Himitsuko

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Everything posted by Himitsuko

  1. Giving thanks to the Divine for a beautiful Sunday after a wet and dreary week

  2. Thank you for the Birthday Blessings! Brightest years upon you!
  3. By Jove! I'm an old man not a historian! Say, wanna catch a a falling star with me? Then dinner and perhaps a nightcap. Afterwards we can...
  4. I am intrigued that lawyer implied that living in the Now allows the spirit to wait patiently prepared for those things which life will bring us. Much of the lives that people lead are based in personal perception. Two people may have very different ideas of what is real and valid and what is not and one of the early lessons in the practice of Witchcraft is to understand that the world we percieve exists, in large portion, only in our individual imaginations. This is not to say that true facts are not available to us, or that there is no physical world with which to reckon, but once we realize that much of our percieved reality is based not only on our observations which can be flawed, but also our own interpretations and the prior interpretations of others, then we see that we are already experts in creating illusions. At that initial stage, the first challenge is to seperate and identify individual illusions, mass illusions, and that which is real and present. Each of these states must be dealt with differently and thus it is paramount that the differences between them are seen and dealt with clearly and with reason. Fear of Witchcraft often stems from the idea that people are running around out there changing things willy-nilly without thought to the larger reprecussions of fiddling with things not understood. But one of the secrets of effective Witchcraft is to first understand a situation both as it is percieved to be and as it actually is before moving to create changes, for how can we know the right thing to do if we are limited in our comprehension of the problem? What has this to do with living in the now? Well, an awful lot and unfortunately it's one of the hardest hurdles to jump for some. Living in the past, or in one's pipe-dreams of the future, or even being stressed and preoccupied about the end of the day, are all states of imagination where the Present is brushed aside in favor of speculation. If we are to understand, we must also push aside our personal illusions which often control us in annoyingly persistant thoughts of, if only, and wouldn't it be nice. In effect, you are being asked to literally live "beyond mind" where personal and mass perception can be observed without being accompanied by reactionism. Here is a situation that hopefully may demonstrate the point more clearly. A young couple marries both fully aware that one of them is conservative with money while the other is careless. Eventually, the careless partner spends several hundred dollars knowing it has been earmarked for rent. For a week, embarrassed and afraid, the careless partner lies and evades, hoping to replace the missing $$'s before getting caught. Well, let's say it doesn't go down that way. The meticulous partner finds out about the shortage while trying to pay the bills. Well, most people would react immediately and emotionally. All at once, the meticulous individual who by nature carefully guards against such occurences may feel betrayed, and as a result, quite angry, not to mention afraid and anxious because now the rent cannot be paid. These reactions are all considered well within normal parameters. But if the meticulous partner is also trained in one of several mystic paths or perhaps a similar technique gained from psychotherapy, then he or she may not find himself in the position of not needing to react at all. Rather, the incident is observed, and the problem evaluated based only on the facts, rather then addressed with stress or fear or anger. Now we are approaching a realm which is beyond individual insecurities and care, where there is no "mind", but merely reasonable and decisive action to address the problem at hand. Compassion and love rule out retaliation, and the meticulous partner can forgive quickly without resentment while taking the realistic steps necessary to prevent a future occurence. There is no judgement, just a need to deal with the situation exactly as it presented as each moment unfolds itself.
  5. Thank you Lawyer for your contribution. Are these principles something that you use in your daily life, and if so, in what ways do you most commonly apply them?
  6. And a good question too Fawzo. To answer your first question. The full moon in December holds no more or less power because of it's relative closeness to Yule. However, when a Sabbat falls on the Full Moon, which is infrequent, but certainly occurs, it is likely that all the characteristics of that Day would be amplified, even if only in the minds of practioners.
  7. I am not that young (29) and have studied religion my whole life as my father was among other things a Christian minister and took me all over the world (literally and physically) in order to better understand the nature of God and the belief systems of many cultures. Let me take one point at a time. First as discussion of Zen Buddhism (which did orignate in China but came to a most unique and beautiful blossom in Japan)and it's role in the history of the samurai. First, let me suggest a little light reading. I highly recommend Winston King's Zen and the Way of the Sword: Arming the Samurai Psyche As a professor at Vanderbilt college I would hope he can be considered at least one valid source on the unique symetry that developed when Zen Buddhism was introduced to the imperiallistic Japanese. The following is a quoted review by Charles B. Jones of the Department of Religion at Carleton College. There is no disagreement among any scholar I know of the powerful effect the introduction of Zen Buddhism had on the Japanese. And I definitely would not classify that effect as wholly passive, nor do I understand Zen to be an entirely passive philosophy. Also, we were speaking of the compatablility of Zen philosophy with Wicca specifically and of other Western pagan practices more generally. I asserted that Zen was a compatible philosophy with Western pagan practices, perhaps especially Druidism, and it was argued that this is not so. That issue itself was not discussed or resolved, but this would be one place to explore that connection. Now, for my apparently inappropriate topic title. I did use the title "The Craft of the Wise" because I had intended to be speaking to advanced mystics and witches about their practices and philosophies. I expected there would be twice as many Wiccans in the discussion as other pagan philosophies, because this is often case when addressing a large and unknown group of pagans and coming from an almost purely mystic path that cares little about the boundary lines and particular phrases of specific paths, I wanted to be certain that our younger Wiccans readers and contributors knew I wanted to include them as well, while elevating the practice of "The Craft" to those beyond the confines of the Wiccan path specifically. It is quite difficult to not feel utterly insulted and defensive when I read this. I have had formal training in Wicca. Lots of it. Take a look at the last five years of my posts on this very site and you will find that my understanding of Wicca has been lauded often by practitioners much older and more advanced than myself. I do not think that borrowing this wonderful phrase from them is disrespectful at all. Quite the opposite in fact, as I was honoring my Wiccan brothers and sisters. And considering how much Wicca borrowed from the Druids, and I am a Druid of some degree in my order, I see no reason for a Wiccan to complain about a liberal usage of phrasing. How can we praise the individuality of the pagan spiritualities and then argue over whether or not a kindred has the right to use a technique, philosophy, method, or phrase, while trying to discuss large abstract concepts to people they've never seen, over the internet no less. I am far past nitpicking definitions. If you are wise enough and educated enough to gleen my meaning and spend your time looking at the spirit of the content of my posts rather than hacking my phraseology-which can change in common usage definition from state to state- then please continue with what is otherwise a unique and interesting discussion of magickal practice and theory. If this is not the topic for you, please move on, and be blessed.
  8. You know, I never actually meant to be speaking only to Wiccans. In fact, despite using a Wiccan term for a thought as old as time (Craft of the Wise) there is nothing in my posts that is specifically Wiccan, and I am not myself Wiccan and have never claimed to be. By invoking "The Craft of the Wise" I am literally speaking of the practices of Wise people with their eyes on the world through any or all of it's amazing prisms. Not all who are of the Craft are necessarily Wiccan either, creating another beautiful nuance of spirituality which is too often not taught early enough. It is our experiences that make us what we are and we are not all dancing to the same tunes and those tunes aren't all being played at the same pace. Perhaps one of the most important lessons that we as adults fully in our crafts have learned is that every individual life, each person, whole or broken, young or old, must be taken as they are. It is our very ability to see beyond preconcieved notions that gives us vision. A spiritual path is as individual as a painter's strokes. Similarities in style and subject abound, but hidden beneath the picture is a story of creation and destruction that can never be written the same way by someone else. An overzealous determination to reach the masses with a cohesive doctrine of this is this and that is that is what has robbed so many of the great faiths of their ability to grow and adapt in a world that is begging us to collectively see beyond our selfish and fear-fed definitions and labels. I wanted to briefly comment on the following statement as I fear it may mislead our younger readers into believing a false dichotomy actually exists. Zen is an Eastern philosophy and it is true that traditional Eastern thinking is, even after a couple glances, vastly differs from traditional Western thinking. But it is not fair to say that Zen is passive, or even that Wicca is more Yang than Yin. Zen didn't help make the samurai one of the most effective and remarkable fighting forces in history by being passive. Zen is largely concerned with knowing when and how to act. Once a situation has been considered and a decision made, the consequence of that action should be swift and total. There is little room in Zen for victimization. It is a razor sharp philosophy that can be applied on the battlefield, in the boardroom, (another battlefield with a little less bloodshed) in the kitchen, while hunting, while harvesting, and certainly while dealing with conflict head-on. The courage to act holds all the same importance in eastern philosophies as it does in western ones. Also, like many of the pagan spiritual paths, the philosophy of Zen is easily adaptable to individual needs and practices.
  9. Arcana, That was a great post and thanks for sharing. As always happens during my dark time I have been away deep in my thoughts and experiences and haven't been checking in for a while, but this is a good topic for all types of practioners to really get into good honest discussion about our personal mysteries-and our inner perceptions of the Divine world and how those perceptions influence us in dailly life.
  10. In Native American traditions and some Middle Eastern ones, tobacco is recognized for it's healing properties and occasionally it's power over life and death. Tobacco does in fact have some healing properties when applied correctly and dogs like to eat it in part because it prevents certain nasty little worms. In addition to it's healing values however nicotine is one of the fastest most effective neurotoxin known to man. It can kill you dead in a matter of seconds. Although illegal now, Native American hunters used to tip their arrows with nicotine extraction to kill certain large predators. I do not know if this process renders the meat inedible, but I do know that it's a good way to stop a bear from coming back. There are lots of recognized uses for tobacco other than the simple addictive ones but I do not personally use it in my own practice as you don't find it listed as a common celtic herb, and I tend to stick primarily with the celtic traditions using peppermint rather than sage for cleansing and banishing.
  11. Fawzo, You are so right about smoking being a filthy habit, yet somehow I've hung on to it like a safety net for all these years, and now giving it up has a real purpose. Giving up smoking may be a bit painful but it wouldn't matter if it weren't. The point is that I am creating a definite outward change to signal the universe of my innermost intents. I'm signaling the Divine-"I have courage and discipline and a willingness to change whatever I must that I might serve the fullest of my potential." It is this thought that gives the ritual real power.
  12. Chi, that was beautiful. Samhain has traditionally been associated with death, so here's just a little aside taken from this year's ritual as I have written it for myself. White being the color of absense, death, purity, and cleansing, I will begin my ritual in a dark room with only a white candle which I will use to light all my other candles and the insense. Then I will pass the white candle over the alter saying this incantation which I wrote last night. The purpose of the white candle is to purge The message of the white candle is peace The ash of the white candle is pure The flame of the white candle is eternal. I will then blow out the white candle and cast my circle.
  13. I wish you love and light on your ever evolving journey. A personal relationship with the Divine, no matter how you understand it, is the greatest gift a man can have. Namaste.
  14. As always good question Fawzo. Samhain (Halloween, All Hallow's Eve, All Saints Day (catholic Nov 1-2)) has long been considered the day where the normal barriers between this world and that shimmers away and fools may be taunted/haunted by faeries, and ghosts, and wise men seek the Dark Crone (The Goddess in her most mature triplicity) Now I could get into a bunch of legends and stories, and I encourage the Bards here to do exactly that, but for your question I will answer more directly. Sloughing off bad habits, self destructive behaviors and thought processes is not for humans a painless procedure. It requires looking at oneself with unabashed honesty, seeing oneself with the unflinching mirror of truth, and we all have parts of us that can be terrifying to confront. If you think you don't, you probably haven't looked in a while. This kind of honesty requires great wisdom and it is in the Crone or the Sage (who we also find as God the Father in the Christian theos) that we find the strength necessary to confront the very worst of ourselves. A great portion of the Craft is showing outward signs of inward committment. If I should want to kill off the jealousy and possessiveness inside of me, if I want to root it out and extract it like the cancer, then I need to show the universe that intent in a clear a precise way. I will use a symbol to represent the jealousy, a symbol to represent the weapon with which I will destroy that jealousy, and a symbol of that beautiful and wonderful blessing that I will allow to take the place in my heart where the jealousy existed. I did this two years ago, and I replaced jealousy with the courage and strength to let go. Only the insecure need to possess. Now I remind myself that I am courageous and honorable, there is nothing for me to lose. As this process often takes from us some vice or habit, it is a sacrifice in the truest sense of the word. This year I am sacrificing my addiction to cigarettes (a painful process indeed) in order to open my life up to the creation of the great wellness centre that I will be building over the next several years. I cannot heal others while I'm killing myself. That's just not how it works. So I am sacrificing something that in truth I love that I myself may have health and wellness enough to share with all around me, and my strength will lend to their strength, and everyone is in some small way bettered because I choose to control my own behavior. I hope that answered your question Fawzo, and hopefully it raised another. Namaste--The Divine in me acknowledges the Divine in you (very very rough translation)
  15. I haven't written about it in a while, but the reason that the authority concept is so important is because you need it if you are to live free. It takes a great deal of personal responsibility for your current life, if you are going to take up the mantle of creating your life. It means quietly, but definitely turning your back on a great many human habits. It is easy to judge others, particularly others who do not share our zest for spiritual truth, the the world only needs so many witches or mystics or doctors or plumbers, but when you are the author of your own life, living free and with the authority of experience and wisdom, you recognize that the only reason others are trapped, is because they want to be. Dare I say it, I think some people need the safety of their small lives and small illusions. It would be downright inhumane to take it, and they will fight you to keep it anyway. But you are free. Free to choose something else, and you first have to choose if you want something else. After that, the real trials begin. We are standing at the threshold whereby we can see at least two worlds at all times and now we must live in both of them, and reconcile both of them in our own souls. Anyone who has glimpsed this threshold in the smallest way can tell you it is powerful, awe-inspiring and frankly a little overwhelming and scary. Many of us have been there at least once. What was it for you? How did you find yourself in that peculiar place where all the choices are yours for the choosing and only love fills your heart for those who will never see or understand the awesome worlds that lie just underneath the physical really real world (or at least that's what we call it.) Share your experiences if you can. And BTW, It's Halloween! Samhain to some of us. The veil between the worlds will be at it's thinnest in just a few days and the time of great sacrifice is upon us. Here we shed the old that the newest and brightest bits of ourselves may shine clearly through. What are you doing on that most creative of nights?
  16. Authority: ~abridged from Dictionary.com Druidic authority as a concept is closest to definition 11. Three spiritual instructors of mankind: Mastery of self Mastery of world Mastery of unknown It is this type of mastery that we speak of as we encourage young Druids to "take up their authority." As a mystic, I am not interested in dominion, but in the quiet solid knowing, that comes with a life lived in contemplation, the search for wisdom and "silence" I'm having a hard time finding exactly what I was looking for online ( I thought I knew right where to look but evidently I was wrong) Still, I really feel that for those of us in the more advanced stages of practice, it is very important that we begin to honestly discuss such things. Here's why. In AA and NA they teach addicts that the control does not belong to them, but to God, and that if the addict tries to take control on their own, they will fail. I can't begin to describe how badly this ticks me off! We're all human, fallable and prone to certain weaknesses. No one can do everything all the time by themselves yet our societies infrastructure is not built in such as way as to encourage or promote co-operative living. There is little true incentive for people to help others but worse, it's almost impossible to help when each of us is in such dire need. Need of what? Food clothing shelter (That's the first tier) Projects, income, human support (second tier) Emotional intimacy, generosity, meaningful achievement (third tier) --ps this is my shortened simplified version of Maslow's Heiarchy of Needs. Right now lots of us are still working on the first tier stuff, either getting it, trying not to lose it, or putting all our time into maintaining it. We have one or two things going from the second tier, and maybe one thing from the third tier if we are well established. I know that to gain these things first and foremost we must believe in ourselves. Any addict I know who has been able to recover in a meaningful way, had to actually leave the AA/NA programs to do so. When all of one's time and attention is centered on their past relationship with themselves and their vice, then this is naturally what the mind remains focused on. When you instead replace the time spent either engaging in or dealing with that vice, with projects, ideas, and motivation to create a better Future, there is no room left for the endless guilt over past wrongs. Thus the feelings of helplessness, which are often the underlying cause of risky behaviors, are replaced by feelings of worth and achievement about the present. So when I say, I am not the authority, I do not mean to say that in me there is no authority. This slight distinction is for me the difference between between the habit we have of judging ourselves and eachother and the ability to discern those things which are productive and helpful, rather than those things which are destructive, inhibiting, and self-reducing. I am the only authority in my own life. I am a reasonable authority on some subjects. I have no authority over the freedoms and decisions of other men. There's more, but my goodness I can't make the old noggin kick in just right today. Share your thoughts on this. Let's talk about personal power, how to get it, and what to do with it. Maybe ya'll can kickstart my neurons.
  17. When I was 25, the world as I knew it crumbled and I, quite momentarily, (about nine months) spun totally out of control. Mind you, my world only started to crumble at 25, it didn't stop until I was almost 28. Now, I am a new person, living a new life, in a new place, and the only thing that has remained constant is my ever more determination to be a force of good and reason and truth in the world. This can't be done at all properly if one is not gifted with the ability to laugh at ones-self, and at the whole rollicking nature of the world. That isn't always easy for me, a scorpio, to remember. My personal sense of humor is very dry and frankly, pretty subtle. The only person I truly amuse is myself. On the other hand, I am a great lover of other people's clevernesses, and laugh without reservation at the little ironies around me. As to the other, I actually only have access when I'm at work and with the elections coming up I've been pretty busy. I'll try to get you an clear concise and researched examples of the differences as I understand them, by tommorow, but if I do not, I will respond on Sunday. As it is, I am way too busy this evening to really do the subject justice. Namaste
  18. Here, here. For those of us who've moved this far in our personal journey's, we know that there are still a TON of challenges, not the least of which is a little humility. I have spent my life studying psychological, sociological, and metaphysical, realities, perceptions, and methods. I can speak pretty knowledgably on what I know. But, I'm with you Magus Adam, this does NOT make me an actual authority on anything except how to live my own life, which I manage with about 80% efficiency-a pretty good mark to make by 28. But your comment reminds me of the concept of authority as I learned it in my early studies of Druidry. I want to delve into the fine balance that we Craft practitioners must walk between this type of authority, (which I will hereafter distinguish by italics so we are not confused by the same word in its more generic definition) and the humility that comes with awe and respect for our world and all that lives in it. Before we can do that, lets make certain that everyone participating knows what I mean as otherwise, the conversation will turn quickly to an arguement of definition. So first, what do you believe is meant by the word authority in it's metaphysical context, and how do you feel that definition differs from what Magus Adam pointed out about not being an authority?
  19. Thanks for that MusicMan. Some people may be intimidated by the idea of speaking in ancient languages but for those of us all about the power of play, and willing to look over little mistakes in pronunciation in order to get to the point, rituals in Sanskrit or ancient Hebrew, offer fascinating worlds in ancient ways of thinking. Definately a way to learn more about our brothers and sisters not only across the globe, but across the expanse of time itself. I greatly appreciate your contribution. I won't be on much today, I have a ton of work to do, but I'll check in a bit later.
  20. Sometimes. I list my husband, my roommates, and then add, two dogs and a cat.
  21. I think an action can only be labeled morally wrong, if the person committing the action knows that action to be unethical or believes it to be "sinful." If one has no code of ethics, or any morals to contend with, they can't actually behave immorally, just amorally.
  22. Home made peanut brittle for sure. Hmmm!
  23. Dramatic! I have flair and style. Black and bold colors. Very sleek style, but boy you don't miss me coming.
  24. Sorry it took me so long to respond, I've had a cold that has made my head entirely too fuzzy to put together thoughts in anything resembling a coherent and meaningful way. Obviously, I feel much better today. Actually this is a great question and one that no one was able to answer for me and I had to figure out all on my own. I mean, it seems pretty silly. "Your telling me that if I chant this weird stuff in just the right tone of voice, the universe can hear me better than if I speak in English??? Some universe eh?" So hear's the real deal. First, there are spells out there marketed generally to the lowest common denominator (in this case teens and young adults) that are filled with incomprehensible gobbeldy-**. It does serve a purpose although I don't personally think it serves it well. The trick is to get your logical mind-the part that wants to analyze and identify every little thing, to turn off for a bit to allow the abstract part of your mind, the part that can play, and doesn't care what the words mean, to start functioning. For a great many people, this is a very problematic part of magick. You need the playing part of your brain to get exercise and at the start of learning to shape our worlds, many of us have already had the play worked and studied right out of us. Now, I'm not sure that this actually works as well as some might hope, and personally, I skipped right over that with absolutely no ill effect. Chanting in Foreign Languages Here's what you'll run into next. The justification even makes a little sense. If a spell was originally written for a certain past culture, doing that spell in the original language "tunes you in" to all those energies. It helps us feel connected to the ancestors and ancient powers. Don't forget, it's just a psychological game. You're just trying to get you're brain out of it's normal operational mode for a few minutes until you get good at it. At least with the foreign language bit, a good book or teacher will provide you proper pronunciation and a good translation. Often too, the words flow much better in the language they are originally written in, since poetic styles tend to work best in their own language. Tone: What's with the dramatic intonations? Well, again there's the psychological trick, but once you get past how silly you look and just run with it, intonation draws serious energy from you're body. In some karate classes they teach you to kiai (kee-aye) from the gut while punching or kicking. It doesn't add merely percieved power to your strikes. Nope it's the real deal and when done correctly, adds a lot of actual power to you're actions. Why, well because to do it, you have to commit you're entire body and breath all the way to your purpose. Intonation works on the same principle. You HAVE to commit all the way to do it right. At first, you're just trying to get your mind and body to co-operate as one, working together. The second thing that happens is that now, when you do this, your entire being, "gets ready." You know what you're doing now, and you start doing it with real gusto. Essentially, you've applied Pavlov's principle to yourself by using sound and breath to trigger a desired psychological affect. This step in spell working cannot be effectively skipped to the best of my knowledge. Once you get the hang of intonation (which you can of course learn in any language including good ole' fashioned redneck) then you can really "work" formalized (ritualized) spells. I think of this stage as the second stage of magickal training. And here too is where you have to get pretty disciplined about your "practice" if you want to continue. You can cut corners for a long time in the beginning, but once you actually start learning, and doing, and doing, and teaching, you not only can't cut corners well, you don't really want to any more. You start using all that you have available to you. Your house, your voice, your body, your mind, your talents, your skills, and you find less and less need to seek those books out at all anymore. You have learned to listen to yourself-and to speak to yourself. The language and movements of your practice become wholly "YOU" rather than what someone else recommends. I can go into that transition in great detail if you would like, but I was wondering, in your own spiritual practice, do you often actively engage your senses and will for the purpose of affecting your environment?