Traditions @ MindSay

"There in the Temple, carved in wood,

The image of great Odin stood,
And other gods, with Thor supreme among them."

 

As early as two thousand years before Christ Yule-tide was celebrated by the Aryans. They were sun-worshipers and believed the sun was born each morning, rode across the upper world, and sank into his grave at night.

 

Day after day, as the sun's power diminished, these primitive people feared that he would eventually be overcome by darkness and forced to remain in the under world.

 

When, therefore, after many months, he apparently wheeled about and grew stronger and stronger, they felt that he had been born again. So it came about that at Hweolor-tid, " the turning-time," 1 there was great rejoicing at the annual re-birth of the sun.

 

In the myths and legends of these, our Indo-European ancestors, we find the origin of many of the Yule-tide customs now in vogue.

 

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For quite some time, I have understood that the foundation of many of our Christmas and holiday traditions in the US orginated in pagan cultures.  I have no problem with this ... We all use what we are familiar with to understand the world around us and that includes new knowledge.  I believe this is what happened with many of these tranditions.  They have simply carried forward into what is now celebrated as any of the major holidays we celebrate in this time.  Most Christians understand that Jesus was not actually born on December 25, but I don't find the date we celebrate of vital importance, but rather that we understand what it is we choose to celebrate.

 

Personally, I find a vast majority of what many talk about and do during this time fruitless and vain ... sorry, I do!  :D  I understand wanting to give something nice to those we love, but ... I have never understood the rampant self-indulgence of the season.  Nothing could be further from the message of Christ or the biblical message than ... "I want ..."  "Charge it!"  yada yada yada ... It has frustrated me for years.  Oh well ... :)

 

This year, for the first time in many years, I am actually enjoying the season.  The pressure is off.  I can relax and enjoy my kids ... Soldiergirl will trek home next Friday for 2 weeks and we will have a wonderful time just being a FAMILY!  Few, if any, actual gifts will be exchanged, but much love will be shared and expressed in as many ways as I (and we) can think of ... from baking yummy cookies together to playfully (because we aren't good enough to do it seriously) singing the "Messiah" ... to driving around to look at Christmas light displays ... In my mind, EVERYTHING (except the malls) declare the joy of God's love expressed in the manger of Bethlehem, so ... it's OK!  :D

I am rather torn on the issue of Christmas trees.

I've grown up with BIG Christmas trees. Usually great big northern pines, with long brushy needles, always has a hole on one side so we put that side to the wall. It's a tradition of taking the van (we've had Variations on an Astro since shortly after moving out here, I believe), bundling up all three girls, and bringing the dog. Katie, Sandy, or Beau - all working class dogs, love the woods, love running around with the girls, love getting buried in burrs, hate having to be brushed out later on.

Dad drives. Mom will sometimes come, but more often she stays at home, perhaps anticipating what frightening bounty we may collect. The ride out always seems very long, and I usually start to feel slightly carsick because I'm a little kid and want to read my book while I'm riding in the car (doesn't matter which book. I always have a book, and I'm always in the middle of it).

Open the sliding door, and three girls and the dog pour out. Take off - somebody has the leash, somebody has the smaller hacksaw, Dad has the big one slung over his shoulder. Whoever has the saw is NOT allowed to run, so you have to play up the "being Dad's helper" angle to get somebody to do it.

Small, bristley trees are, to our minds, not done yet. They're not proper Christmas trees if you can see through them. We usually find monsters - Dad has to convince us that anything nine feet tall is not going to work. We roam all over searching for the right tree - planning how ornaments will fit - this one's too clustered, that one has a huge hole in it, etc, etc.

It's always too big when we get it home. First off, it won't fit in the door. Secondly, Dad will have to cut off at least a foot of trunk in the yard. This, as far as I'm concerned, is tradition.

I'm not a big fan of going to a lot and picking one pre-cut. There's no adventure to it. We usually lose two kids and a dog twice over before finding something (it's a big hill, there are woods nearby...you get the idea). It sort of makes sense now, though, with two of the girls away at school - you need the help to get you through that adventure. I'm less a fan of artificial trees - quite similar to the way I'm not a fan of fish as pets. I think they're a great idea when you can't have the real thing.

But...that's kind of changing. Something about being more aware of my carbon footprint. I don't know yet if I would switch to artificial trees in the name of saving our woodlands, but I'm kind of leaning that way. And I might be leaning more towards pre-cut, because, well, they're already cut, you can't save them, might as well use them. Maybe.

I've expressed the desire that, someday, I want to have my own house, on a property where I can plant trees. I can get into gardening, particularly with my Mom, but I love trees. I don't know them as well as I should, but I can learn. And, I think what I'd like to do, every Christmas, is get a tree. Doesn't have to be a Christmas tree, in fact, the more variety, the better. Whether this is making up for the tree that we've cut, or making up for the absence of life in an artificial one (I'm kind of all about life where some things are concerned), I don't know, but I want a tree.

And I'll find someplace to plant it. Every year, there'll be a new one. If I'm in that house for fifty years, well, there'll just have to be fifty trees on the property. Or, maybe I'll start making a project of finding places off the property to plant them. If my parents keep their house, there's a whole bank that needs some root systems to keep it from falling away and turning into swamp. That makes a little more sense - the point is having more trees out there, not just decorating my own place.

Some of them won't make it. But some of them will. I'm rather big on native species, but that's probably because I have a friend who's an ecologist. Actually, I get kind of excited looking up what the DNR has to say about native species, and fantasizing how I'd like to arrange them. I'm mildly annoyed by softwoods, like a few maples that made themselves at home on our property, because they're more of a hassle than a help, but at least they do some of what trees are supposed to do out there.

I just remembered - I want to live in the state where I was raised. You can't quite plant trees there in December. Very well, I'll get it the next May and call it a Christmas present. I'll have a box with a gift certificate from the local nursery.

It's not that I need to leave something behind with my name on it. I just need to leave something behind. With the kids, I know more than half of them won't remember me, but maybe something that I did will make a difference in their lives. With the trees, I don't care if people remember who placed them there - I just want them to be there after I go.

I can't save the world. But I'm still enough of an idealist to think that I can make a difference.

Anyway, I'm certainly not to the point of telling anyone else what they should have for their tree. I just have nostalgia warring with responsibility. I'm actually not sure - how much environmental damage is created by making a plastic tree? Probably not as much as cutting one down every year for however many years it would last.

On the other hand...I am at some point planning on having small squishy crawly ones around the house, and I think the plastic rendition is much less likely to shed needles to be eaten. I have the beginnings of a paper somewhere on poisonous plants that we love that are a really bad idea if you have pets or munchkins.

Anyway, this is one of those subjects that I'm rather opinionated about (although in multiple directions). Every time I post a rather opinionated blog, I'm left with the feeling that my beloved thinks I'm a loon, but fortunately for both of us, he knew I was a loon before we got together.

Hello everybody, shall I get this started? Let's see, where to begin...... Well, when talking about Hermetics, its never small topic, there is definitely a broad variety of Hermetic Sciences and Hermetic Spiritual Traditions. There is also a broad variety of Wizardry Spiritual Traditions. I shall start explaining the topic of High Magick from my point of view as a Practitioner of High Magick, a Hermetic Initiate and a Wizard. This is just my point of view, it may not be correct from another point of view and I accept that and that is okay. There exist a form of High Magick and a form of Low Magick. And no, these do not mean good and evil. Magick is neutral, what the Magick will do depends on the person's intention. The person who uses Magick to do wrong though, will know and feel his or her negative actions back on to them through Karma. High Magick is like using Magick completely with the energies from within. With high magick, candles, wands, incense, etc. are not needed. Even though the person may use them if they wish but the person is not at all dependent upon them for their intention to come true. The true power comes from the mind and energies within. Also, High Magick is using magic with the help of the energies of the higher realms if the person desires, the energies and spirits such as the Holy Angels, The Holy Light, God or whatever name you refer to this Holiest and purest of energies, Ascended Masters, Other Great Wizards, Other Great Magicians, etc. Also, In High Magick, Spells are not needed but may be used if desired, but just simply saying your intention or asking the question after you made all the preparations you wanted to make such as asking the Holy Angels to assist you, asking God to assist you, etc. can be just as powerful and just as effective. Its also very simple to call upon these Spiritual Energies, all you have to is just ask them for their help or assistance. Also, in High Magic, you may create a sacred circle if you want to, but its not needed. A sacred circle is used to keep your area that your practicing in completely positive and to keep any negativity out. A sacred circle can be made by visualizing a white light circling around you and forming a circle or it can be made from rocks, candles, what ever the person wants to use that represents a circle. The circle is formed around you and must be big enough for you to fit in and for your supplies to fit in if you desire to use any supplies. But by just staying positive can do exactly the same as a circle can. Before I start talking about the belief system of High Magick, I just wanted to clarify that the belief system might be different depending on the person. In some High Magick traditions, it is believed that we are composed of all the elements such as Water, Earth, Fire, Air and Ether (also known as God) which all combined turns us into a condensed physical energy which is also known as the human body. It is also believed that these elements also exist inside of us and also exist in the spiritual realm known as the Mental Realm, which is the realm of pure thought. In some High Magick traditions, it also believed that we consist of a Soul, Spirit, and Physical Body which are all alive at the same time. Our physical bodies are a suit for our Souls, and our Souls are a suit for our Spirit. It is also believed by some Spiritual Traditions that our physical bodies are limited to time and space, our souls are just limited to space, and our spirit is not limited to time or space. There is so much more that I could explain about high magick, but then this post would be way too long, if not already, (laugh out loud). Low Magick is using Magick with Candles, Incense, Wands, etc. Also low Magick is using magick with the help of mostly the energies of this realm and the Inner Realms of this realm if the person desires. Energies such as the ferries, Gnomes, Dwarfs, Nature Spirits, Elves, etc. Low Magick is also neutral and has the same rules as High Magick. A lot of Low Magick Practitioners are followers of a Nature Religion and a lot of Low Magick practitioners are not. Also the belief about the afterlife and the Spirit Realm in Low Magick may be different depending upon the practitioner. This concludes my description of High Magick and Low Magick from my point of view. I think I've also covered a lot about Hermetics, Wizardry, and about the practice of a Magician in my description of High Magick. I feel that I have covered enough to be a sufficient description of these topics. Well, thats all for now. ~Matthew Troy Campbell~

As our wedding approaches (78 days!)  we are starting to talk about ceremony, traditions, vows, songs, flowers and all the details.  We decided that it would nice to incorporate traditions from our parents and grandparents weddings. 

So now I would like to ask all you mindsayers:  What are some of the most memorable moments or interesting traditions that you incorporated into your wedding? 

I would love any advice on getting through the last stages of planning that include all the little details that I never really thought about.

Thanks!