Is Christmas Christian?

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Why December the 25th?

The main problem in trying to establish the date of Christ’s birth is that there simply isn’t any real evidence to go on. The gospels don’t provide any dating evidence apart from the reported roman census and an astronomical phenomena, the star, to go on. Nowhere in the gospels is the date of conception or birth actually mentioned. Unfortunately there seems to be no records of any census undertaken in that period, strange as the Romans were methodical record keepers, and research has shown no contemporary records of any astronomical event sufficient to pinpoint a date to more than a few years accuracy let alone an actual day.

This wasn’t a problem for the early church as birthdays were not seen as something to actually celebrate so the only interest in establishing the date was purely theological. The main problem is that despite the hard work of the theologians, they generally met with a stunning lack of success in actually agreeing on a date.

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Posted in History, Life, Theology

A rag on a poll!

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“Sharpe: Do you really believe men will fight and die for a rag on a pole, sir?

 

 

Hogan: You do, Richard, you do”

 

 

Sharps Rifles.

The quote, for a book by Bernard Cornwall, clearly shows both the power and danger of symbols. Now Shape, a fictional soldier in the British army fighting Napoleon during the peninsular wars, was referring to a flag but one with religious meaning to the local people who it was hoped would rise up if the flag was flown. What that simple quote shows is that symbols, especially those that embody religious meaning, can inspire fanatical loyalty and deep reverence in people. It also shows how difficult we find it to understand why others feel the same way about their symbols.

Part of this dichotomy is probably in the way that symbols, particularly religious ones, are given their meaning. Possibly the most powerful part of religious symbology is that it provides the wearer a way of identifying with the group that they belong to. This feeling of group identity is very powerful, as can be seen with the way that groups will behave in a way totally different to that of any of the individual members. This group dynamic can be seen in the football fans following their team or in the ‘esprit de corps’ developed by military groupings.

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Posted in Esoterica, Theology

A Wyrd Fate

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Those that know me will know that I was brought up as a Christian, mainly due to my paternal grandmothers influence, and that my journey from where I was to where I am now has taken a number of turns, not all of them expected. Part of the problem I had with Christianity was that I simply couldn’t reconcile the idea of an all-powerful God with the concept of free will

You see for me the concept of an all-powerful God has a couple of implications. One possibility is that God, being all powerful has built the universe and pre designed in all of our choices. We have no real free will at all; we are just following the grand plan. This simply isn’t something I am prepared to accept. I can not just roll over and hand over control of my life and destiny to somebody else, not even to a god!

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Posted in Esoterica, Theology

The Spiral

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The spiral has fascinated and intrigued people for centuries. It is common in both Christian and pre Christian art and has been taken up by the modern Neo-pagan community. But its earliest expression is that found on Neolithic passage tombs, such as New Grange or on rock cut inscriptions all dating from the stone age.

What exactly the spiral, in all its many forms, meant to the pre-Christian peoples is however, like so much, unknown. Primarily, the spiral is typical of funerary symbolism common in Irish tombs as well as those of other megalithic cultures. Historically, spirals in both Megalithic and Neolithic art were closely akin with spiritual issues of the cycle of death and rebirth.

The serpent, important iconographically.to both manifestations of Brigid, is often used as a metaphor for infinity, in a sense, by the sloughing off of it’s skin it is continually dying and being reborn (Purce, 101) and it is this interpretation of the spiral, being a symbolic representation of a symbol, the snake or serpent, that I find rather interesting. We have, if this interpretation is correct, a double abstraction of a fundamental principle, birth and death, the never ending cycle.
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Posted in Esoterica, Theology

Talking about Death

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Nobody likes talking about death, it’s one of the last taboos but there comes a time when we need to talk about death and dying either to a family member or to ourselves, after being told we only have so much time left!

This was brought home to me recently on a personal level, suddenly needing to think about death in a personal rather than abstract way and finding that being Pagan made the coming to terms with and talking about End of Life even more difficult.
In our, at least nominally, Christian society there are quite a few concepts and words to express thoughts, ideas and concepts in the task of helping others, or yourself, to come to terms with the idea of dying and what, if anything, comes after. The thought of a ‘loving’ God that even in this time of struggle is working out his plan and caring for you, the thought of an afterlife in heaven, possibly reunited with others or simply comforting words from the Bible, or holy book of your choice if you are not Christian.
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Posted in Life, Theology

Pantheism

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One of the problems that some ‘normal’ people have with the idea of paganism is that they really don’t understand what it is. This isn’t surprising after all as the term covers such a broad range of beliefs, practices and ideas that even the Pagan federation has had to ‘throw in the towel’ and accept that a Pagan Is somebody who says that they are a Pagan. The so called self identify test.
In a way this is a good thing of course, Pagans tend to feel at home with a wide range of different faiths and belief structures. It can cause a problem however as somebody searching for a name for their own beliefs can be faced with a vast range paths all with their own underlying beliefs and rituals. Some have a vast range of gods and goddesses; some believe that their gods are literal individuals others see them as aspects of a greater divine.

Some are based one faiths that existed many years ago, some being well documented while others little more than a folk memory, while others are ‘new’ faiths born in the recent past.
Some of these faiths are well known, others hidden and secret while others are growing in popularity. All in all a bewildering array of faiths and paths to chose from.
So in the spirit of making things even more complex I would like to present a path that formalises some thoughts about the deity that many people have. This path isn’t as well known perhaps as some of the others and is called Pantheism.
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Posted in Esoterica, Theology

The Quantum Cat’s Grin – Pathworking for the modern age.

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One area of Magickal practice that sometimes seems to get lost, perhaps because it demands self-control and focus is that of path working.

For those not familiar with the technique it could be thought of as a combination of structured visualization and meditation where the practitioner journeys through the otherland, sometimes a familiar comforting landscape at others much more demanding. Perhaps the greatest practitioners of this being Charles Seymour and Christine Hartley.
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Posted in Esoterica, Theology

Sympathetic Magic

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The practice of magic is a rich and evolving area, ranging from simple visualization work through more elaborate practices involving cords or candles up to high ritual working where a group works together to raise power for some purpose.

One area of magic that has almost certainly been around and practiced as long as humans have been around is Sympathetic magic. Sympathetic magic has two main branches. These were described by Sir James George Frazer (1854-1941) in the book The Golden Bough as Law of Similarity and the Law of Contact or Contagion. The law of contagion suggests that two objects once in contact will in some manner retain a link even after they have been separated.

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Posted in Esoterica, Science, Theology

Religious schooling.

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Recent events in Birmingham where State funded, but nominally independent, schools were deemed to have been both teaching, and creating a culture of, Islamic principles. This, the establishment, decided was at best inappropriate and didn’t, in the words of the education Minister, “actively promote British values”, such as democracy, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths.
Who could argue with such thoughts? But before we all nod in agreement, congratulate the authorities for their response and go back to watching daytime TV perhaps we should look a little closer at what has been said and done.
Firstly as Pagans we might want to be a little cautious in accepting the current governments, dominated by the Conservative party, view as to what exactly constitutes “British Values”. The Prime Minister, David Cameron, for example has confirmed his view that the UK is a ‘Christian country’ and calls for a return to “Christian Values” Do we, as Pagans, really want a nation ruled by the principles of another religion enforcing its moral values on all? Values that may well be at odds with those of our own faith?
The history of Government ministers calling for a “return” to “traditional values” is full of examples of Ministers using it as code for repressive legislation or the rolling back of the welfare state. These ‘Values’ almost always really mean “Things I approve of”.

So before we congratulate Mr Gove we perhaps need to consider whether or not he, and others in power, “Approve” of Pagan beliefs and practices, or are we to be next on the hit list of things that do not accord with his view of “British Values”?

Posted in Life, Politics

Respect & Our Ancestors!

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One of the things that many pagans feel strongly about is that we should treat our  ancestors with due reverence and respect. This has led to issues and concerns about the reburial of remains, access to and protection of sacred sites. These concerns are such that the Government has started a consultation process to look at these issues.
One of the questions that arise from these thoughts is who exactly are our ancestors? This country has been subject to invasion and migration from many sources over the years, from the Romans in CE 43 to the  Vikings and Normans in 1066. It can be  argued that given the number and range of  influxes into this country just about anybody can, with careful choice of their path through their family tree, claim ancestors in just about any part of Europe.
The history of these islands enables us all to claim a kinship with a vast range of peoples and cultures and should lead to a certain  respect for all the diverse traditions and  cultures we find both today and in the past. Unfortunately this is not the case as often as it should be! Even within the pagan  community!

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Posted in Theology
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