Christmastide general ramblings

[capri0mni]

• Listened to one of the CDs from Gordon's parcel, today: "Neil Gaiman Audio Collection" -- well, part almost all of it. I was in the middle of 'Crazy Hair' when I realized I didn't want it to be over so soon. So I stopped the CD so I could listen to more, later.LOVE!!



• Finished up the thank you card for my neighbors, and my aide hung it on their door for me. Then went grocery shopping.



• Because it was Christmastide, I splurged, and bought two bags of Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies (for Brits: these are thin, very crip butter cookies with dark chocolate sandwhiched between them). I got a bag of Orange Milanos, which have been my favorite since I was about ten years old, and Raspberry Milanos, which I've never tried, but which may be my new favorites. Because I splurged on cookies, I got something healthy and sensible, and bought a crate of clementines, too. You folks in Britain probably know all about Clemntines, but I'd never tried them, before. They may be my new favorite citrus. And, if Dad is reading this: they'd be perfect for an orange and onion salad! But I forgot to get Eggbeaters. Oh, well.



• When I got home from the grocery store, the card I'd made was still on my neighbor's door. They're bound to find it, eventually



• Today is Saint Stephan's Day. In Ye Olden Tymes, this was the day that the men and boys went out in the Oh-God-Thirty hours of the morning, and hunted and killed a wren. Then, they would go to all the rich people's houses, and demand money so that they could have a wake and funeral for the wren (I.e. have a major blow-out, knock-yer-socks off party). This has roots in Ye Even Older Tymes -- before they even had "Christ's Mass." The wren was a substitute for a bigger sacrificial creature (maybe even human, once upon a time) and represented the Old Year, which had to be killed and buried before the New Year could arrive. It's the second day of Christmas, but it's the sixth day of the Solstice -- or just about the midpoint of the celebration (one day for each of the coming months, so we will have a full year of good luck).



• Speaking of "Good Luck," I saw a repeat of the British version of Pollyanna, last week. And I realized that the title character was no where near the 'pollyanna' that the author was. And actually, her philosophy (That it is possible to find something to be glad about in everything that happens, if you're willing to work at looking for reasons) is very close to that of Diogenes, the legendary founder of the Cynics in ancient Greece, who taught that our happiness is our own responsibility, and not the result of outside influence. What made Pollyanna so pollyannish, was the author, who wrote the story so that everyone who met the kid wanted to play her "glad game" as soon as they'd heard about it, and a village that had been dour and grim became sunny and special all because of her. If a sour outlook were a habit that easy to break, the villagers would never have been that dour or grim to begin with. Mary-sue, anyone?



• I've known it, sort of, for a while now, but just this last week, an idea crystalized in my head: That I'm a solitary Pagan for the same reason that I don't belong to any mainstream church, synnogogue, temple, mosque, what-have-you. The fact is, that none of the theologies I've come across in my studies bear any resemblance to the world as I experience it. And I'm almost as distracted and "yes, butting..." in a Pagan ritual as I am at a Christian sermon. But I do miss the sense of community that I see some folks deriving from their religious practices. Part of me wants to write my own theology into a book, start my own Trad, and become a Big-Name-Pagan. I can invent ancient rituals and archaic symbols with the best of them! ...And I think the power and reputation would fit me well... What do you say? Should I go for it? I could submit a manuscript to LLewellen Publishing, and everything... ;-P

Comments

[lizziebelle.livejournal.com]

What do you say? Should I go for it?

Heh, you already know my answer! I totally think you should go for it. :)

[capriuni.livejournal.com]

Well, yeah... you're my co-consprirator! ;-)

[lizziebelle.livejournal.com]

I know! ;)

You can mention me on the acknowledgements page. :D

[capriuni.livejournal.com]

All you want is an acknowledgement? C'mon, woman! Think Big! I could give you a title of authority, like: Grand High Priestess of the Sacred Secret Name Archive, or something like that...

You could ride around in the back of a big, silver caddilac limo, and wear 30 carat rubies on your fingers, just like all the other fabulously wealthy, Big Name Pagans out there! >;-)

[indefatigable42.livejournal.com]

No organized religion is going to be perfect for every practitioner. You either go to a service or ceremony that someone else wrote and fill in the blanks mentally as required to fit your worldview, or you practice on your own, or you write down the stuff you practice and try to get other people to do it too.

If you go with the latter, your own ideas (once you've written them down) become just another organized form of worship that doesn't fit every practitioner perfectly. People who follow it aren't necessarily doing it because they agree with you on every single point-- they just like the general idea, and are filling in the mental blanks as necessary where they don't agree. The reason people do that is because they like being part of a congregation or circle instead of being solitary.

Just to play devil's advocate, I think the world needs less written-down religion, and more people willing to join in on their friends' styles of worship while simultaneously acknowledging that they don't necessarily all agree on every point. I don't know if you've ever invited friends to just come over and practice with you, but I'm sure there are plenty of reasonable people out there to talk and share with despite minor differences.

[capriuni.livejournal.com]

You do realize of course, that during the writing of that last bullet point, my tongue was wedged so firmly in my cheek that I could have bitten it right off? ;-)

[indefatigable42.livejournal.com]

Most of me was assuming that, but I felt like saying it anyways. :P

[capriuni.livejournal.com]

Okay, fair enough. I just wasn't sure how much of what I was saying was comprised of "inside" Pagan jokes that were so far inside that no one but me could get them....

[alryssa.livejournal.com]

I say go for it, Ann. Given the sheer CRAP I've seen Llewellyn put out over the years, it would be a tonic to see something that's had real attention and research put into it.

[capriuni.livejournal.com]

Well, I mentioned Llewellyn just for a joke's sake. Really, if I did write this up for publication, I wouldn't hand it over to that house for a million bucks. I fear my work would get splattered with that same aforementioned crap as soon as it hit an editor's desk, it's laid so thickly there.

But I think I will write something up, just for my own sake. I was required to write a formal credo for a world religion class, and it was a great exercise. But that was: a) a structured assignment with monotheism as its default assumption, and b) just about 20 years ago.

I've grown a lot since then, and my perceptions and understandings have evolved. It might be a hoot to do something similiar, again, from scratch, just to see what my brain really makes of it all.

(Oh, and, really, I make no claims, whatsoever, to the ancientness of my faith. It really is my own invention, as far as I can tell, though I've gotten a few of my ideas based stories and myths I've read).