Hi everyone! I have been away for awhile. I was in PA saturday at a faerie festival and had a fab time! But yes, there were protesters there. A hand full about 6 people, but still. One of them shouted at me "FAERIES AREN"T REAL TURN TO JESUS CHRIST!" They had signs with the word faerie in a red circle and crossed out. That's America for ya! I can't wait to back next year, absolutely a lovely time.

You have got to be kidding me.

I do not personally believe in fairies and I do believe in Jesus Christ.

Yes, this is exactly what Jesus didn't teach...acting like an idiot in His name.

I am glad you had a nice time as the Festival!

Favorite Froud Book? Must I pick only one??

sad isn't it. you wouldn't believe the amount of this kind of behaviour i have encountered over the years. a school bus full of christians stole thousands of dollars worth of banners from our festival gate last year. they were trying to save us as always...
patriarchal religions have taught people that what was divine to their ancestors is demonic. why even our old forest protector pan was turned into their devil!look at what they did to 9 million people of the faerie faith in europe...it wasn't very long ago... not even the old hindu gods like ganesha survived this cultural desecration (he was made into behemoth, a biblical demon) for those of us who managed to hold onto our faith in the face of thousands of years of persecution from the church, it is a rich and rewarding life (and afterlife especially)
goddess bless! they're not allowed to burn us at the stake anymore for it, so now the old ways they once said were lost, are coming to the surface in a great wave of beauty and healing...much to the delight of the great mother earth, who's spirit has been denied for two thousand years...
it is interesting when you think of where these people are really coming from. if they follow the indoctrination of their "holy" book (the most heinous desecration of the goddess ever written!) they believe that apocolypse is coming, nearly here, and this one man is going to come down and take them (the ones that believed in him, and HIM ONLY! his father is very jealous see) off to space to live on a cloud...so this is why governments who believe this don't give a rat's *** about the planet, they are just waiting for the destruction to happen so they can go to "heaven" which is somewhere in space presumably..
so i take a look at what the native americans, the mayans, and other "pagan" cultures have prophecied for thousands of years, they call it the "earth changes". they knew it was coming before the bible was even written. the bible calls it the rapture. now, when the tsunami hit in thailand, 300,000 modern peoples died. but there was an island, at sea level even, filled with indigineous "pagan" people who were still in contact with their ancestors through the realm of spirit. essentially they knew exactly what to do to survive because the teachings of their own ancestors had survived and they had stayed true to their roots. so every single one of these native peoples survived this earth change even though they were on an island at sea level.
sadly i don't think the patriarchally brainwashed masses will ever understand the truth until it hits them like a wave from the ocean, and their "messiah" doesn't come and lift them off of the planet they helped destroy.
there is a beautiful book written by jamie sams called "other council fires were here before ours" it is the lakota sioux story of creation, and it chronicles the past earth changes that nearly wiped out humanity. it is interesting as these writings are ancient, and they say very specifically that right before the earth mama shakes it up (earthquakes, flooding, deadly storms) she sends her spirit children from the underworld (the gnomes, and faerie people) to take her earth children by the hand and lead them into the underworld for safety through the change. while the apocolypse is happening, the people who were still able to "see" the nature spirits and thus accept their guidance, are nurtured in the earthlit underworld caves of the faerie realm, while the "purification" happens on the surface. i have also learned that the gnome women's primary important role on earth, is to monitor endangered species. when a species is almost extinct, it is they that gather enough to breed them and take them into the underworld to nurture and protect them. so after the great purification, all of the plants, animals, and humans who were endangered by the disharmonious ways of misguided men, will return to the surface and live in the glory of the original creation, now safely in the hands of the "earth keepers". yes indeed, the meek shall inherit the earth.
sorry about that tangent there, i just find the wisdom of the ancestors from all cultures so much more rich and beautiful than the newer earth-denying (and therefor goddess-denying) commonly accepted religions.

i feel blessed to not have to "believe" anymore...the divine faces of spirit smile through the green growing mama earth to me everyday...and i just "know"

So they're trying to save you, huh? Hasn't anyone ever told them that the road to ****ation is paved with good intentions?

Favorite Froud Book? All

Ya know, Jesus knew this kind of thing would happen...He talked about it in the parable of the mustard seed...fools, wicked, deceivers masquarading as His followers.

I am really sorry for all of your negative experiences, friends.

Do you know what the difference is between a tool and a weapon...the only difference between the two is the wisdom the user posesses.

Sadly, many people have beaten their plowshares into swords. I wish there were something I could do to make this situation better. Talk to you all later!

Favorite Froud Book? Must I pick only one??

What lovely words you speak merry. Sorry your festival was spoilt Willow I have not heard of this happening at a festival before but as Merry has stated it has happened to her before. I am glad you still managed to have a good time even though people tried to spoil it. Goes to show the type of people we all are hey?.....(I mean us not them!)
XXLudoXX

Favorite Froud Book? Good Faeries Bad Faeries

I'm Christian, too and I believe in the existance of faeries. That just reminds me of two horrible things, the first being some radical's interpretation of Labyrinth I ran across on the internet(just trust me on this one, you _don't_ want to know, it's almost blasphemous in my opinion, what a nut) and the other being this one time last year that these radical Baptists came to Colorado to protest Focus On The Family being too nice to homosexuals (now _that_ was weird). You don't win people with derriding comments and screaming "Believe or die!!!" It's depressing.

Favorite Froud Book? Good Faeries/Bad Faeries

What I hate is being called a hypocrite, either directly or indirectly, for my beliefs in other things. How am I being disloyal to God and a liar that I'm really saved because I acknowledge there is more to this reality than the religeous leaders and the bible says? I'm not worshipping other gods just because I love and honor the faeries and nature. That is not worship. I worship the Creator but embrace his creation. I'm not turning my back on God just because I get into these things. If it hadn't been for them, I would never have gotten closer to God in the first place. How can something be evil when it brings joy to your life and makes you grow? I wish the conservatives would shut up with their accusations and questioning my loyalty! People with one track minds don't grow. How are they going to learn more about God if they turn a blind eye to His creation? I believe God is both God AND Goddess. Male and female in his nature. He is both destroyer and creator, nurturer and disciplinarian, beyond the mere gender of male and female. That's interesting what you said, Kelly, about the gnomes and faeries leading the ones who understand and love nature/spirit safely underground while those above who insist on being their own gods get left there and the earth is purified. There's a song by Planet P Project that fits that perfectly. I used to think of something similar to that and now it makes even more sense. It was called Behind the Barrier. The chorus went: "And the minutemen stood as we knew they would, and the world went temporarily sane. And the radio said my god cover your heads and get out of the falling rain! And the true believers looked on and laughed as the last cruise missle had flown. And life goes on for the lucky ones, out here in the zone, behind the barrier". I was going to write a whole story based on that album about this little Jesus like boy set in modern times, leading the true believers away from the world system, while scientists and religeous leaders try to use him to their advantage. At first I toyed with the idea of making him an advanced alien, but something called to me that was much deeper than that. I still might write it, but I know if I do it will be controversial and not everybody will agree with what I think. Still think it make an intriguing and interesting read.

continueing on this tangent, speaking of wackos...a few years ago this extremeist group came onto our college campus with signs and pamphlets(notice how these guys always have those?) yelling at everybody that getting an education was "unBiblical". How they justified this is anyone's guess. The bible has been used to create so much chaos and fighting, and that's not what it was made for. That can start a whole new argument I'm sure, but it wasn't God's idea to tick everyone off at Him, but Man's. The truth has been twisted in so many ways it's hard to tell what it IS anymore. So I try not to get involved with controversies that will confuse me and just keep it simple. We need the Creator, there IS a Heaven, and there IS other dimensions/worlds besides ours. I even argued with one girl telling her that I can't believe God wants us to be uneducated and dumb. I also said that a REAL Christian dosen't FORCE the truth on anyone, but lets people decide for themselves. I told her this wasn't the way to do it. She said, "What other way is there?" I just rolled my eyes and walked away. Some people won't listen. There was another girl there who looked like she was being controlled by something because she looked at me with cold and narrowed eyes, she didn't even look human. I could just tell she was under the influence of something, a lying spirit no doubt. She was just hateful and weird. I had to laugh at what they had printed in their literature too. There was one line that said, "You will make noises you never even dreamed of making when you're tortured in hell." I just laughed because it was so stupid. I can't believe they think intelligent people are going to believe that crap. Ok, rant over...for now;)

Oh my.. Merry, that's terrible about the posters being stolen.

I'm a young'un here, so I don't have a long rant to post up here at the moment. I just want to say that there are Christians who aren't like that (like Scoundrel and Tink), so it would be nice to not see any gross generalizations of Christians here ^^;

Also, (no offence meant towards the original poster), I thought religious discussions were not to be brought up anymore? I remember how it ended up the last few times..

The May Day Fairie Festival at Spoutwood Farm in South Central Pennsylvania USA was lovely. It was my third year being there, my first working as a volunteer for a few hours each day.
Yes, there was a group of conservative Christian protesters there. That area of PA is a Bible Belt--I used to live there. I did not see the protest, but I heard about it from other workers. The socio-political climate being what it is here, I'm not surprised. Disgusted, yes, but not surprised.
One of the great things about the Festival and similar events is that you can take it any number of ways: you can view it as a religious/spiritual event, or an agricultural accomplishment, or an educational event, or a day of frivolity and fun in the sun and shade of a gorgeous farm... or you can view it as all these things.
I stayed for a dinner at the farm on Sunday night, and there was a talk about the protest then. This is our solution: first, we bring Pastor Groves (leader of the protest) into the Festival and give him a massage at the Massage Booth--it'll LOOSEN HIM UP. Then he goes to the Reiki booth to have his aura adjusted, 'cause, you know, his aura is REALLY messed up, then I take him into the Drumming Circle for some belly-dancing.
The Perfect Solution.

The Festival was Fanschmabulous, as a friend of mine would say... never mind the glitches and problems.

Maybe they should spend their time fighting against things that are really harmful like child abuse, meth use, war, the global AIDS epidemic, racism, poverty, etc. instead of picking on people whose religious views also teach love and compassion for mankind. I swear, people get tunnel vision and then things like the the Inquisition and the Holocaust start. People just don't see the bigger picture. They try to find little picky things they hate about each other instead of banding together to fight the real evils and injustices of the world. It is very difficult to maintain respect for people who are so ignorant. However, they are still people (misguided as they may be), so I do respect them as such.

last i heard, thieving was a hell worthy sin....even if it was in the name of "saving" someone's soul.
Bah hUmbug.
i HATE evangelists.

last i heard, hell was an underworld goddess! and the faeries all live down there...and morgana is watching over the cauldron of rebirth with the nine beautiful muses...and all of us return from whence we came.
so basically, in my very ancient heritage, there is no fear!!!!!!!
and if robin hood and that merry band of the forest glen are in hell as thieves, and all the priests and preachers are in heaven...i think i'd take hell and the faeries! what music there'll be! and i've heard that auld horny guy pan lives there too! he plays such pretty pipes! (and that pitchfork thing, just a myth to scare you...)

you should see what this same preacher does at the local halloween parade. he has an anti abotion float with the giant graphic pictures...theres nothing the city can do about it either, its a freedom of speech thing.

i was worried he would bring the graphic pictures out the next day but they didnt show up again...

QUOTE:

"they're not allowed to burn us at the stake anymore for it, so now the old ways they once said were lost, are coming to the surface in a great wave of beauty and healing...much to the delight of the great mother earth, who's spirit has been denied for two thousand years..."

They never did burn us at the stake...most of those who were burned at the stake weren't witches or pagans at all. they were simply people who were different and most of them were infact Christians with the odd healer or two thrown in. It didn't matter who you were it only took one person to cry "witch!" and you were at the stake. no matter what faith you followed.

a little correction on my part...most of them were actually hung or pressed not burnt alive and just too add the church didn't have anything to do with the "burning times"...the actually rebuked the whole idea of black magic and witches existing.

As someone who did quite a bit on the history of witchcraft at university and who got to wade through quite a bit of documentation, I can confirm that witches were not generally burnt - that form of sick entertainment was mainly reserved for heretics etc.

Sadly as long as I have known the internet the erroneous term "Burning Times" has been used even hough use of fire was very limited in any executions.

i just read through my post and i don't see the word "witch" anywhere.
here, maybe this will make you feel better "people who think we're evil for believing in something other than what they believe, are not allowed to persecute us anymore through various forms of torture, rape, and murder. so now we can openly celebrate our spiritual heritage without fear of persecution."
i don't personally "study" the persecution of my ancestors, my grandmothers and grandfathers all lived it and it's how i ended up in america, it's a living memory in every strand of dna and cell in my body. however it cannot be denied that the church in various forms abused millions of people of all different faiths and cultures in the name of their monotheistic trip. nor can the holocaust be denied. what amazes me is after all of that dispicable pointless bloodshed, there are still people out there who feel it's okay to force their beliefs on others in such an inappropriate and obnoxious fashion.
what i was saying (and thank you for analyzing and picking it apart, i would rather be understood really) is that i am glad protests like that are as far as it's allowed to go. it wasn't always that way. we've evolved a bit. yay.

Hi everyone.. Sorry for being late to the discussion, hope everyone hasnt gone home already...
Just a couple of comments from this "Peanut Gallery"...

"What I hate is being called a hypocrite, either directly or indirectly, for my beliefs in other things. How am I being disloyal to God and a liar that I'm really saved because I acknowledge there is more to this reality than the religeous leaders and the bible says? I'm not worshipping other gods just because I love and honor the faeries and nature. That is not worship. I worship the Creator but embrace his creation. I'm not turning my back on God just because I get into these things. If it hadn't been for them, I would never have gotten closer to God in the first place. How can something be evil when it brings joy to your life and makes you grow?"

Well said Moonfire! I am like you in that I have always known there has to be more out there than what we were taught growing up in mainstream Christianity... how wonderful to get to meet another "Eclectic Christian" as I like to call it... lol

Willow: I am so glad your festival went well despite the harrassment. Its really too bad that more people dont learn from how those of us who do believe in the Fae conduct ourselves. Dont see too many protestors outside their churches or conventions with signs reading "Believe in the Fae or suffer"

Hope they have a festival in my area soon as it sounds like much fun.
Alisdair: I laughed so hard at your groups "solution" Wonder if we could use that on a few world leaders?

HUGS
Rose

I've decided that people like the protester do so because they actually have very little faith themselves and need external validation of their beliefs to feel secure in those beliefs. They need to raise a stink and group together so they can tell each other that they are right in their belief and beat down on other thoughts to make themselves feel rightous. It's theological bullying, picking on the little guy to make themselves feel big. Same with trying to get Halloween out of schools and prayer in. They want someone to tell them their beliefs are correct and someone elses are wrong. Really kind of sad.

Well, the days of burning at the stake and stoning aren't quite dead if Pat Robertson has his way. I read that he thinks that everybody should be stoned who has a supernatural or UFO experience. And it's all based on taking the book of Deuteronomy out of context, when God instructed the Jewish people not to take in (or be) sorcerers or those who worship the sun, moon or stars, or they should be stoned. What the heck does this have to do with having an experience? Of course, they think every spirit that comes to a person is evil if it's not an angel direct from God with a message. When are these pinheads gonna realize that it's not magic that's evil, but what we DO with it. Do we use it to heal or to harm? They are so stuck on a part of the bible that God instructed a different group of people with and dosen't apply to us. That was for that group, that time, not us, not now. Look at Daniel, instructed inthe ways of magic and divination, and God didn't condemn him for it. Because he used it for good, to help people. Right now the people in a small town in Illinois are coming down on the Wicca church there because of the usual misunderstandings about the religeon. They think they're conjuring demons and not honoring nature and the spirits of nature. Why do Christians have to be so dang fixated and paranoid about demons? I know I was for years myself until I got out of the church and into the world, where I cleared my brainwashed head. I was turning into a conservative, frumpy-dress-outdated-hair wearing stereotype afraid to live my life until at least my early 30s. I was turning into one of those herd following idiots you see in the crowds of evangelical shows where the crowd automatically agrees with and follows everything the preacher says, no matter how irrational or stupid it is. They have glazed over eyes and follow all the expected reactions without thinking about the logic of the actual message. They get so caught up in the emotion of the preacher's voice and drama that they don't think about what he/she is actually saying. I was caught in that trap myself for the longest time, so naive. The day I was free was the day I came out of it by some miracle of God ironically and started thinking for MYSELF. I started questioning "does this make sense? Is this realistic? Do I HAVE to do this? Is this REALLY dangerous? Is this TRUE?" It's sad to see a crowd of people get so stirred up by some speaker that they turn into mindless babies getting emotional over something they don't even know is the truth. Is God really speaking to their hearts, or is it just another form of mind control? I get so annoyed when I watch these evangelists on TV or at church working people up to the point of hysterical sobbing. This "being slain in the Spirit" crap. I've never lost control of myself in church no matter how strong the Spirit's convictions were. And I really hate when they fake people fainting or "healing" them. The most irritating aspect of it is begging for donations. That's all you ever hear. Or making you feel guilty because you don't have any money for the collection plate. I really wonder how that money is spent with some of them. Didn't mean to get on such a big soapbox, but there it is. I'll never be a full blown Pagan or Wiccan myself, but neither will I ever again be a strict goody-goody conservative Baptist either. Or any religeon for that matter. I think I can have a relationship with God without labels. Even Christian. And I don't need to prove it to other Christians either. What the last person said I can relate to. I felt insecure about my faith especially in the 1980s and felt I needed validation from various sources to prove I was really saved. My fear of losing my salvation and going to hell was so strong I went out of my way to protect myself. I was always fishing for encouragement from other Christians who I thought were wiser than me and could comfort me that I was still saved. I had so much guilt it wasn't even funny. Not just about the otherworldly stuff, but my own sins, just the earthly sins. My dad probably gave the best and most simple advice: "you're only human. Just do the best you can and that's all God expects." I'll still feel better when I have PROOF of what's on the Other Side after I die. Preferably nothing painful. In the meantime, the way Bush is running the country, I hope he dosen't make Pat Robertson or James Dobson his vice president ::shudder::

SOMETIMES I FEEL CONFUSED. WE DON´T KNOW IF FAERIES ARE REAL, BUT WE DON´T EVEN KCNOW IF GOD EXIST, WE JUST HAVE FAITH. BUT IF GOD DOESE EXIST... HE IS WISE MAYBE HE DOESEN´T WHANT US TO KNOW, AN MAYBE HE WILL REVEAL IT SOMEDAY OR IN HIS RETURNE. I HOPE " THE RETURNE OF THE KING". SABRY- Argentina.

Favorite Froud Book? all

I'm sorry,but I just find this subject funny somehow.
"So how was your day,hun?"
"Oh,it was wonderful,I converted a bunch of pagans."
"Lovely.Say,I've been thinking about moving out of the sixteenth century lately."

i do know that faeries exist. i have seen them a bizillion times and so have many many other people. as far as god goes, that is what i call the oneness of it all, which includes us all!
leah monkey, you are hysterical!

MErry and all mistreated, I too know how you feel. ALthough, it is my kindred that persecute me, instead of strangers. It is difficult. I love God....I am a Messeanic(spelling) Jew who believes in Faeries!, as odd as that is! hah. But not all Christians are bad.....there is something called the Green Religion..Christians who take to heart that we are to be "good stuereds(taker carer ofs) of the earth".
Moonfire.....if read in its intended language, when God is described.."He" is often described as the nurterer......even said to have BREASTS!!!!!!.....God is not like a Man or a WOman...but is a Spirit. The Great Spirit, as th eNative Americans called "Him". (by the way im native american too ;) ). Anyways, God loves all of us, no matter what, and he wants to commune with all of us, it is "His" will. :) so,
may i say a word of wisdom ;).....relllaaaaxxxxxxxxx.
(even if eveyrone else doesnt :) ).

I don't even no where to begin to express my distaste for fanatical Christians. BLech!! Do u see pagans out there saying things offensive to the Christians at those blasphemous churches? NooOO. We arent even granted recognition by the government as being an actual religion so we have no rights to build temples or sacred spaces in our communities. We may someday. As for now I am most definitely not surprised that protestors showed up. If a christian fanatic even catches wind of anything pagan they get those signs ready maybe even make brand spanken new ones. Unfortunately though they can't really come up with any good reasons not to put on festivals such as these. For they have a very small intellectual capacity. Now i am not saying all christians are like this. Only the "fanatical" evangelist ones. I think thats all for now. Sorry I ramble when i get irked.

Actually....my parents and brother I quite ooposed to paganism.....but they went to the faeryworlds festival and had a great time...and were evry nice....so there are civil people....

Hi everyone.

It seems like everyone is getting really upset and it doesn't really make for good reading, but I understand the fear and anger. I'ts very worrying to think about how much worse the American 'christian' fascists could become. So lets let go of the worry, anger and fear that we feel.

The teachings of Jesus, represented by the Fish, help to bridge the understanding between the God thinking, and the goddess wisdom. As the age of pisces recedes, we will move beyond this thinking even. The return of the Mesiah/Jesus could be seen as the true teachings/wisdom of Jesus returning. Many ancient documents/books are being published, for example the dead sea scrolls, gospel of judas, mary magdeline etc. In the 'Gospel of Judas', Jesus makes refference to Barbelo, which is a term for The Goddess, also called Sophia is early bilical text. Whether this return of Jesus wisdom will coincide with Jesus incarnating in physical form is yet to be seen by me, though it seems likely.

Anyway, at risk of sounding completely mad. I have found the Holy Grail. When you take the image of the vessica piscus, you can see the god and goddess joining. This is a kind of yin/yang type symbol. This symbol is most prominately displayed at Chalice Well in Glastonbury, formerly called Avalon. Avalon is said to be the resting place of the holy grail. Anyway, so you take this symbol. In the centre you can see the Jesus symbol of the fish. This is also called the 'eye of ra', 'the eye of horus', the Goddess clearly told me "It is the eye of excellcior' though she didn't tell me the spelling and I'm not up with latin. Rant rant.
Now overlay the piscus with the creation symbol of four directions, also called the Celtic Cross. Faerie Lore speaks that the universe was created between the love of the god and goddess. Following a vision of creation and a strong sense of connection/belonging to the piscus symbol, I did this. After meditating on the symbols for a while, I suddenly realised, yes, oh my god! It's a grail! There are two grails depicted in the resulting drawing one upright and one upturned.

So heres my conclusion. Perhaps the Phoenix Rising is the God, and the return of the goddess is also going on, which is apparent from a historical perspective. Therefore both are returning to reassert their influence on Earth (what a relief, we were wrecking the place without them). I have a alot of faith anf am not scared of the Earth Changes. Anyway, so the fish - Jesus is related to the mixing of god & goddess, tempting control/assertion of the god with compassion/forgiveness of the goddess.
The goddess tradition is also called the Faerie Tradition by some. So theres the convoluted jesus/Faerie connection.

This stuff might sound like a bit of a bible code, but if you do investigate any of what I'm saying I think you'll find it both intersting and accurate.

the vesica pisces was originally a yonic goddess symbol, consisting of two crescent moons....
i believe that the grail is quite simply the ancient symbol that it has always been, of the life giving female principle, the womb, the waters...mari means "of the sea"....
jesus was surely a lover of the goddess, i believe his relationship with magdelene is what brought us the compassionate teachings...
surely the healing is to realize that god and goddess are one...that there is no creation without the union of the two, which is LOVE...this is reflected in all of nature...
the alpha and omega, the yin and the yang, mom and dad...
there is no light without darkness and vice versa...
balance is the key...
and the in-between place is the twilight...faerie.
it is sad to me that people have been taught that they are seperate from "god" or whatever you want to call the whole that is everything...
the illusions will crumble soon enough, as the earth is already changing, and it's truly a beautiful thing....
well i'm off to the oregon country fair today! weeeee! for those who have never been, this is a mind-blowing festival of epic proportions! we are going to bomb it with faerieworlds postcards as we do every year...
so much fun!
have a magical day everyone!

Beautiful Merry, you are so poetic, I feel very relaxed and entralled by your writing.
The changes of the Earth are beautiful, I wish everyone could see the positives as we do and forget about the fight.

As Goddess and God we are bigger these things. I surrender to my divinity and I am free...

I hate evangelical Christians (really, I should say anyone who decides to "beat me into believing")

It hurts when you have to hide what you are so much, as I have to do. I'm an eclectic witch, and I live in NC, in a typical Bible Belt town. Can't turn around without seeing a church, not that that's a bad thing.
but I can't talk or even hint about what I am. I have lost many friends and family members over this. I even have to hide my Wicca books when company comes over in my closet!!
All this closemindedness is really suffocating sometimes. I hate that we (meaning all who believe differently than "the norm") have to hide when we should be celebrating who we are!!!!
and another thing--- why don't you ever see Wiccans/Pagans/others on streetconers hollering about "salvation" or handig out tracts??
becaouse we have the sence not to bash other people about their personal preferences!!
*done ranting*

blessed be-
bloo_caterpillar

come out of the broom closet! you should be so proud of your spiritual/cultural heritage...it's roots run so deep and people need to learn to respect and honor one another in all our diversity....i dearly hope you someday find yourself surrounded by kindred spirits.....
you should come to faerieworlds!

I AM proud of my heritage....but I'm tired of being looked on as a freak or oddball!

that happened just today actually....a friend at work (who I haven't told my religion to, btw) said she could tell I wasn't feeling well, because she could feel it too. when I told her her aura was out too far, she looked at me like I had said she was naked.
*sigh*

i have come out of the broom closet to some, and usually i get the "you're freaky" reaction, or, rarely, they'll say i'm cool.

not even my boyfriend understands. he even banned magick in the house. (i can do it outside)
he laughed when i told him i had put a ward on the house.

this thread really reminds me of the writings of kierkegaard, a danish (?) existentialism writer who was also intensely christian. he thought that all the 'proof' for god's existence was entirely bogus. but for him, that was irrelevant. true faith was believing in something despite lack of a logical/rational basis for it. he also believed that if someone happened to pick the wrong god/religion (most of them have essentially the same basic message anyway), but lived your life well (i think we can agree on basic ethics, ie killing is generally not a good idea {really??!!}) and truly had faith in what you claimed to believe in, such a person's faith was far greater than someone who happened to pick the right religion, but did not truly believe it and was just going through the motions.

by kierkegaard's reckoning, whether it be god or fae, let your faith never waver, be good to your brothers and sisters, and treat the beautiful world in which we reside as though it was the child of your creator (because it is), and you'll do just fine

that reminds me of a quote I like.
(this may not be word for word...)

"when people ask me if I beileve in wicca I say "do you believe in rocks?". Rocks are things we dig out of our gardens and tell small children not to throw. I don't belive in rocks, I KNOW they exist. there is no faith when you know it intimatly"--Starhawk

i believe that all paths lead to the same point. Heaven, Nivana, Elphame- it doesn't matter what you call it. when you get down to the true basics, all religions (not cults-there is a difference) are about loving yourself and your neighbor. we all interpret that love differently. but the interpretations don't matter. the root of them does, whether you believe in God, Goddess, angels, faeries, whatever. all these just want you to be happy and love each other.

ok....now i'm stepping off the soapbox and walking away slowly

beautifully said bloo caterpiller. and i mean your words, not the quote.
xxx

yay me!! for once, i actually made some sense!!

Oh, dear...I know how you all feel. I'm Catholic and I have to go to a Babtist school...I beleive in faeries and Christ too. None ofm y friends at school beleive in them excpet Patty. Well, I did prive to Sarah there was indeed a goblin in her house. She's scared now. I can't beleive some "Christians" protested at a faery festival! The nerve of them! My school would disown me if they knew I had Feary Tarot cards...

Favorite Froud Book? Good Faereis, Bad Faeries, Faeries, Goblin Companion...all of them O_O