March 2008 - Alternative Faith

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Alternative Faith - March 2008

THE SONG OF THE GODDESS

March 28th 2008 22:27

Most of us who are Pagan, or Wicca, know this wonderful piece. It is one of the first things I read when I was learning about Wicca along with the Wiccan Rede. This "song" illustrates some of what Wicca is about, and certainly eliminates some of the doubt as to what Wicca isn't. I hope that you will find a certain satisfaction, and perhaps even a spiritual awakening upon reading this piece. If nothing else, you'll have to admit it is beautifully written and something to be appreciated.

Until next time...Blessed Be
White Willow

I am the Great Mother, worshipped by all creation and existent prior to their consciousness.
I am the primal female force, boundless and eternal.

I am the chaste Goddess of the Moon, the Lady of all magic.
The winds and moving leaves sing my name.
I wear the crescent Moon upon my brow and my feet rest among the starry heavens.
I am mysteries yet unsolved, a path newly set upon.
I am a field untouched by the plow.
Rejoice in me and know the fullness of youth.

I am the blessed Mother, the gracious Lady of the harvest.
I am clothed in the deep, cool wonder of the Earth and the gold of the fields heavy with grain.
By me the tides of the Earth are ruled; all things come to fruition according to my season.
I am refuge and healing.
I am the life giving Mother, wondrously fertile.

I am the Crone, tender of the unbroken cycle of death and rebirth.

I am the wheel, the shadow of the Moon.
I rule the tides of the oceans and of women and men.
I give release and renewal to weary souls.

I am the Goddess of the Moon, the Earth, the Seas.
My names are many, yet know that by all names I am the same.
I pour forth insight, peace, wisdom and understanding.
I am the eternal Maiden, Mother of all, and Crone of reckoning,
and I send you blessings of limitless love.

Author Unknown

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Posted By: Witch Willows Wanderings - Category: Wicca, Holidays, General Paganism, News, General Religions

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Whose God Is This Anyway?

March 28th 2008 14:40

To what religion were you brought up to believe in? Were you, like myself, forced to attend a church, synagogue, or other place of worship without having any opinion in the matter?

As children, we are fed what our parents want us to believe. Society dictates to them and they in turn to their children. But hey, their intentions were probably good and I'm sure they were trying to give you firm roots and strong moral fiber.

Somewhere along the line as you got older did you say to yourself, Hey, this is a bunch of bull-spit, and if you're like most of us, you started to have questions about God, spirituality, Heaven & Hell, etc.

I can clearly remember the day and where I was when I decided that Catholicism was NOT going to be my spiritual path. I was in St. Alphonsis church on a hot August Sunday morning in 1970. I was 17 years old and pregnant (yeah, I was married...sadly) and I arrived late to mass, I stood there, 8 months pregnant, swollen and ripe and all the pews appeared to be filled. However, upon closer inspection...there were hats and handbags taking up spaces where an actual human being could have perched. I saw people, both men and women look directly at me, yet still not offer me a seat, much less move their handbag so I might slide in.

That my friends was the straw that broke the camels back...I had been wrestling with my beliefs, questioning some of the religious rules and regulations, the dogma of my religion. The more questions I formulated, the less I liked the answers. Not to mention, women played a very insignificant role in Christianity...There was the Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus, but one heard very little about other female saints, or figureheads. Oh wait, there was Mary Magdalen, but she was a whore. Hmmm, something didn't seem quite right there. Other questions popped into my head, why did god care if I ate meat on Friday? And that whole heaven and hell thing...well hell, that was enough to make anyone shudder and fear for their souls. In order to be with god in heaven, I would have to lead an exemplary life right? Well, if that was indeed the case, why were all those wonderful christian church goers ignoring an 8 month pregnant gal, so that their hats and purses could rest neatly on the bench? Weren't they supposed to have compassion in their hearts and weren't they supposed to behave in such a way as to emulate Jesus? Ask yourself WWJD? I'll bet he would have made room for me to sit...what do you think?

Pretty soon I was reading everything I could on the other main religions of the world. I learned that nearly almost every religion on the face of the earth had certain aspects of belief in common. One of them being reincarnation...Another aspect of most organized relgions that I found disconcerting was the fact that in order to be close to their respective god head, one must die and ascend to heaven, valhallah, whatever. So, I asked myself, if god is the creator of everything...shouldn't I be able to commune with him right here on earth and without having to have a priest, rabbi or other religious representative act as a mediator and without being dead? How was I going to get answers to questions that may lead to my living an exemplary life, if I had to be dead to find the answers? Hmmm....makes ya wonder eh?

I was conflicted, I knew I was a good person, but nothing I'd read rang exactly true for me...Certain tidbits of different religions struck a chord, but nothing made total sense to me. Until that one fateful day, when I was in a used book store and I was scanning the shelves, and a book popped into my line of vision...it was "Living Wicca." I had read a bit about Witchcraft and even less about Wicca, but as I opened the cover of the book and scanned through some of the pages, it was thrilling. I took the book home and read it in one evening and then started re-reading and highlighting and marking pages. Here then was the "old" religion...a lifestyle choice that made perfect sense to me. There was no dogma, no heaven, no hell and certainly no SATAN or DEVIL...It was a spiritual awakening for me, and once I embraced it, I've never looked back.

I've written this for one reason, to have you ask yourself this one question...Is your whole heart, your entire mind, your total being satisfied that your spiritual path is the right one for you? Have you too many questions, like I did, and not enough answers? Do you feel that god is out of reach, out of sight and the church of your faith, out of touch?

Then isn't it time you went on a pilgrimage to find your eternal soul? Isn't it about time you decided for yourself what your relationship with god is supposed to be, what it should be?

Start reading, look online, don't be afraid of the answers...look with an open mind and heart...Put aside all the "brain washing" of the past and form your own truths...you may find that the old religions have a lot more meaning for you. You may follow a Native American path, a Buddhist path, a Wiccan path...but whatever path you decide on, it will be one you choose for yourself because it calls to your soul and your heart. It will be your personal relationship with your god...and after all isn't that what spiritual belief should be all about?
When you get right down to it...we're all trying to get to the same final destination...we're just taking different roads to get there.

I wish you a safe and enlightened journey...

Bright Blessings
White Willow

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Posted By: Witch Willows Wanderings - Category: Wicca, Holidays, General Paganism, News, General Religions

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MERRY MEET AND GREETINGS...

March 27th 2008 15:05

Welcome to Alternative Faith. I have taken on the task of being the new moderator of this site and will be posting many thoughts, ideas, insights according to me. Grin. I welcome you to explore this site and add your comments as you feel inspired, but also understand this is not a venue to vent your hatred or prejudices. This is a venue toward understanding and peace. So with that said...Welcome and I look forward to a long journey with you.

It is exciting and a little daunting to have ones own web site that will be seen by hundreds, perhaps thousands of readers. Along with the queasy feeling one gets when embarking on some new adventure, is the thrill that perhaps one or two people will find something worthwhile in what you've had to say. Just maybe , someone will glean a nugget of wisdom, or a shred of insight from a few words that you've penned or written. That is my goal on this site called Alternative Faith. To share what we can with one another and to join with others in the pursuit of something more.

I am Michelle White Willow, Michelle is my given name while, White Willow is my chosen name. I have been an eclectic Wiccan for many years now, but have a deep and abiding respect for all religious beliefs. Throughout this format, I will attempt to inform others about my own lifestyle (I say lifestyle rather than religion), because being wicca or pagan means you've made an intentional choice to follow a diferent path and live a different lifestyle. Maybe this new path is the one that makes more sense to you and if truth be told, has been calling to your for a while, and maybe you'd like to find out more without joining an online school. If you're not ready to sign up but want to know more, you've come to the right place. Be at ease and be welcome.

So with that being said, I will end this brief introduction and will be posting more very shortly.
May you walk in the light and...Blessed Be

White Willow

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Posted By: Witch Willows Wanderings - Category: Wicca, Holidays, General Paganism, News, General Religions

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Ostara - Where Easter Really Came From

March 20th 2008 13:40

Ostara - (Oh-star-ah) is the ancient German celebration of the Virgin goddess of spring. It is for her that this sabbat is named. Ostara was a sabbat of great importance to the Greeks, Romans, Nordic and Germanic lands. The majority of our customs today date back to those ancient times.

In keeping with the early church's practice of "grafting" saintly feast days onto any pagan festival they could not eradicate, it assigned St. Patrick his feast day near the time of the vernal equinox, which generally falls on March 21/22. It is said he was kicked out of Ireland repeatedly and finally his procession reached "tara" (the seat of the government) to present his reformed religion to the HIgh King on Easter Sunday

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