...spinning a quiet little asymmetric web of electrons over in the corner, with a whimsical smile...
"Life is not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be lived"
~~ William Butler Yeats ~~
"Life is not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be lived"
~~ William Butler Yeats ~~
I'm Wiccan (Witch-y) and a Pagan -- probably a proto-Celt -- drawing from several sources of inspiration & knowledge:
Sciences and mythology/folklore
Creation, inspiration, and historical research (each credited as such...)
Bride (Ffraed/Ffraig/Ffraid), Manannan (Manawydan), Inanna, and Hecate
Celtic, Taoism, Native American, Near East, African, Zen
Balancing skepticism and the willing suspension of disbelief
Discordianism
Runelore
Tai Chi, Reiki, energy work, meditation, the outdoors, experience
The connections possible with True Friends, such as I've found with Flambé
Celtic Reconstructionism (Scottish, Pictish, Cornish, etc.)
~~ Dougie MacLean, Scottish Nationalist and folksinger ~~
I've been doing Wicca since 1980 ce, with some exposure since around
1977. Part of the subsequent time I worked as a solitary as well as in a more group-oriented
hierarchical mode. I am part of the Windblown Tradition, founded by Lady Setara.
Dawnblaze Coven was formed in the summer of 1987. I hived as Elder from Dawnblaze
(where I'd been HPS) at Samhain, 1995. I have slowly found myself involved
in what we have come to call Flambé -- four individuals with previous experience working together
in a non-hierarchical setting, creating what we've come to call a synergistic
approach to magic, energies, sharing, and worship. Our connections grow and develop with time,
patience, and respect.
First coming on-line through CompuServe way back
in '86 or '87, I spent a bunch of years hanging out and helping in the Religion, and then in the New Age
forums there. Nowadays, I do the Net, and may be found in
The Summerlands, where I am helping
host the Brugh of the Star River -- wherein we study the relevance of ethnoastronomy, archaeoastronomy,
and ancient megaliths to today's celestial tracks. To a lesser extent, I am working on Pictish studies
with the Summerlands.
Due possibly to the nefarious influence of the Summerlands folks, I am getting more than a toehold into the
Pagan Celtic Reconstructionist thing. Although I am also Wiccan, I see Celtic Wicca (which for whatever
reason never really touched my spirit) as a separate thing to either Pagan Celtic Reconstructionism, or to my
own approach to Witchcraft, even if some of our Wiccan sabbats admittedly have Celtic names. I have always been a polytheist since coming into Paganism; as are most Pagan
Celts. I am informed that most Wiccans are duotheists or "merely" Goddess worshipers, which never
fully defined me (and I'm not exactly sure it is entirely true in any case). So, color me
dual path, on which I've recently written.
Pagan memberships include:
I see a strong role for both traditionalism and eclecticism in the diverse and polytheistic spiritual
path I call home.
My main kvetch in these studies are those who do not footnote and acknowledge their sources where
possible, as well as those who claim ancient tradition without the information to back it up. Or who
hodgepodge all Native American, or Celtic, or what-have-you spirituality and practices
together, without keeping track of the varied distinctions. (I will seriously puke when I see a book
proclaiming the ancient truths of Lithuanian Wizza...) I do, however, believe it possible to be more than
one thing, if one recognizes and respects the boundaries. Perhaps this is because I've had lots of
practice at this whether I willed it or no.
Flambé
Weavers Local Council, Covenant of the Goddess (via Flambé)
Society of Elder Faiths
Clann an Tir na Samhradh
Keltria
The Connecticut Wiccan and Pagan Network
Other interests: WRITING, reading (almost everything, but as far as fiction goes, I'm fond of science fiction, fantasy, alternative histories, Tony Hillerman, Salman Rushdie, Chaim Potok, Mark Twain, Maureen McHugh, Umberto Eco, Neal Stephenson, Terri Windling, L.E. Modesitt, Robert Shea, Bruce Sterling...). Also, certain of the Vertigo Comics line: Transmetropolitan, Preacher (yes, Preacher), Books of Magic, and the old Sandman stuff.
My favorite magazines are SageWoman and
the Utne Reader, even if the latter
sometimes seems to focus overmuch on the trendy these days.
There's also:
Outdoor gardening (I kill helpless captive indoor
houseplants unintentionally), especially herbs. I strive to garden as organically as possible.
Hiking, swimming, kayaking.
Music of diverse iconoclastic eclectic varieties and haphazard lineages. I'm not good enough to
perform myself, but I love listening to music ranging from Loreena McKennitt, Enigma, early Clannad,
and Steeleye Span to the Pogues, Tempest, Sorten Muld, Sonny Boy Williamson, Massive Attack, Jethro Tull, Concrete Blonde, Depeche Mode, Santana,
Orbital, and Tricky. Give me blues, give me zydeco, give me baroque, give me Vivaldi, give me
Ali Farka Toure, give me Seven Nations, give me Rammstein! Just keep Enya and Mariah Carey and
Barry Manilow and the incredibly whiney Brian McKnight away from my doorstep!!!!
Astronomy, archaeology, anthropology, folklore from many cultures, including Pictish studies, Scotland,
Wales, Cornwall, Newgrange, Callandish Stones. An extensive interest in Native American cultures and respect for the Native lands
upon which I live (although I've had no call to follow any Native American path myself).
Computers, including graphics and website design. (I've been haphazard on these pages, sorry.) A
philosophy of science -- science and technology need not be the enemy, if you take the time to check out
the philosophy of scientific method rather than relying on the scare tactics and abuses coming from
many of both its attackers and alleged proponents. Also, I've now taken up photography with something akin to a passion.
The Maine seacoast, western Massachusetts, the mountains of eastern Tennessee, the Seattle/San Francisco
"region", Yosemite, and doubtless a bunch of places I've never been to.
Tolerance issues -- things like anti-gay, anti-Christian, anti-fill-in-the-blank mindsets turn my stomach.
I am very much pro-free speech and Bill of Rights, and live and let live. (I am reminded of a Jewish friend
who went out and publicly supported a klan rally's freedom of speech while making no bones about excoriating their
viewpoint itself. It's a Voltaire thing.) I'm not going to link to hate sites if I have anything to say
about it, however.
Interfaith communications, irreverent asides, true friends -- which are the type that don't try to make
other friends into something they're not, and who certainly don't make a life playing people against each other.
Cats (close up. I love Maine Coons and
Norwegian Forest Cats, as well as the "alley" breed, and I now am a proud co-resident with an
American Curl. Ragdolls seem cool too. There are also two extraordinary non-breed cats residing here.); wolves (at a distance).
If I ever get a dog, it would probably be a female Rough-coat Collie or an Australian
Shephard. Or maybe the right kind of mutt. I'm rather picky about dogs. If we've just
met, and they're pushy for attention, they can dang well forget it. Droolers are out, too.
(I don't like these traits in people, either.)
Sierra Club, environmental issues. Politically, I'm something of an independent mutt who
is rather tired of the tired old national politicians dreamed up by the two major parties. And the
"Reform" Party is a joke. Politicians, like pond scum, rise to the top.
I am a lesbian bisexual, more on the lesbian side, wherever that leads.
For me, it means that I am far more interested in women than men, but in actuality it is the person
hirself to whom I am attracted. I respect polyamory, but have never tried it.
I'm currently single but this may be changing...
I'm involved in science fiction fandom, where I attempt to go to one or two
conventions a year (and usually fail...); and participate in several APAe (Amateur Press
Associations). I used to be active in role playing games, but been busy, alas. Magic: the Gathering
leaves me cold, since the creators of that game have done all the imagining for the players,
unlike the open creativity possible in a truly good role playing session.
Currently, I live with three fantastic
felines, a few less than a slew of fish, and a
small but growing herb garden in western Connecticut, with a new base in western Massachusetts.
"Three things from which never to be moved:
one's oaths; one's Gods; and the truth."
~~ old Celtic triad ~~