A special blessing

https://thehouseofvines.com/2019/12/15/the-essence-of-our-religion-is-beauty/?page_id=44017

I agree with this to a degree…beauty, devotion, sacrifice.

I have a fellowship at my university, the Jewish studies fellowship, and one of the things I learned this year is that it’s considered a special blessing to do your required action, use / wear your required items but *make them beautiful.* I forget what this is called in Hebrew, but to make religious things beautiful instead of just functional adds to the blessing.

Yesterday, I was listening to a lecture on St. Francis (he’s very, very popular amongst my students, even non-Catholic ones!) and while Francis reverenced his “lady Poverty,” he said that, to quote the lecture, “Poverty stops at the altar.” Religious items should be as lush and beautiful as we can make them.

As a Heathen, I also hold this to be particularly sacred. Even if one doesn’t have a lot of money or any disposable income, beauty can take many forms. This doesn’t mean spending a lot of money. It means taking care with one’s shrine, with prayer, with religious garb, with anything we do for our Gods. It’s a Platonic ideal that beauty elevates the soul to the Gods and I believe that 100%. When I see ugliness being elevated as popular or “good” in media, in our culture, I know that there evil moves in many forms. I know to be vigilant; and I know to turn to tradition and the beautiful all the more.

Hello all! I am #newhere . I am a #pagan interested in all discussions of #theology and #polytheism .

#religion #introduction #paganism

Perun returned!

https://legends.house/perun-returned/

Comparative mythology has simultaniosly saved and completely ruined polytheism.

Like, it's cool that people can reach cross time and history to see all of the similarities in the human experience. This builds a great foundation for what life and ritual mean, and brings us all closer, even though we're not worshipping the same gods.

But also, trying to squish the gods into neat boxes and only focusing on the similarities between them makes one lose all of the unique and diverse traits among them. Sure, us humans might fall into large groups of stereotypes, but we are each so much more than a general classification. If we regard ourselves as completely unique individuals, then the gods deserve the same courtesy.

It's tempting to think that there's some super ancient 'one mythos to rule them all,' but let's be real, that's just the monotheism talking. Humans are messy and diverse creatures, and we always have been.

#polytheism

Curious about inclusive Minoan spirituality but don't know where to start? Labrys & Horns is the basic how-to manual: learn about the Minoans, connect with the deities, create an altar, begin a devotional practice. "Inclusive" means what it says: all are welcome.

https://www.lauraperryauthor.com/labrys-and-horns

#Minoan #spirituality #pagan #paganism #polytheism #AriadnesTribe #inclusive

DANGEROUS CHRISTOID SPOTTED

https://piefed.social/c/historymemes/p/1996489/dangerous-christoid-spotted