Brighid

Time for week 3 of the Pagan Blog Project!

Normally, I try to come up with something slightly creative, but this week I’m pulling from the list of suggestions. I’ve had a cold for the past week and that, combined with being pregnant, makes me feel a little creatively stunted.

This week’s topic is Imbolc under the name of Brighid! I was going to write a post on Imbolc soon, so this was actually perfect timing.

Imbolc is the next Sabbat coming up.

It's one of my favorites because it is also Groundhog's Day.

Also called Brigid, Brighid’s Day, St. Brigid’s Day, or Candlemas, Imbolc is about the halfway point between the Winter and Spring Equinoxes (I did have to Google the proper plural form of equinox). The word Imbolc comes from the Old Irish, "oimelc," which means "ewe's milk" or the word "imbolg," which means "in the belly". This is about the time of the year of lambing season. If I had ever been allowed to raise livestock like I wanted to growing up, I'd know that first hand. Alas, I have only read about it. Thanks, Mom! I'm still waiting for that horse too.

In many areas of the Northern Hemisphere, the weather is still very cold, which makes it a perfect time to celebrate this hearth Goddess.

As made obvious by its other names, this holiday is also a celebration of the Celtic Triple-Goddess, Brighid. The story goes that Dagda had three daughters, each named Brighid, and each daughter had a specialty. She is the goddess of poetry, which included spoken and written magick as well as prophecy; she is the goddess of the smith's and hearth's fires; and lastly, she is the goddess of water, which included healing properties and pregnancy.

Those who celebrate Brighid may leave a piece of green cloth, as green is her cloak's color, on the mantle and hope that her touch imbues the cloth with healing powers as she passes by.

Another tradition is to weave a Brigid's Cross. Soon we will do this with our boys (using pipe cleaners) and I'll post some pictures of our efforts. A traditional cross is weaved with rushes that are pulled, not cut, from the ground and then hung from doorways and rafters to ward off fires and protect the home.

This is a really short post about Brighid, but now I must curl up with some tea and attempt to get rid of this cough.There are many more things to write about Imbolc, which I will put more effort into in the coming weeks.

Ack! Another Religion in the House

Multi-religion households can have an interesting dynamic.

The biggest question that I’ve seen regarding this topic is, “Which religion do we raise our kids in?” It can be pretty intense when one side of the family is Catholic and the other side is Protestant, but throw in a Pagan religion and you’ve got a completely different point of view.

As Wiccans, and most Pagans really, we have the mindset that you should not force your beliefs or religion on anyone.

If you’re not supposed to force your religion on anyone, what do you do when others are forcing theirs on your children?

My husband and I are Wiccan. My ex-husband is not really religious, but his parents are Catholic. My niece and nephew, who live with us, are required to pray a specific prayer at meals by their father. My niece has an interest in Wicca though. It can get pretty interesting, especially at meal times. Confusing enough for you? It is for us sometimes too.

When my four-year-old son is with his father (my ex-husband), my son sometimes goes to Catholic church with his grandparents. Lately, he’s been coming home with questions like, “Where is heaven?” and, “Did God make the baby in your tummy?” His cousins also pray at dinner and he wanted to start as well.

At first, our plan was not to expose him to any religion and let him come to it on his own when he got older. With so many outside influences, we’ve come to this a lot sooner than I’d planned.

Does it irk me that his grandparents take him to church, even though my agreement with their son was not to? Yes. Am I going to ban him from it? No.

I could have taken my ex to court, saying that he’s violating part of our joint custody agreement, but I’m pretty sure that would have been over-the-top (in addition to being costly). What I’ve decided to do instead, is to expose him to multiple religions.

When he asks questions about heaven, I explain that Papa and Grandma believe that heaven is where God lives, but I also explain what Mommy and Step-dad believe. It may be a little young for him to understand everything, but at least he knows that not everyone believes the same thing and that’s ok.

The first ritual we ever did together was for Mabon. He thought it was a lot of fun because it included apples that we got to eat afterward, seeds that we got to plant, and a little dance we did holding hands around the circle.

As for saying grace before dinner, we made a little non-religion-specific poem that he could recite about being thankful. He used it for a while, but eventually he decided that getting down to eat was more important than saying something first.

Instead of looking this situation as bitter lemons to be angrily smashed, I took it as a chance to make lemonade. In the future, I think it will help him be more open-minded with people and encourage him to explore as many options as he can.

Absent - Missing that Divine Connection

Has there ever been a time in your life where you've felt disconnected?

No matter how hard you meditate, no matter how many times you pray or say a blessing, no matter how elaborate or simple you make your ritual... you feel nothing.

It can leave you feeling very alone... and that's a sad feeling.

No worries though! Almost everyone goes through one or more of these times in their life, when they can't feel a connection to the divine.

You might find yourself asking, "Ok, but how do I get out of this funk?"

The answer is not to push yourself harder. Obviously there is some sort of block.

Maybe you have too much going on in your life to let yourself feel the energy around you.

A few months ago, I was feeling this block. There was so much going on at home and at work and I couldn't control it all. At the same time I was attempting to honor the God and Goddess as well as meditate. Nothing was coming through. I could not feel anything, not even my spirit guide whom I've had a strong connection to for as long as I can remember.

I pushed and pushed and pushed. I told myself that I just needed to try harder, but it was like running against a brick wall. I was feeling disappointed and lost. Had I really lost my Gods? Had I lost my ability to hear my guides? No, I really hadn't, but it was like I was standing in the middle of busy Los Angeles traffic, while trying to hear my guides and the Goddess and God, but screaming at the cars at the same time. There's no way I'm going to feel anything other than frustration.

Eventually I realized that I had to let things go, internally and externally. Once I realized that, things started happening in my life to help me. Even though I loved having my nephew at our home and trying to help him through a rough patch in his life, it was better for our family that his mom decided to take him back to her home. My pregnancy slowly got better. I also tried not to force myself into elaborate rituals and honoring ceremonies to the God and Goddess. I began again at the basics of meditation and honoring the divine. Slowly things began opening up in my mind and I began to once again feel the connection.

If you ever feel like your in a place like this, take a step back, even if it's for just five minutes. If you can, sit outside and listen to nature or watch the clouds. Clear your mind of everything, but again, don't force it. Acknowledge the thought or feeling and let it pass, don't dwell on it. If you can't get outside, try taking time before bed at night and sit with a candle. Just focus on your breathing and the soft candlelight. Even if you're used to long meditation sessions, starting over with little ones and increasing them can be immensely helpful in centering yourself again and opening yourself up to the divine.

Reconnecting yourself is like cleaning out a cluttered house. It's a big task and if you try to do it all at once, you're going to get burnt out. Start in a small corner and clean there; Then slowly make your little clean space a little bigger.

Before you know it, your mental house will be clean and organized again - plenty of room for inviting conversation with the divine.