Hi everybody! Happy friday the 13th!

I have always loved friday the 13th, it has always been a good day for me and in numerology the number lowers down to the number 4 which is a good,grounding number in deed!

Here's an interesting article I found at suite101.com about Friday the 13th. Is it really a day of bad luck or actually another example of suppression of the feminine principle and of pagan myth and ritual? I found it very interesting.



Published on: October 13, 2000


A black cat crosses your path, you walk under a ladder, you break a mirror, so what!? What does this have to do with you receiving bad karma? Well a lot if you let superstitions hold some sway with you, and let’s face it, most of us do. Many of us may believe we are not superstitious, but most of us would be surprised to realize the role superstition has in directing our actions and behaviors. Have you ever been extra careful around a mirror for fear of having seven years of bad luck; knocked on wood; been afraid not to pass-on a chain letter; not opened an umbrella indoors; God-blessed someone when they sneezed? Chances are you have. It is nothing to be ashamed of, but you may be curious as to how these superstitions originated.

Perhaps the best known superstition is the fear of Friday the 13th. What is it about these two factors that gave this day such a bad reputation? After all, it is even the subject of a hugely successful horror movie series! Almost all of us have used the date of Friday the 13th to explain why something went wrong. Examples of the taboos for both Friday, but especially the number 13, are endless. Everything has a history, so to get to the root of this superstition we must first look at the two elements separately. As it turns out, both Friday and the number 13 have a fascinating past.

FRIDAY

What could possibly be so bad about Friday? Most people look forward to Fridays, as it is the end of the workweek for many. Hence the ever popular slogan T.G.I.F. Friday’s ill-fated day in superstition is believed to result from the belief that it was the day of the week on which Eve tempted Adam and Christ was crucified. Among the activities viewed as taboo to do on a Friday are: setting sail on a ship; moving house; beginning any new work; writing a letter; knitting; starting a journey; and, believe it or not, cutting your nails. In both England and America the custom to hang criminals on a Friday earned it the reputation of Hangman’s day. Although, it seems one activity offers some promise on a Friday - sleeping. The thought is, if you repeat the dream you had during the night to a family member on Friday morning the dream would come true. It is certainly worth a try, assuming of course you only tell your family about the dreams you want to come true.

Not everywhere does Friday have this dubious distinction. Friday is the Sabbath of the Jewish lunar calendar and the Sabbath of Islam. Scandinavian Pagans, Hindus, rural Scots, and Germans consider Friday to be a most propitious day for a marriage or courting because they consider it a day favoring fertility. Their more favorable view of Friday is a result of the history of Friday before Christianity.

Friday is the only day of the week named after a woman. The others pay homage to either Scandinavian male gods (Wooden, Thor, and Tiu – God of War) or celestial bodies (Saturn, Sun, and Moon). Friday was named after the Norse Goddess Freya who represented fertility and sexual love. She is strongly associated with spring, birds and cats. Romans named the day dies Veneris after Venus, their own version of the Freya goddess. Ancient fisherman did not set sail on a Friday out of respect for Freya, because she was considered Goddess of the Sea. This tradition is still practiced by many sea folk today, except their reason for not setting sail on a Friday is now due to a fear of bad luck rather than reverence for an ancient goddess. To make the history of Friday even more interesting, it turns out fish were often eaten on Friday as fertility charms in honor of Freya. Thus, it seems the catholic habit of eating fish on Friday was pagan in origin.


THE NUMBER 13

The number 13 has an even more special place in superstition and fear of its effects has even been given a scientific name, Tridecaphobia. In fact, buildings avoid numbering the 13th floor, and airlines avoid using the number in tracking their flights and in numbering their seat aisles. The number 13 is rarely found on offices or shops, and even less frequently on the rooms of a hotel or guesthouse. In some cities, such as Paris, scarcely a single house exists with that ill-fated number. They get around this by designating the property twelve bis (twelve twice).

The main reason given for 13’s ill omen is its association with the Last Supper, attended by 13 - Christ and the 12 apostles. According to tradition, if a gathering of 13 is held, one member of such a group – the first to rise from the table – will die before the year is out. Reportedly, an organization in France exists solely to provide a last minute party guest so 13 people are never at a dinner party! Again, as was the case for Friday, not all cultures share this dislike for the number 13. For example, the Chinese have no aversion to the number 13 because its literal meaning is "alive". Their taboo number, however, is four, because it sounds like the word for "dying" or "death".

Two conflicting calendars were in use during most of the early Christian era in Europe. The Church's official solar Julian Calendar (the one we use today) and the peasants unofficial lunar calendar. When the number 13 is examined in a little more depth, a strong pagan and even stronger female pattern emerges. Paganism centers around Mother Nature and, within that context, the moon is vital. The moon and female fertility are also closely connected. The connection is so strong in fact that it is generally believed calendar consciousness developed first in women, because the natural menstruation of their bodies correlated with the moons phases. The 13 lunar months gave 364 days per year (13 X 28) with one extra day to make up the solar calendar. Nursery rhymes, fairy tales, ballads, and other repositories of pagan tradition always describe the full annual solar cycle as a year and a day. Thus, the thirteen months of the fertility or lunar year led to the pagan reverence for the number 13 and probably led to the Christian dislike of it.


FRIDAY THE 13TH

So when Friday is combined with the 13th day of the month we have a double dose of pagan symbolism and female significance. Up until the Middle Ages when pagans continued to celebrate symbolic pagan days, Friday the 13th was thought to be especially lucky because it combined the goddess’s sacred day with her sacred number (drawn from the 13 months of the lunar year). As a result, Friday the 13th was a celebration and festival day for many Pagans.

While the New Testament rationale for the dislike of both Friday and the number thirteen is often used as the explanation for the bad karma associated with Friday the 13th, it is, in my opinion, a little superficial to create such a strong taboo. Especially when one takes into account the pre-Christian history of both Friday and the number 13. After all, the Last Supper was certainly not the only time Christ gathered with his disciples and there were always 13 of them. No one suggests these earlier events were unlucky. In fact, based on the historical view of thirteen at the time of Christ, all indications show 13 as a lucky number, and this probably played a role in determining how many disciples there should have been. The same goes for the New Testament rationale for the dislike of Fridays. The crucifixion of Christ is the foundation of Christianity. After all this holy day is called Good Friday and is celebrated as a positive day!

What seems to appear, after one reviews the history, is that the modern taboo of Friday and 13 (and especially the two together) is the result of the Christian manipulation of earlier Pagan beliefs.

This is far from the only pagan celebration day Christianity has changed. Both Christmas and Easter are old pagan holidays, where many of the pagans’ traditions continue to be practiced, only without the understanding of their true origins. But Friday the 13th is different from these other plagiarized holidays because the Christians turned what used to be a day of celebration of female strength and power into a day of fear and taboos.

In trying to understand why they would try to do such a thing, one has to keep in mind that for the first couple of hundred years after Christ and the birth of Christianity, Christians were forced to practice their religion in secret for fear of persecution. This may explain why they linked their Christian celebrations with pagan celebrations to avoid being discovered. Their inability to practice Christianity in public during this time probably resulted in their dislike of pagan religions, the dominant religions during the time of the Christian persecution. And in turn, this led to their persecution of pagan celebrations when Christianity became the dominant religion.

It is not surprising this took place. After all, most conquering nations try to destroy or change the customs of the conquered. We do, however, have to recognize it as inconsistent with the teachings of Christianity - where tolerance and "turning the other cheek" is encouraged. In actual practice, however, the Christians of the time realized they would be much more successful in suppressing some pagan celebrations if, instead of trying to eliminate the holiday, they focused their energy on changing the meaning behind the celebrations to coincide with Christianity. Other holidays, such as Friday the 13th, they suppressed by convincing people that unfortunate things would happen to them if they celebrated on those festival days.

We need to take the history of Friday and the number 13 into account and look at them afresh in order to see them in a more positive light. Australians have one interesting way of looking at this day. Australian lottery ticket sales go through the roof on Friday the 13th. Maybe they try to defy the odds by taking the bad luck jinx on, or maybe they realize things are rarely what they seem on the surface to be. Ideas, superstitions and cultural symbolism exist for numerous different reasons, but it is usually based on the evolution or manipulation of beliefs or customs pre-dating them. It is important for us to question the origin of these customs, to make an informed decision on whether we want to partake in the custom, challenge it, or just ignore it.

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Fair Use Notice: There is no attempt here to usurp any copyright but only to distribute useful and educational information to a non profit audience.

© Copyright 2000-2004 by Fountain of Light

There Is a Pagan in Your Classroom

by

Suzanne “Cecylyna” Egbert

Copyright 2000

All Rights Reserved

(Reprinted with permission)

A student in your school practices a religion with which you may not be familiar. This leaflet is simply to give you information you may need to understand the different experiences this student may share with you, and answer any questions you might have.

What is a Pagan student likely to practice and believe? Because Pagans generally follow a non-creedal, non-dogmatic spirituality, there may be even more variants between Pagan religious beliefs than there are between denominations of Christianity.

The most commonly practiced types of Paganism are Wicca, Asatru, Druidry, or simply Paganism, just as a Christian can be Catholic, Presbyterian, or simply Christian. All of these are somewhat different from each other. Because of this, the following statements may not be true for every Pagan you encounter. However, there are some practices that are generally common among Pagans; the student or his parents will tell you if their practices differ significantly from the following:

A Pagan student will celebrate a nature-based, polytheistic religion.

A Pagan student will honor Divinity as both God and Goddess, sometimes with a feminist emphasis on the Goddess. One effect of this is that the student is likely to treat gender equality as an assumption.

A Pagan student will celebrate religious ceremonies with small groups on Full Moons and at the beginning and midpoint of each season, rather than with large congregations or at a set weekly schedule. These celebrations are often called ‘rituals’ or ‘circles’, and the congregations called ‘covens’, ‘groves’, ‘hearths’, or ‘circles’. Some of the items commonly found on the altar in a Pagan ceremony are statues of the Goddess or God; candles; crystals; wands; the athame - a blunt-edged dagger used as a symbol and not as a tool with which to cut; cups; cauldrons; incense; and a five-pointed star called the pentagram or pentacle.

A Pagan student may wear a symbol of his or her religion as an item of jewelry. The most common symbol is the pentacle, a five- pointed star in a circle. The misconception of the pentagram as a satanic symbol is based upon its inverted use by those groups, in the same manner in which devil-worshippers may use the Christian cross inverted. The meaning of the pentacle as worn by Pagans is rooted in the beliefs of the Greek Pythagoreans, for whom the pentagram embodied perfect balance and wisdom; inserting the star in the circle adds the symbol of eternity and unity. Other jewelry that may be worn includes Celtic knotwork, crosses, and triskelions; Thor’s hammer; the labrys, a double-headed axe used as a symbol by Greco-Roman worship of Cybele; Goddess figurines; crescent and/or full Moon symbols; the Yin-Yang symbol; or the eye of Horus or horns of Isis from Egyptian mythology.

A Pagan student will view Divinity as immanent in Nature and humanity, and view all things as interconnected. This often leads to a concern with ecology and the environment, and a fascination with the cycle of life.

A Pagan student will believe in magic, and may spell it ‘magick’ to differentiate it from stage illusions. This may include belief in personal energy fields like the Chinese concept of chi, and may also include the use of rituals and tools to dramatize and focus positive thinking and visualization techniques. It does not mean that the student is taught that he can wiggle his nose to clean his room, summon spirits or demons, or do anything else that breaks natural laws, though if young - like any child - a Pagan child may pretend these things. It also does not mean that the student is taught to hex or curse; in our ethical structure such actions are believed to rebound on the sender, and therefore are proscribed.

A Pagan student may believe in reincarnation. It is the most common eschatological belief held among Pagans, but is not universal. However, a Pagan student is unlikely to believe in either Heaven or Hell; she may believe in the Celtic Summerland, a place of rest between incarnations, or Valhalla, a realm of honor in Norse religions.

A Pagan student may call herself a Witch, a Wiccan, a Pagan or Neo- Pagan, a Goddess-worshipper, a Druid, an Asatruar, or a Heathen. He is unlikely to call himself a Warlock, as that is believed to come from the Scottish word for ‘oathbreaker’. And while a Pagan student may or may not be offended by the stereotype, she is likely to quickly inform you that the green-skinned, warty-nosed caricature displayed at Halloween bears no relation to her religion.

A Pagan student will be taught ethics emphasizing both personal freedom and personal responsibility. Pagan ethics allow personal freedom within a framework of personal responsibility. The primary basis for Pagan ethics is the understanding that everything is interconnected, that nothing exists without affecting others, and that every action has a consequence. There is no concept of forgiveness for sin in the Pagan ethical system; the consequences of one’s actions must be faced and reparations made as necessary against anyone whom you have harmed. There are no arbitrary rules about moral issues; instead, every action must be weighed against the awareness of what harm it could cause. Thus, for example, consensual homosexuality would be a null issue morally because it harms no one, but cheating would be wrong because it harms one’s self, one’s intellect, one’s integrity, and takes unfair advantage of the person from whom you are cheating. The most common forms in which these ethics are stated are the Wiccan Rede, “An it harm none, do as thou wilt,” and in the Threefold Law, “Whatsoever you do returns to you threefold.”

A Pagan student will hold a paradigm that embraces plurality. Because Pagan religious systems hold that theirs is a way among many, not the only road to truth, and because Pagans explore a variety of Deities among their pantheons, both male and female, a Pagan student will be brought up in an atmosphere that discourages discrimination based on differences such as race or gender, and encourages individuality, self-discovery and independent thought.

A Pagan student is also likely to be taught comparative religions. Most Pagans are adamant about not forcing their beliefs on the child but rather teaching them many spiritual systems and letting the child decide when s/he is of age. However, a Pagan student is unlikely to have an emotional concept of Heaven, Hell, or salvation as taught by Christian religions, though he may know about them intellectually. And a Pagan student will be taught to respect the sacred texts of other religions, but is unlikely to believe them literally where they conflict with scientific theory or purport to be the only truth.

A Pagan student is likely to enjoy reading, science, and helping professions. Margot Adler, National Public Radio journalist, reported the results of a survey of Pagans in the 1989 edition of her book, Drawing Down the Moon. The results showed that the one thing Pagans hold in common despite their differences is a voracious appetite for reading and learning. Pagans also seem to be represented strongly in the computer and health-care fields, so the Pagan child is likely to be computer- literate from an early age.

Despite their sometimes misunderstood beliefs, earth-based religions have grown steadily throughout the past few decades, and provide a satisfying spirituality to their practitioners. With the current appreciation of diversity and tolerance, more people now understand that different cultural backgrounds bring perspectives that can be valued instead of feared. It is our hope that as a educator this will provide you with the information you need to be able to facilitate understanding.

Permission is expressly given to distribute this article so long as it is free and used in its entirety.

For more information, contact the Pagan Pride Project Executive Director

Cecylyna Dewr,

at

http://www.paganpride.org

NOTE: While the above serves to explain Paganism as practiced by true followers of the Pagan Path; it must be understood that Paganism does have a certain “appeal” to many youngsters, who may decide to take up the whole concept without having a full understanding of what this spirituality is truly all about. Many Pagan adults (including myself) often become frustrated with the number of “wannabes” that we deal with on a regular basis. Most of these teens and tweens have no real in-depth understanding of Paganism…they just think it’s “cool to call yourself a witch.” They most likely are receiving no formal training from their family or elsewhere - what little they know often comes from what they see in the media (such as programs like “Charmed” and films like “Harry Potter”); and maybe also from reading books and websites. While curiosity is a good thing and exploration is to be encouraged, these youngsters should also be advised that there’s a big difference between real Paganism as a spiritual path, and the Hollywood hype they see on television and movie screens.

SO WHAT DO YOU ALL THINK, SHOULD HE BE ABLE TO KEEP IT OR NOT? DO YOU THINK THAT IF THEY WERE CHRISTIAN SYMBOLS, THE CROSS, OR THE FISH THAT IT WOULD BE AN ISSUE?

PERSONALLY I THINK THAT IF IT IS NOT TRASHY, OR PORN AND DOES NO HARM THEN WHY THE HELL NOT?

Pagan symbols on fence must go, city insists By MELISSA WALKER • mewalker@dmreg.com • June 10, 2008   Robert Frost once said "good fences make good neighbors." Apparently not when the fence is used to express religious beliefs. A Des Moines couple say city officials have attacked their pagan religion and their civil rights after a complaint from a neighbor led to a notice to remove symbols that had been painted on the fence. Officials said the symbols are graffiti and must be removed. "Those are religious symbols; they're not mean or obnoxious in any way," said Ryle MacPebbles who lives in the 2000 block of Southeast Sixth Street. "I just don't like them telling me my religion isn't anything. "When they start making it personal with my religion, I'm sorry, we'll take it to court," said MacPebbles, a member of the American Pagan Church. The MacPebbleses said a city inspector approved the fence earlier this year. The symbols - a bull that represents food blessings; letters of ancient Germanic alphabet that mean good health, protection and larger perspective; a pentagram; and other Celtic paganism symbols - were on the fence when it was inspected. City inspection officials said that may be the case, but a permit and development inspector reviewed the fence, not the neighborhood inspections division, which issued the graffiti removal notice after a May 8 complaint. "When he said the fence is OK, he said the fence is constructed correctly," said Ben Bishop, neighborhood inspections administrator. "Our position is this was graffiti and it was inappropriate." City law defines any "inscription, drawing, picture, letter, number, symbol or other written communication" on a surface not intended for such use as graffiti. It does not specifically address religious symbols. MacPebbles said he painted the symbols on the outside of the fence to protect the family's home and to ward off evil energy. Phil Delafield, the city's permit and development administrator, said he did not know whether the inspector had reported the symbols as graffiti, but normally wouldn't. "They were not reacting to the symbology of the fence," he said. "It's not within our area of authority." The MacPebbleses appealed the removal notice on Monday. "Don't you think being a good neighbor you should have put them on your side of the fence?" asked hearing officer LeAnn Ducey, who will decide whether the symbols must be removed. Rachel MacPebbles said an attorney told them they have a case and to contact the American Civil Liberties Union. "Pagans have worked hundreds and hundreds of years to have the same rights as Christians to avoid persecution," she said.

Last post for a while.  After reading an article this morning about what the Army did to a Warrior and how he had to go straight to his gov't offical for help.  Knowing what MY family has had to do and are still doing on behalf of my brother because of the Marines, and then rereading the article that was posted by daenarys  I thought I better step up again and remind all of our Veteran's, their spouses, and their families what they can do to help our current Warriors out.  Active Military personal do what I am suggesting also.

A lot of folks didn't have a family like mine that was active in an organization.  Sure they aren't too active now but I and my immiadate family are becoming active again.  We were active and involved in an organization called the American Legion and the American Legion Aux.  It wasn't just my parents and us kids.  3 out of 4 of my Maternial Uncles are Veterans and all their families were involved also.  My Parental Uncle is a Veteran and his family was involved with the VFW or the American Legion.  I married into a Military family.  My husband is NOW an American Legion Member at the age of 39, Fuck in law (sorry only name I will refer to hubby's dad) is the Vic Commander of his American Legion Post, and Randy's sister and brother in law are both carrerr Army.

Do you all realize that both the VFW and The American Legion and Legion Aux not only help Veterans with social, chartiable, and poltical activies?  They also help current active Warriors in their area's Unit District and their home town Districts will step up to the plate also?  I wouldn't be suprised if you didn't realize this.  You know why.  Be ready I am going to bad mouth a set of Vets here!  The WWI and II Vets are dying out but before they are dying out they are causing their units to die out.  They don't want to hande over control of the Units to the Korean and Veitnam Vets to take over.  They are stuck in the past and can't realize the new breed of Veterans are a LOT younger than they are, they are fighing a different type of war they did, and their spouses ten to one are NOT sitting home taking care of the families but on the front lines right next to their spouses.  The Korean and Veitnam Vets are slowly taking over control of these Veteran Organizations and are trying to build them back up to what they use to be and are more than HAPPY to recruit our Vet's of today so they can hand over the Organization to my husband's and my age group of Vets.

I got Randy joined up with the American Legion Post in the town our kids go to school, DeLaney and I are in the process of sending in our paperwork to reup our Legion Aux membership to the same Unit Aux and now the American Legion has another org, The Son's of the American Legion (actually the sons could have joined the American Legion Aux but this goes back to old school WWI and II mentality that men can't join a woman's org and vice versa), The Son's org is for any male family member of a Vet to join up and help the Legion and Legion Aux out.    Unfortuntally our Unit is a small Inter-Tribal/County Unit and does NOT have a Son's Unit yet.  But you should have seen all those Korean/Veitnam Vet's get excited that Randy stepped up at Pow Wow last year and help take down and carry the flags at the closing ceromonies each day and when he joined they got super excited.  New Blood.  Granted Randy has yet been able to go to a meeting (working all the time) but they know he is there and are using him as a membership driving tool.  They are also using myself as a membership driving tool, ten to one from Urban area to rural area the age group between 18-50 has NEW vets that have no clue these Organizations are there to help them and that they are dying out.

I strong encourage ALL VETS both female and male to join the American Legion.  The Female Vets and all female family members can join the American Legion Aux and if your area has a Son's of American Legion join up your boys.  If they don't be a trend setter and join your male family members who are NOT a vet under the American Legion Aux.  And they have benefits for not only the vets but their family memebers.  I myself recieved a LOT of benefits as a Jr. Member of the Aux growing up.  I learned about my county, state, and federal gov't processes, went to Girl's State and applied and recieved over 25 hundred in scholorship monies for college. 

If you don't want to join the American Legion join the VFW and if your Pagan join the Order of the Pentacle  Granted the Pagan Vet Association is directed towards Wiccans and most pagans who aren't Wiccan HATE the fact that most orgs are ONLY for Wiccans but that can be changed if more Pagan Vets join the Pagan Vet Association and make them stand up and realize that Wiccans aren't the only Pagan Vets.  Hell join all three if you want!  You can have more than one membership!  Just remember on the VFW and the American Legion that you might be joining a dying unit or a defunt unit but don't let that stop you!  Join up get it going again and go out there and get those Veterans and their families to join up and HELP them and others with situations like daenarys  article and other situations that the Military is doing to our Warriors!

Here are the links to the organazations:

The American Legion 

The American Legion Aux

Son's of the American Legion

VFW  (for the Aux of VFW you will have to request your district unit information from them)

The Order of the Pentacle  (again request infor for the Aux-Also check with your local Pagan Orgs and Groups to see if they have any of their own groups for Pagan Veterans-this is a new organization and not near a LOT of Vets and geared towards Wiccans-they take other Pagan paths but if your NOT Wiccan it could be very irritating to have to deal with Wiccan beliefs constantly)