hurry, for some reason. :rolleyes: And most of the time, it actually stops that person in their tracks, rather than resulting in being hit. It's a huge surprise- they don't expect it. I don't look like any kind of a warrior-woman.

     

    Why do I do it? Because it's effective. Hurting people, especially people who are at an obvious disadvantage, is wrong.

     

    I've only had to do it twice. I have only been hit once, while doing this. The woman was able to get away, and the police got the guy who was beating on her- her husband. He only got one hit in, and was subdued by others. I have a surprisingly hard skull. The lump went down within a day. I barely even felt it. ^_^

     

    The time that this occurred and I was not hit, was a situation where my child was threatened. I have a feeling that the man involved in that situation read what was in my eyes, and realized that he might not survive the encounter. The police took it from there. 

     

    If I can't draw witnesses, and they don't stand down, I will fight. And I will be as dirty and vicious as I can be, especially if it is for my children. At heart, I think all mothers are animals, when it comes to our young. I know for certain that I am. (Probably a were-wolverine, or a badger or something along those lines, LOL! :lol:) This same applies to attack by real animals- dogs, etc. I will use physical force, if needed, and I believe that I would kill to protect my own.

     

    I appreciate your having asked the question- never thought it through like this, before. I hope others will reply- it's an interesting subject! :)

    • Like 2
  9. It seems, lately, as though more & more people are having direct, personal experiences with the Gods and Goddesses, as well as other Beings. I've been seeing this in blogs and elsewhere online, and since I'm kind of isolated, the online world is the only place that I've been connecting with like-minded people- I don't run into a lot of Pagans, Heathens, or witches of any stripe, in my everyday world. I've also been seeing that "supernatural" activity is reportedly on the rise, too, in these online communities- and I've noticed it, for the last few years, long before I found those communities and sites.

    But, I am also keenly aware that birds of a feather tend to flock together...so, thought it would be a good idea to ask here, too, since this is broader site, in beliefs-

     

    Have you had more going on in your spirit and spiritual world than you used to? Are you Seeing/Feeling/(insert-your-method-of-detection-here) more activity than in past years?

    And are the God(dese)s calling on you personally?

  10. Oddly, I saw the dinosaurs, too. And certain deep-sea creatures that live around themal vents. Given the information that those are tree roots, I did look more closely at the painting...and still saw critters.

    But I'm going off-topic...

    I think I agree with Brother Kaman on this one. I remember the first time that I was introduced to the concept of foreshadowing in literature, as a concept. (I'd been reading for a goodly bit more time than most of my age group, so I already knew what it was, but didn't know there was a name for it.) I gave that concept a lot more thought, after that. And then they taught me all kinds of other things to look for and use to judge a piece of writing. (And to be honest, I'm not all that certain that having the critical tools to take a story apart has made the experience of reading more pleasurable...maybe less so.)

    I'm also not sure that you can typify all people, and how their heads work, by that study. There are some of us who are always, always going to be noticing the monkey, but at the same time, seeing all of the rest of it, too. And it could also be argued that the children were trying to figure out, "Wait...which parts of this thing are supposed to be hay? The yellow stuff, maybe?"

    • Like 1
  11. Hi, everyone! I'm a newbie, so please pardon any faux pas I may commit. This seemed like the best place to ask for guidance- from my fellow pagan clergy members. :)

    I have been a witch for my entire life, despite having been raised (loosely) as a Protestant Christian. I seem to be adopted by different Beings, from time to time, and have run into some perplexing things. When I was in my early 20's, for example, a male Being would show Himself in my dreams, when something bad was about to happen at work, particularly if there was going to be some nasty backstabbing-type things going on. He is a big, African fellow, and He would be standing on a small hill, under a full moon, holding a large knife (like a machete) in His right hand, and a large snake in His left. He would then literally slice the snake, from the beginning of its neck, down to its tail, in one movement- like He was filleting it. Very iconic, right? I would awaken in the morning knowing to watch my back...He was NEVER wrong. I don't know who He is, but I honor Him still, even though He hasn't shown up in a LOT of years- but then, my life situation and day-job are quite different in nature than they were, back then, LOL. I still don't have the slightest why He chose to do this, or to present Himself in that way. I'm grateful, though.

    Recently, we've had a fox spirit in the house- by this, I mean it looks like a real, actual fox. It was annoying our dog and cats, but it stopped, after I asked it not to do that. This was followed by the girl-spirit who ALSO showed up in the house, right after. I can't see her, but my son can- and he says that she appears to an Asian child, small, and slightly mischievious. I've since decided that, for whatever reason, this may have something to do with Imari...although why She would be "knocking" on my door is beyond me. I've begun to honor Her in my haphazard way, and She doesn't seem to be causing trouble or to be irritated with me. So, that part has been working out well. My altar is large- and there's always room for more.

    I give you these stories as examples of how these things happen, in my family's life. Much of our "extended family" isn't even related to us by blood ties- we "adopt" aunt and uncles and cousins!- so it seems perfectly natural that my Deities would arrive in a similar fashion. ;)

    So on to today. This morning, at 4:11 AM, I woke from what seemed to be a solid sleep. I don't recall any dreams or dreaming- but I did hear a Voice. She said, and I quote: "Child, you do realize that I am not always kind?" This last was delivered with a Voice that sounded...older. Wise. With a dry sense of humor, a kind of dry wit.

    Boy, did I wake up FAST! I don't recall making any deals with any Beings recently, or asking for any favors- in fact, I know that I haven't. Hearing a statement like that one, delivered the way it was? It was a bit...disturbing. Not scary, exactly, but I woke up with the gears turning at high speed! Gotta say, though, that it didn't frighten me so much that I couldn't go back to sleep. ;) There were no negative presences in the room, no problems at all...just that enigmatic message.

    Folks, can you help me out here? I have zero idea who She is. I've been studying Bride (Brigantia/Brigid), but this doesn't really seem to fit Her profile. (I could be totally wrong, though- I am studying, not an expert, LOL!) Been hearing about the Morrigan and Freya lately, a lot, but neither feels quite...right. I'd also be interested whether anyone else knows who my Friend the Snake-Splitter is, or our Fox Girl. 

    Thank you for reading this rambling post. And thanks, in advance, to anyone who will share their opinions on this! Any and all input is welcome. :) 

    Blessings from my Hearth to yours!