AUTUMN ~~ EQUINOX ~~ MYTHOLOGY

Autumn has officially arrived with the fall Equinox having just taken place. In my opinion the most colorful time of the year. Winter blankets us with white, ~~ summer with rays penetrating clouds and sunsets painting the edge of mother Earth. Then ~~ spring showing off all colors of floral life. 

There is a scientific explanation how the leaves on trees  have such a stunning  transformation.  The leaves get their color form the abundance of chlorophyll from Mother Earth. The chlorophyll captures the light for photosynthesis. As the days grow shorter, so does the supply of chlorophyll which allows other pigments in the leaves to take over. The bright orange and yellow seem to soothe the body from the heat of summer and giving us a preview of the cold to come.

Science and Spirituality seem to butt heads at times.  Science deals with matter, the physical, ~~ while spirituality deals with the unseen and and is fueled by faith not by chemistry. 

While there is a chemical reason why leaves change their color, I much rather have the romantic reason, that being for me ~~ "Mother Earth has changed her clothes in preparation for the long nights ahead". 

Even scientist have to sit in awe of our creation and realize that there is a much greater force than us. That force of nature made the alchemy which makes the physical world what it is today.

MABON

Mabon is another word for Fall Harvest, more commonly used among Wiccans associated with Welsh  mythology.

The most popular fall harvest story is that from Greek mythology.This is the story about Demeter and her daughter, Persephone. Demeter was the goddess of grain and of harvest in ancient Greece. Her daughter caught the eye of Hades, the God of the underworld. When Hyades abducted Persephone and took her back to the underworld, Demeter's grief caused the crops on Earth to die and go dormant. By the time she finally recovered her daughter, Persephone had eaten six pomegranate seeds and so, ~~ was doomed to spend six months of the year in the underworld. These six months are the time when the Earth "dies", beginning at the time of the Autumn Equinox. Each year Demeter mourns the loss of her daughter for six months. At Ostara, (Spring) the greening of Earth begins once more and life begins anew.

There are many interpretations of this mythology including Demeter threatening Zeus to kill all vegetation on Earth if Zeus does not help in releasing Persephone from the hands of Hades. Zeus, ~~ not wanting to anger his people complied and convinced  Hades to release Persephone.  

Another version is that Persephone on her on volition remained  with Hades  so she could bring brightness and light to the souls doomed to spend eternity with Hades.

Regardless how you perceive this time of the year, enjoy the season and harvest your love for your fellow man. May your cornucopia of life be full of spiritual nutrition

Be well in Love and Light! 

FEAR AND RELIGION~~ANCIENT AND MODERN

I was motivated to address the notion that fear and religion share roots of the tree of humanity.  I have been approached by many people including followers of this blog to explain how, in any way, do the ancients have a place in our current world of religions. 

Let's begin with fear

The emotion of Fear can come from not knowing or understanding an object or an event. Perhaps the greatest fear mankind has ~~ is the fear of death. I say, that this can be conquered through a belief system. Even then, if our faith is cluttered with too many rules and regulations, our faith may be challenged and little cracks and holes can penetrate your faith by your fellow man.  I believe we can find answers to this and many other conditions of mankind by looking to the ancient civilizations and their practices.

When man first walked this planet,  he immediately understood there is a force much larger than him. He realized that he had no control over this force. In the beginning there was little science available to explain nature. This caused fear and while these were no more than natural forces, he labeled these forces as Gods. He believed that if he treated these "Gods" well ~~ these Gods would treat him well. Man built objects in favor of his Gods. He built statutes and structures in honor of them. To better communicate with them.  Apollo was the God of the sun and while Demeter was the Goddess  of harvest,  Zeus was the God of the sky, thunder and lightning and so on. We have ancient places of worship like Stonehenge in England were Druids gather for the Solstices and celebration of Mother Earth.

What is extremely interesting about this, is that the ancient man was correct  in respecting mother nature as even today the Sages and

Spiritual leaders of the spiritual world believe we are one with nature on Earth. Man's Consciousness affects Mother Nature.  Respecting Mother Nature does affect the world we live in. Today we seemed to have lost that respect.

The bottom line is: It was fear and respect that inspired polytheism.

Let's continue with modern Religion

Now comes modern religion. I say this for the Christians and monotheists (those believing in one God) Not for a second do I believe that Jesus Christ is a member of any church, nor God, his father. Religions were created by man, based partially on traditions, ecclesiastical history and his interpretation of holy manuscripts, Bibles, etc. Man recognized the need to distinguish Good from Evil. That has been the challenge "Du Jour" in the everyday life of man. Every day man has been faced with making choices, all of which could affect his life at that moment and forever thereafter. Therefore a system was needed to set in place for guidance and inspiration. It was man who created Canon law and dogma.  

It is a sad fact, but true, that once man created canon law for his belief system, man created what I perceived to be a demon. Look at the religiously sanctioned military campaign throughout all the religious world with the Crusaders.  More people were killed in the name of religion than all the wars put together over a period of 200 years during the middle ages. Note the movie "The Mission". Based on the true story about the slaughter not only of the aborigines Indians of South America but also killing of Jesuit priests who would not conform to Portugal when Spain ceded the Jesuit Paraguay to Portugal. A church decision for politics.  What a shame and waste of life!

Still today, some countries are  fighting in the name of their God. In fact, some murders are committed in the name of their God.

Fear has become for some religions the foundation of their faith. Some societies actually advertize it so. "It is good you have fear", as it will keep you in line. You need to have the fear of God instilled in you! In other words, if you do not obey the written word you will burn in hell. Only when you comply with the written word, will you go to heaven. In some churches, love, peace and fear are mentioned as equal potions for salvation. Wow! What happened to the loving God some churches preach about, instead of creating Theophobia (fear of God in Greek).

Hypocrisy you say in religions

Most religions have adopted ancient traditions from the ancients, including but not limited from the Druids! For an example: Christian Easter is also celebrated with the Easter bunny and hiding eggs to find among spring flowers. A tradition from the Druids for Celebrating Spring. At Christmas time we have Santa Claus adopted from the Scandinavian Gods, Odin, father of Thor. Yet, what do they have to do with the Crucifixion  and birth of Jesus? These are the two holiest holidays in Christianity. 

Otherwise the Christian church finds these mythological figures as sacrilegious in their own right.

Yes, ~~ I know this was a form of proselytizing of non Christians so they could identify with something within Christianity.  

I believe fear has no place in religions. As I have said many times before: Some religious people  are afraid of death and going to hell while most spiritual people have no fear of death and have already experienced hell. 

I like the Philosophy of Metta from Buddhism which is an ancient religion, " True Metta is devoid of self-interest. It evokes within a warm-hearted feeling of fellowship, sympathy and love, which grows boundless with practice and overcomes all social, religious, racial, political and economic barriers. Metta is indeed a universal, unselfish and all-embracing love."

Excerpt taken from

Metta

The Philosophy and Practice of Universal Love

by

Acharya Buddharakkhita

© 1995–2011

THE VERNAL--SPRING EQUINOX ~~ NEW BEGINNINGS

Today, exactly at 11:23 PM Pacific time we will experience the spring equinox when the day and night are the same length. It is the beginning of Spring as the days get longer and longer until the Summer solstice on June 21 each calender year when it is the longest day of the year. Then ~~ the days start to get shorter and shorter until the Winter Solstice in December 21 of each year.

The following is an excerpt from a Druid prayer for the spring equinox taken from the Druid Network web site

"As the light and dark halves of the year become equal, we give thanks for the lessons and blessings of the dark and welcome the changing tide brought by the light. Feel the pulse of the land – is your heart beating in time? Smell the newness upon the air – do your spirits soar? Now is the time to find your balance as the energies about you shift.

Find a word that symbolizes your experience of the closing dark half of the year and a word that encapsulates your hopes for the growing light half of the year."

After the ritual bread and Mead are then consecrated, the first bread given back to earth with a libation of mead, thanking the spirits of place and the ancestors. The bread and bread are shared once around the circle.

 

Then it is poetry and song, sharing of drink and food.

In ancient Greek mythology  there is a beautiful story of Persephone of the underworld who was abducted by Hades, the God of the underworld. She was abducted while playing among nature. Zeus was her father while her mother was Demeter, the Goddess of agriculture. She controlled the seasons. She was capable of destroying all live on earth. Persephone pleaded with her mother to save her from Hades. Demeter  in her depression stopped all life on earth Zeus could not tolerate all life dying and he sent Hermes to Hades to restive Persephone and when that failed, Demeter saved her. When Persephone returned all life started growing again. ~~ Thus Persephone is known as the Goddess of Spring! (this is one of many versions of the story but the most popular).

We humans can celebrate our own new beginnings in pursuing a new life, full of treasures of Love and Peace for all mankind and the animal kingdom. Mother Earth Earth has blessed us with her beauty of new life, the least we can do is count our blessings and be grateful for another opportunity to be a better person and help others.

TOTEMS AND THEIR MEANING

A totem can be the symbol of a tribe, clan, family or individual. Native American tradition provides that each individual is connected with nine different animals that will accompany each person through life, acting as guides. Different animal guides come in and out of our lives depending on the direction that we are headed and the tasks that need to be completed along our journey.

Native beliefs further explain that a totem animal is one that is with you for life, both in the physical and spiritual world. Though people may identify with different animal guides throughout their lifetimes, it is this one totem animal that acts as the main guardian spirit.

With this one animal a connection is shared, either through interest in the animal, characteristics, dreams, or other interaction.

This Animal Guide offers power and wisdom to the individual when they "communicate” with it, conveying their respect and trust. This does not necessarily mean that you actually pet or spend time with this animal, more that you are open to learning its lessons.

The above was extracted from the site "Legends of America"

The belief in Spirit animals reinforces the believe that we are ONE also with the animals walking this planet. Maybe some of you have seen the movie  " The  Golden Compass" based on the book written by Phillip Pullman called "northern Lights". You will see the Spirit animals following each human. 

In Native American traditions each of us can have multiple Spirit animals based on the personality traits of the human which may dictate which animals best depict that trait in that human. My animals are the Jaguar and the Beaver. 

Totems can be traced back to Greek Mythology. Totems are found in most ancient societies and religions. They can be incredible conduits as icons are to the Orthodox churches to some degree. 

What can your Spirit animal be for you?  

To see who your Spirit animal may be, here is a link to site that can guide you in this respect: Copy and paste this to your browser!

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/na-totems.html

UNITY WITH ANCIENT AND NEW

While I want to be known as a spiritual person, I want no labels to my spirituality. I do believe that the Baha'i faith may give the strongest presentation for world unity and peace. It promotes unity of all religions going back to the ancient civilizations.


Discrimination of any belief system that promotes peace and unity is the only "Cardinal Sin" in my book of "rules of life".

Ancient Religions

I recently attended my first Solstice ritual this past December 21^st -- The Winter Solstice.  I went to Laguna Beach on the shore of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California where I was invited by a fellow care2 member. Needless to say, the setting was perfect for the celebration which beckons the light (sun) to return for the New Year. It is the shortest day of the year when Mother Earth is at an angle in its rotation with the sun and the sun’s light is seen less this day than any other day of the year. There were drums, a Didgeridoo, Native Shakers, etc. There were people from at least five different cultures present.

The ceremony involved a group prayer and a key word announced from each in attendance from the spirit and soul. When the native instruments were playing and people dancing as if guided by their spirit and soul dictating the rhythm I could see that everyone in the group was in unity with each other. They were feeling the passion of the moment. It did not matter, the color skin or culture. Everyone was feeling peace and harmony. In the end was the burning of Yule Log. Suddenly I felt we went back in time, long before organized religions enveloped our psyche with belief systems that strolled away from the elements of the Earth and the universe. I suddenly felt native. I felt closer to the indigenous people of Mother Earth whose church was and is Mother Earth.  

In today’s social and religious structure this ceremony has been labeled as “Pagan” or even “Heathen”. Regardless, the connotation is more negative than positive. The Latin definition for Paganism is “aganus” which means rustic or village dweller. This has a far less negative connotation.  Both in Judaism and Christianity, Pagans are considered “non-believers”. Pagans were and are still are in most social structures considered Polytheists, believing in multiple Gods.

For a moment let's consider that the "ancient" and indigenes people who believe in the natural cycle of Mother Earth and the unity of all things has influenced greatly the religions of the “New Era”.  Please consider the following:

What does the Easter Bunny have to do with the resurrection of Jesus which is commonly known as Easter?

What does the Christmas tree in your living room have to do with the birth of Jesus, along with Santa Claus and reindeer?

I can name many more traditions from “Paganism” which are part of Christianity and most religions in the world. After all, People who walked Mother Earth from the beginning of time believed in the good of all things on this planet that was the creed of their religion. Unity and peace with all was the basis of their belief system. It always has boiled down to good vs. evil. Yes, the majority of all religions believe that you can be good to all living creatures on Earth! Ah Ha! So there is something in common with the Ancients and today’s belief systems beyond Holi-days. 

I do have a degree in Theology and I was once an ordained priest in the Greek Orthodox Church. I am here as a witness to organized religions in general which have been infiltrated with rules and regulations. With rituals and dogma that has taken the naked soul and dressed it with so much structure that the believer does not have to feel anything as long as he follows the rules.  Even Jesus turned over tables in the temple warning people to believe in the spirit of the law instead of simply following the law. In a sense, Theology replaced Astrology. The ancients were incredible astronomers. They built temples around the stars of the heavens, the cycles of Mother Earth and they believed that if you treated the Earth well, you will be treated well by the positive energy you send to the universe.

Allow me to be so bold to say that many organized religions have become political just by the way the community of the church is organized. It has become a business and as you know, TV Evangelists have been and still are making millions every year. In the Native American communities the chief, story teller, medicine man or any other elders of the tribe was compensated by the riches of Mother Earth. Would those same Evangelists be as passionate if paid with corn and a place to sleep?

For me, sharing of the spirit with native music, chants, group prayers, amongst the elements of Mother Earth with all people, regardless of race, color or background is more satisfactory then being surrounded by parishioners who are there for the social gathering, and fulfilling a requirement to be “saved” from damnation. I am sorry; I witnessed too often people not coming to church to communicate with God, but to be seen.

The Ancients lived their religion on a daily basis. Their creed is simple. BE GOOD.

I am not against any belief system which makes a connection between you and the higher source, God, Allah, Jehovah etc. as long as you treat the Earth and her people and all life forces with love and respect. Whatever inspires you to accomplish that end is correct. For now, I may be considered an Ancient.