| חיות הקדש 1. CHAIOTH HA-QADESCH, Holy Living Creatures |
| אופנים 2. AUPHANYM, Wheels |
| אראלים 3. ARALYM, Active Ones, Thrones; Principalities |
| חשמלים 4. CHASCHMALYM, Brilliant Ones |
| שרפים 5. SERAPHYM, Fiery Ones, Dragons, Vampires, Elves, Dwarves, Trolls |
| מלכים ׃ מלאכים 6. MELAKYM, Kings (Usually the ones in the Bible visiting the prophets.); beings who do the opposite of what Vampires do. Angels (Daimonic Messengers. |
| אלהים 7. ELOHYM, Divine Beings |
| בני־אלהים 8. BENI ELOHYM, Sons of the Elohym (Gods); Watchers |
| כרבים 9. KERUBYM, Kerubs (Totems) Fairy Beasts, Yeties, Trolls and their like; Gnomes, et al. |
| אשים 10. ASHYM, Flames, Lights, Fairies. |
Usually an indigenous god or daimon who refused to die, and yet posed no apparent threat to a conquering force, such as the Church. In Greece, an Angel was a Daimon with one hell of a message or mission from the gods. They are Daimons employed by gods, sorcerers, and kings as massagers and gofers. I would point out that the Daimon is more likely to be the message being conveyed. and like infrared light, we may see their effects, and never them.
In Qabalah, some Angels are classified as:
Unpleasant, nonspecific fear or other emotive states, possibly conditioned by the past, always directed toward the future. It exists without a recognizable threat and is accompanied by sonomic discomfort.
Note: Anxiety increases ambiguity by distorting perceptual acuteness. Conversely, increased accuracy in perception deceases anxiety.
Existential Psychology has the advantage of addressing the present moment without necessarily requiring knowledge of past moments. The Paradigm begins with, “You are going to die, soon, alone, and forever; now get on with your life.” This paradigm is effective with brief interventions and therapies; while we may care that your mother didn’t mother you enough, we want to know what you are going to do with yourself, now, not twenty or so years ago when your mother didn’t care enough for you.
Existential Psychotherapy has the disadvantage of requiring a good deal of sympathy and intelligence on the therapist’s part. One of the more common responses to most complaints is, “So, why don’t you just kill yourself? [Frankle]” My favorite alternative is to offer to change your name and move you to Mexico City. Each has the equivalence of freedom, and can strongly point out new alternatives that the plaintive hadn’t valued before. Often, they will realize family and other qualities that need his or her attention, and so will turn them to new vistas. If, however, the client is about to commit suicide, such a statement could anger them into doing it anyway, or could anger them into not doing it just to spite you. Carelessness on this issue could cause some … discomfort, or even death. This would not be a moral problem, but could be ethical or legal, and might even generate other forms of regret in the counselor.
Similar to (and possibly the origin of) clinical anxiety, we think existential anxieties are related to various instincts (survival, social, reproductive). These anxieties are hypersensitive, mental and emotional, nonspecific awareness of challenges to our existence. Existential Psychotherapy strives to embrace these anxieties, rather than ignoring or eliminating them. They say that strength grows, not in hiding from our fears, angers, and hates, but by facing them and seeing them for what they are. This anxiety can take on any of the following flavors:
Death Anxiety is the unidentified awareness of our impermanence. Directly related to our survival instincts, Death Anxiety is the mother of all other existential anxieties. Embracing this anxiety can help us live a fuller and more satisfying existence.
More of a mental anxiety, freedom anxiety recognizes that we may actually control both our actions and our destiny. Those who embrace this anxiety are more responsible and strive for self-control and self-awareness. Growing from this is:
This anxiety recognizes that no matter how many trusted allies, friends, or enemies I may have, I must face this life and death alone. At the quantum and even at the molecular level we are a part of the universe. At the holistic level, which is our whole self, we are each separate individuals, essentially isolated. Doubt that? If the doctor hits your knee, whose leg kicks out? Embracing this anxiety helps us become our own master and savior.
In light of our impermanence and isolation we come to realize that, in the scope of time and space nothing we do has any real meaning. I have found the cure for this terror is to live this life for its own sake. This includes enjoying the creation of art for its own reason; helping our fellow human for its own sake. In other words, be who you are and cultivate every interest (and pursue something that is of no interest) and let life and history make of you what they will.
One who follows the teachings and examples of the Christ, whatever they believe about his historic condition, and calls him- or herself a Christian.
One who never or rarely follows the teachings and examples of the Christ, whatever they believe about his historic condition: and still calls him- or herself a Christian.
For a Test of a Christian or a Christnick see Matthew 7.15-20 (Beware of false prophets), and Galatians 5.22-23 (But the fruit of the Spirit is). ¡W A R N I N G ! Christnicks, like other posers, can be dangerous, esp. when cornered. Unless the poser is going to do great damage, it is best to keep some distance.
The immediate experience, that sentience of the mind, by means of which everything we see and feel has reality.
1. A system of religious worship, or rites and ceremonies.
A Particular way of doing a religion or following an idea.
2. An Authoritarian religious society, where the followers completely surrender their Adult status to regress into that of a child, usually without a plan to restore autonomy in the adult. The cult leader is a charismatic spiritualist, usually with a cynical view of society. We may even classify this leader as a “psychic parasite,” as she or he requires the energies of others to feel valuable and worthy. The followers are often disenfranchised from family or clan, and lack the will to responsibility of adulthood, or the ability to cope with death anxieties. These cults prefer to operate in secret, for fear that the truth will set the followers free, denying the leadership of their protection.
In the first definition, every movement within a religion is a cult, whether they have catechistic power or not. In the second definition, Satanic Cult would be a gift from Oxymoronica; the independence and individuality of each Satanist would prevent large or even moderate sized Authoritarian religious societies from forming under a Satanic Banner. Can it ever happen? Every Left-hand path soon evolves into a right-hand mode, and having forgotten past glories holds onto the memories of such, and pursues the fantasies.
Prophets or aesthetic Spiritualists of classical Greece and areas of her influence (such as Galilee) influential between the 5þ Century bce to the 6þ Century ce. Social, antinomian critics of oppressive social and legal forms. Some endured public life renunciation. Some offered thoughtful Critique via parresia in high places. Some provided high levels of literary composition espousing the cynic paradigm. The cynic valued the virtue of autarcheia (self-sufficiency).
Note: the evidence of Gnostic sources and of Q indicates that Yshuah b‘Yoseph (Jesus, son of Joseph) of Nazareth would likely have been a Hebrew Cynic, if indeed he is a historic person.
This is the interpenetration of our own imagination with that of Magic’s Imagination. In the question of what is real, we must relate the question to the subject we are asking about. Just as we are limited in our perception of light to three out of numerous wave-cycles, our perception of Daimonic Reality is limited, too. But that does not mean the other phases do not exist. The sorts of beings we might encounter, should we become aware of the Daimonic Reality are generally close to a social group’s notion of them, yet refuse to conform completely to any system of classification. They are made of the same stuff dreams are made of.
Usually an indigenous god who refused to die, and posed a threat to a conquering force, such as the Church. These devils, like any Daimon, will conform to some degree the image expected of them, yet refuse to be classified, or nailed down into any single form.
In Greece, a Daimon was an intelligent spirit that did not have a body as we would know one. They were employed by gods, sorcerers, and kings as massagers and gofers. In the East (India, China) They are earthy spirits who, in joint effort with their cousins the Devis, work to recycle reality through death and rebirth. Daimonic forms (fairy and their beasts, ghosts, angels and gods) are usually known by their fiery eyes, enigmatic forms, and sometimes defiance of what we know of as natural forces, such as gravitation.
A god is a being (corporeal), non-being (non-corporeal), or other process or event that inspires lesser events with conduct that we have noted for “Heroic Virtue,” and is capable of apparently supernatural activity.
A god is either a force of nature, an historic person of heroic virtue, or a psychological process. Likely, though, a god is some combination of the three. Fundamentally, a god represents those virtues within ourselves that we would like to cultivate, so that we can be better than we thought we are.
An ordered, condensate of Daimons working in concert to a common goal or function.
Rational theories have the value of letting us see how things are made. They can even shed light on the way we think, and how we gather and filter knowledge. Rational knowledge has its limits, in that its value rests mostly in acedemic exersices, not so much in reality. All theories are valid until the facts are plugged in, and theories of the Divine rest on Gnostic Facts. That means my experiences are mine, and I can't always share them with you.
The belief that god(s) and nature are undifferentiated and any differences are imagined.
The theory that the gods were originally no more than human rulers, heroes, or honored ancestors who were later elevated to the status of gods by subsequent generations because of the benefits they bestowed on humanity, and for their heroic virtue.
Showing loyalty and devotion to a single god while acknowledging the existence of many.
“Though all the people walk, each in the name of their gods, we will walk in the name of ha-Shem our god, forever and ever.” [Micah 4.5]
Showing loyalty and devotion to a single god because she or he is the only genuine god.
A beliefe that Nature is divine, infused with intelligence and can think. This divinity, is concidered to be personal, at least to some degree that humans or even our pets are personal. This Natural consciousness is present and aware of her parts as if each part where her whole self.
A beliefe that Nature is divine, infused with intelligence and can think. This divinity, however, is not concidered to be personal, not in the way that humans or even our pets are personal. This Natural deity simply is as unaware of her parts as we are unaware of ours when we are healthy.
Showing loyalty and devotion to a single god while acknowledging the existence of many.
“Though all the people walk, each in the name of their gods, we will walk in the name of ha-Shem our god, forever and ever.” [Micah 4.5]
The belief that god(s) and nature are differentiated individuals, and differences are real separations between those individual personalities..
The ego is the mental construction created within the psyche to differentiate the self from the other, and to express the self to that other. It is also the point of focused awareness, and with its shadow, filters our range of awareness to a point where the universe can become manageable.
Functions of the Ego: Taming, Mastery, Self-control, Adaptation
The shadow is the daimonic ego, a mental construction created within the psyche to differentiate the self from the other within memory, imagination, and the Daimonic Reality, and to express the self to that other. It is also the point of focused awareness, and with its the ego, filters our range of awareness to a point where the universe can become manageable.
The vitality of an older person who is sustained by what she or he considers an expression of “glamour,” schooled by the most sensually-appealing period in her or his life.
We can observe, as have more than a few Sages before us, that we find evil when we look for good. It is a little like holding a lantern a little closer to an object. The result would be that the object becomes clearer at the expense of everything else fading into shaded obscurity. Many an argument, no, many evils have been committed when we hold something that is as minor as a dime too close to our eyes. Do that, and even the Sun in all her glory will be eclipsed by that dime. Jhwa told her children in the Garden of Delights only not to eat of the fruits of the Gnosis of Good and Evil, or they would lose their innocence, if you will.
We ought to observe two other truths about evil. First, just because an act or event is evil, it does not follow that it is wrong. War is always evil. It brings death and poverty and ruins ecologies, both during and after the practice. There are times, however, when war is the right choice, and pacifism is the wrong one. I will leave it to my reader to assess the rules for determining the justness of a war or act of violence, or to read my essay on the subject.
Hate is impatient; Hate is unkind; Hate is envious, boastful, arrogant and rude. It insists on its own way; it is irritable and resentful; it rejoices in wrongdoing, Hate rejoices not in the truth. It bears little, believes no thing, hopes no thing, endures no thing. [Adapted from 1 Corinthians 13.4 - 7]
Existentialism is the philosophical study of humanity’s search for meaning within our struggle to exist and evolve. The philosopher’s emphasis is upon understanding the human experience within our environment and is focused upon the free and isolated individual. It argues the knowledge that people have the capacity for self-awareness and can make choices that have good results. Existentialism insists upon addressing all parties in a relationship as genuine with the right for complete and real regard for their existence. It is suitable for ministers and addiction counselors, because it plows the ground for a meaningful engagement with all aspects of the therapeutic relationship. Existential therapy also expects the person to be responsible for their choice and the consequences of that choice, and to be responsible for their own recovery.
A trusted look into the future, based on the predictability of events as displayed in the past, though not necessarily related to the events one has placed faith into (ie, faith in a god is usually based on one’s experiences with parents and parental figures in one’s life.)
That department of philosopy which investigates critically the nature, grounds, limits, criteria, or validity of human knowledge; theory of cognition. The understanding of the process of knowledge — has to be included explicitly in the description of natural phenomena. Seeks the question of “How do we Know?
Knowledge that we derive from the experiences we have with objects and events in our everyday environment. It belongs to the realm of the intellect whose function it is to discriminate, divide, compare, measure and categorize. In this way, we can create a world of intellectual distinctions; one of opposites which really can exist only in relation to each other, hence we also know rational knowledge as relative knowledge.
Knowledge that is untouched by rational forces within the intellect and whose origins may be absurd or unknown. Irrational knowledge relates to an entirely nonintellectual experience of reality, approaching experience such as it is. These experiences often arise from non-ordinary states of consciousness, such as meditation. We also know irrational knowledge as absolute knowledge, because it relates only to itself.
In truth, there are only two basic religious paradigms, Gnosticism and Literalistism. It should be noted that these polar opposite often share a common root, and may even merge into two separate shoes on the same pedestrian. Gnostics often look for teachers that will help them find what they have, and Literalitst will often find themselves empty if all they look at are books.
Gnosticism is the discovery of personal knowledge through one’s struggle to exist. The core effort is self-awareness. Its expressions, vocabulary, and other means of expounding this knowledge are relative to these who use them. They would be accepted and valued as such by others, knowing that they convey the same sort of spirit, just dressed a little differently. Some schools of Gnosticism are very literate, Qabala being a shining example. In this case, the words are guides meant to help the student discover a new expression, or at least harmonize with a rational explanation. In other schools, Literature, indeed any rational expression, is expected to be suspended before the student can grasp the deeper meaning of a subject, Zen being a shining example. Divergent perspectives can live in a society together, hold a dialogue, and end up modifying and adopting each other’s rational expressions. Wars between groups are usually for reasons other than ideological, and usually far from religious in nature. If a gnostic holds to a divine being — which is rarely necessary — then that being is seen as immanent and accessible to any who wish to know. In some cases there is a rejection of any divine entity, only a central awareness into which the disciple is guided toward a merger. Humanity, and in today’s scientific paradigm, all of nature’s expression are seen as egos reflecting the awareness of that central Divine being. Humanity is not flawed unless we forget that the Kingdom of Heaven is within us, to put it in Christian terms.
Literalistism is opposite on the philosophical pole from Gnosticism. Literalistism requires the acquisition of this revealed knowledge through oral or/and written traditions. Literalistism expresses itself through the revelation of a single person or group of persons who believe the words come from outside themselves. Basically, Literalistism is the worship of those words as either expressions of the divine, or as being divine themselves. These traditions or practices may be divergent, conflicting, and possessive. In extreme cases, there is one god, worshiped from one place, and usually through the office of a single person. Even in a polytheistic society, such as classical Greece, there may still be a sense of elitism (our gods are better than yours) and ethnocentrism (and may only be worshiped in the temples of Olympus). These differing opinions may be aggressively polemic, to the point of hunting down and killing out foreign ideas, or seeking isolation for itself from those it disagrees with, an act that can easily take the act of genocide. If the Literalist holds to a divine being — which is highly likely — this being is seen as solely transcendent and other than creation, even if the being is everywhere. Creation is dead, or at best, dirty. In many cases humanity and creation are seen as inherently flawed, in need of salvation, that can be had only through the central cult. Humanity is flawed unless you are in the Kingdom of Heaven, to put it in terms of Christian practice.
The belief in the basic literal truth, inerrancy and divine origin of holy scriptures, and the need to follow those scriptures to be right. It ignores hermeneutics, evolution in language and thought, and the possibility that the path of inspiration was not necessarily as direct as advertized.
Collected from Mel White Religion Gone Bad: the hidden dangers of the Christian right; (1-58542-531-1)
The Hebrew conjugate, “יהוה ” does not translate into English well because it is in a tense that does not exist in many linear European languages. The eternal present (human perspective) is an emphasis on a spiritual reality of cyclical and mythological events in an ever returning spiral. The Eternal One can enjoy the entire scope of time-space in one moment where our temporal nature obliges us to enjoy each event one moment after another. While some mystics may get a taste of the eternal moment, they must return to the temporal moment to share their experiences. From an English perspective “יהוה” must be translated as “I was/am/will be/am becoming,” for it means all of these things in a single thought. The verb is in an eternal tense, a thing that does not exist in English.
I see (as best I can) the material and spiritual parts of the Universe as a single dynamic web of interrelated events. It is a tendency of the Pagan to perceive Nature as Divine. I do not mean to diminish the gods, such as Kali-ma or Hermes, whom I believe to be at least as real as a quark or even my own soul. I simply differentiate the parts from the whole, and call the whole the Eternal One.
We have derived the name “Grimoire” and “Grammar” from the same source. Basically, a grammar is a description of a set of symbols and how to combine them to create well-formed sentences. A Grimoire is, appropriately enough, a description of a set of magical symbols and how to combine them properly.
Most Grimoires are descriptions of traditional European ritual Magic, which in turn is based on Judeo-Christianity. While this is not to be confused with neo-Paganism, many neo-Pagan traditions, especially Wicca, use similar rituals and techniques, although with a different (usually Celtic) vocabulary.
Hoodoo is an eclectic amalgamations of magical practices built within an African cultural matrix. Hoodoo is constructed by Central African (Bantu) slaves in America with Protestant and Native-American components. It shares some features with Vodoun, but differs in many details. Fundamentally, the differences between the two can sometimes seem … insignificant, unless you are a practitioner of any degree of skill. Then the differences are clear, and sometimes important
Hoodoo is strongly informed by Christian traditions, though often these are of heterodoxic flavors. Like so many cultures across this planet, the old gods may become devils or saints in the garb of the Christian Faith, or even be reduced to folkloric heroes. Sometimes, old spells are replaced or supplemented by psalms and prayers. Hoodoo, itself, is informed with elements from Jewish and Christian Qabala, the Doctrine of Signatures, and Hermetic A skilled Hoodoo practitioner could be called a root doctor, conjure doctor or a two-headed doctor.
It is my belief that the differences between the Conjurer, Enchanter, Magician, Magus, Mogur, Natural Magus, Necromancer, Shaman (Soul Force Listener), Sorcerer, Spirit Singer (Warlock), Talamasca (Animal Mask) Thaumaturgist (Miracle Worker), Witch Doctor, Witch, Wizard is one of degree and culture, not one of type. Each is either a different way of doing the same thing, or simply a different way of looking, style, fashion, culture. Each would not be exactly synonymous, because of the degrees of differences and civilized influence.
Side Note, Civilized is not necessarily superior, just an urban way of doing things.
Priest and scientist of the temple-states of Mesopotamia and Egypt, and by extension Europe, China, the Americas, Africa, et. al., who arbitrate between the gods and people. They study the nature of the universe, consider her quantities and qualities, relations and antagonisms, and develop theories that allow them to use their special attunement with nature to guide the forces of nature, or to guide the clan to conform to nature.
The difference between magus and Mogur is the degree of organization of information and level of individual responsibility. The Sorcerer is responsible for the group conscious, the clan’s physical and spiritual health, and for the holistic welfare of the clan and its environment. The Magus might not be responsible for anything other than their own spiritual welfare, though it’s usually expected that they will take on disciples from time to time, and participate in the affairs of society.
Shaman or natural scientists who arbitrate between the gods and people. They study the nature of the universe, consider her quantities and qualities, relations and antagonisms, and develop theories that allow them to use their special attunement with nature to guide the forces of nature, or to guide the clan to conform to nature.
The difference between magus and Mogur is the degree of organization of information and level of individual responsibility. The Sorcerer is responsible for the group conscious, the clan’s physical and spiritual health, and for the holistic welfare of the clan and its environment. The Magus might not be responsible for anything other than their own spiritual welfare, though it’s usually expected that they will take on disciples from time to time, and participate in the affairs of society.
In Hebrew, there is a word, “Shamaº שמע” that means “Listen, to hear”. When some Jews seek a substitution for the great name of יהוה, they will say, Ha-Shem, the name. Now, I don't know that there is a direct link, I only know that languages have a way of evolving, and isolation makes one language evolve away from another. So, I don’t know if there is a link between the Hebrew, “Shamaº שמע” and the Tungusic, šaman; but the trail smells interesting.
| English Etymological: Warlock, Old English wær, faith, pledge; Anglo-Saxon; wær - human; Germanic ºwéra-. léogan, to lie; ºleugan. Old Norse: Vard, Singer, Lokkur, (Spider) Weaver, Spirit. A practitioner of Magic. Conjurer, Enchanter, Illusionist, Magician, Magus, Mogur, Natural Magus, Necromancer, Shaman (Soul Force Listener), Sorcerer, Spirit Singer (Warlock), Talamasca (Animal Mask) Thaumaturgist (Miracle Worker), Witch Doctor, Witch, Wizard. |
A Warlock is another term for Sorcerer, and is most likely from the old Norse for Spirit Singer. A Warlock is any person who has a functioning relationship with Magic. Many male Witches disfavor the term Warlock because of its Old English meaning of Oath Breaker. In southeastern Europe, a Warlock was a Warlord who personally used Magic in his War craft. Vlad the Impaler mat have been one such person. Many Satanists will call any male who is very adept in the use of Magic a Warlock, and call the Female a Witch.
Some of us are reclaiming the term for ourselves, and divesting it of its negative baggage. Labels are, as always, context sensitive. They also carry the risk of limiting thought. If the listener does not get an image or feeling about a word, chances are the listener has stopped thinking.
| Etymological: form ºWeg-yo-. ( Wicca), Witch; (Bewitch), from Old English wicca, a sorcerer, a wizard (feminine wicce, Witch), from Germanic ºwikkjaz, a necromancer (“one who wakes the dead”). |
First, the term Witch is one of several terms that can be applied to the same human condition. It can also have good or evil connotations, but is inherently neither good or evil in itself. Hence, the answer requires a Cultural sensitivity. Words that could be interchanged, only if we ignore cultural roots of the terms, are Witch, Wizard, Warlock, Sorcerer, Doble-headed Doctor, Conjure Doctor, Baba Yaga, Shaman. The list can go on.
If we apply a very conservative history to the expression, we might say the original meaning of the word that later became Witch was one who bent natural forces to his or her will, even turning aside evil or good.
About 2200 years ago Hebrew scholars at Alexandria, Egypt set about translating Hebrew scripture and stories into Greek. The Hebrew Alephbeyt is essentially a syllabary; that is, each letter bears both a consonant, some of which mutate, and a vowel, all of which mutate. In other words, any one syllable in Hebrew may carry any one of ten to twenty phonemic pairs. So, when a scholar would read from a passage, the writing would present to them a memory tool to help them remember what oral tradition expected from them. This can create a problem as some words change their meaning not by a change in spelling, nor even by a change of stress. Some words may change their meaning simply by changing one or all the vowel components of the syllable.
Fearful that the oral tradition was being forgotten, the Masorym (called such because of their efforts here) developed a system to strengthen the scholar’s memory. These include the vowel marks, taºam (stress marks that also suggest grammar and cantalation), punctuation and verse and chapter numbering. Hence, Masorym are both:
[Psyche] the context one has placed one’s self into where one holds to a reason to exist. This meaning may be found in activities ranging from art to helping hiv/aids patients find hope or meaning in their own lives.
I Am Pagan!
the Earth is my sacred prayer mat,
Dance, my sacred prayer.
the sky is the vault of my cathedral,
Living trees Her columns.
My experience is my sacred writ,
As old as wind, as fresh as my last breath.
Can I believe in God?
How could I?
I have been in Her embrace,
Washed by Her love,
Her compassion.
Her blood flows through my soul.
I hear Her lullaby echo soft in the hills,
As I soar with Her above the abyss.
I Am a mystery,
Experiencing xerself through consciousness,
Witnessing through the mind,
Manifest in a body,
that has a physical component.
I wonder at the
Magic of life, of love.
I have seen the very large;
I have seen the very small.
the forces of shade and light are one within me.
Truly, we are a marvel to consider.
Minimally, a Pagan was a country dweller, the term was often used to degrade the folk, a little like calling someone a “red-neck” or “hillbilly.” Their direct association and dependence on the Earth and Her natural cycles inspired reverence for these forces. Pagan religions are those Cultures of Faith that are rather uninformed by civilized education. They are educated by the forces of nature herself, have a reverential relationship with nature, and possibly even with the Daimonic reality.
This would be in opposition to the highly educated urbanite, with stresses that the paganite would never be subject to. Though to be fair, we are related. The Pagan is worried about whether there are enough crops, and that there will be enough for hearth and home as well as the market; the urban worries about the same things, but the target is money, rather than cucumbers. I submit, that the only appropriate antonym for pagan is urban, not Christian, not Christian/Jew/Islam. Holding to such a position explains so many areas where both blend and complement (or even conflict with) each other.
These Pagans might migrate to the urban centers. There civilized society would exploited them to make improvements on the cities.
Today the neo-Pagan — a modern reconstruction — strives for that same degree of reverence. How we express that reverence is where I believe we most often differ.
I could argue that Paganism is the oldest spiritual tradition on Earth as if it were obvious. Traditionally a Pagan is directly associated with the Earth. This dependence requires both a reverence for and an awareness of the process of nature. I could argue that Paganism is one of the newest cultures of faith on Earth, as well. You see, Paganism is like a rope. Each individual is a strand. Each strand contributes to a thread, each thread to a cord, each cord to a rope, each rope to a larger rope. No strand, no thread passes the entire length of any cord or rope. Yet each strand adds to the strength of the whole. We don’t expect that any thread will last the centuries. Each strand dies, making room for the next. I draw my strength from those who have gone before me, and those who travel with me. I lend my strength to those who are with me, and return it to those who will follow.
An interpersonal (or intrapersonal) situation when one person relates to another not from the realistic attributes of the other but from a personification existing chiefly in the former’s own fantasy.
Religion is a social construction, where spirituality is a personal one. They can walk hand-in-hand and are better for doing so. A group of humans generates religion to serve the needs of the group.
A religion serves society by keeping it together, securing each other’s safety from threats foreign and domestic. A religion will network the needs and desires of society. It also provides a matrix or avenue for discovering and expressing existential and essential meaning, especially in times of high stress. What is most important, and too often forgotten, religion encourages, assists, and provides avenues of exploration and expression of personal spiritual experiences. Spirituality will seek ways to excel and be appreciated. Spirituality transcends the individual; religion transcends the group.
Together, Humanistic and Spiritualistic Satanism are Systems or Cultures of Faith whose attitude toward Satan or other related personalities (Kali, Lylyth, Set) is favorable or positive. This often includes a divine or personal relationship with Satan or those other related personalities. Satanists share a common core philosophy (usually classified as religious), position or attitude founded upon a pervasive discontent or hunger. That discontent encourages an adversarial spirit toward an oppressive social system that has stagnated on traditions, fear, and superstition that reason cannot justify; whose adherents self-identify as Satanists. We embrace this pervasive discontent or hunger as a gift, and employ it in the maturation of our individual selves into a radically isolated and relatively liberated human. For many, Satanism is a system of thought based on rational self-interest, sensual indulgence, and the constructive uses of alienation or existential isolation. Still, that is only the door to the greater mysteries and pleasures of Satan. Both Humanistic and Spiritualistic forms of Satanism are modern because they are renewed for every generation that takes on this sort of cause.
Heretical Satanism is a violent address to all those ideas and people who are labeled as disciples of the evil one. Heresy is a teaching that is held at variances with the recognized or popular catechism of the Elders, and produces dissension or a split within a society. To be a heretic one need not actually hold a variable or unpopular belief. You need only be told that you hold such beliefs.
The Inquisition provided a document called, “The Witches Hammer” (Summers, Montague [tr. ed]: The Malleus Maleficarum [1484] 1971) that canonized much of what the Christians thought Satanism must be like. During the corrupt reign of the Medici Popes the royal and middle class people took pleasure in selling their souls to Satan. Like the child who has just discovered they can do more than pee with their genitals, these Gothic Satanists are addicted to the next new thrill. So, they sought a new thing to do with Satan, which often led to crimes that Hollywood loves to portray us all with. This is parataxic distortion, because it creates a fantastic image of one’s ego, supper inflating it to diabolic proportions. Such egos are tender and immature for all the same reasons that an addict’s ego is. In both cases the inflation works as an ineffective shield against life’s troubles.
Humanistic Satanism is a modern construction, which is more Animatistic in its Dynamic review of nature. That is, they hold that only life forms have volition, and Satan represents an idea, usually of the living forces of Nature, or of a system of rational, human-centered thought.
Believing that there is more to existence than flesh and blood, the Spiritual Satanist holds a Dynamic, Animistic or Daimonic review of existence. These Satanists believe in gods and a nature that has intelligence and volition. Many Spiritual Satanists are talking to and about a real Satan, even if they do not call him or her that. In common with the Humanistic Satanism, the Spiritual Satanist will see him or herself as the most important divine being in their world, even if we respect and form relationships with other divine beings.
A myth, a story, an image, a theory is a model of the Universe, or more regularly a small, mind-size segment of the Universe. It is usually described in terms of arithmetic notation, and often works with forms or ideas. This model is designed to relate qualities and quantities, their relationships and antagonisms. A theory is developed by summarizing a preponderance of data, collected by observing nature, and by experimentation. In addition, the theory will prognosticate future observations, which in the end is the crucible that tries the theory’s validity. A theory is built from intuition, and must be tested in a practical setting. The scientific theory is by nature fragile, because new data may force the scientist to change the theory. If the theory refuses to adapt and evolve, the honest scientist will discard the theory in favor of the better explanation. In the end, a theory is valid only as long as someone accepts it as valid. This is because it only exists within the mind.
A map is a model of the city. A person will not get to city hall by walking across the map. Yet the map can make getting to city hall more effective. That map may show a variety of paths to get from anywhere to city hall, and the person using it will choose one or another. If the map fails to describe any path with enough information to make that choice, or if the map is significantly flawed, it will be quickly discarded for a more effective one. A theory is never fact, no matter how accurate a story it will be about how the facts seem to relate to each other.
Transgender is an umbrella term; it includes: transsexuals, whether pre-op, post-op, or non-op; “transvestites”/cross-dressers (quotes on “transvestites” because many cross-dressers feel that the label is derogatory, as it has been defined as a sexual fetish, which it is not for many cross-dressers); transgenderists, who live full time in the gender opposite their sex, but do not desire to have surgery (yes, this category blurs into non-op transsexuals – but they identify differently); what I call intergendered, which are those people whose trans-ness is focused on living between the genders, rather than on crossing from one gender to another; inter-sexual - folk who, because of genetic or congenital resons, are born a third gender; and lots of other folks whom I can’t catagorize. The definition of trans- used in the support group that used to exist here was: “any person who transgresses and/or transcends conventional gender expectations on a fairly regular basis, and who chooses to identify as trans.”
An intersexed person is one who was born with both sets of genitalia. These are rare individuals. An hermaphrodite is someone who was born intersexed and received a sex assignment at birth, one which may or may not agree with the person’s personally known gender identity.
Intersexed used, it includes any biological variation that is neither simple male nor simple female. This includes any phenotypic variation (ambiguous genitalia at birth, birth genitalia not matching secondary sexual characteristics at puberty, etc.) as well as any genotypic variation (XXY, etc.). I’ve also heard that most people no longer prefer hermaphrodite.