:)

It's so awesome when you wake up every day more in love than you were the day before. That is all :)

Wedding planning

Planning a wedding is hectic, and mine is no exception. From flowers, to the hall, to the guest list, there are so many decisions to make it can make the most sane of us go crazy. So far, we've got the date, nearly chosen the hall, bridal party has been confirmed, and color palette has been decided. Being that we've still got 2 1/2 years until the big day, I think that's pretty ace. It's a good thing that we have that much time too, because I'm going to need as much time as possible just to figure out the ceremony.

The problem is that aside from my fiance, I don't personally know anyone who practices wicca, so a traditional handfasting ceremony is out. Considering that my entire family is Roman Catholic, it wouldn't really be appropriate anyway. What I'm trying to do is incorporate certain traditions, but it's proving to be difficult. I want to make sure everyone has a good time, but I also want to make sure we're not answering questions all night because the guests didn't understand something. Hopefully I can figure it out.

acceptance

being the naturally curious person that i am, I like to look up random things that come into my head on google. not long ago, I searched native american symbols and a site with "definitions" came up. it turned out that it was run by a christian group and contained the meanings of symbols from various faiths. my immediate thought was, "here we go."

at the top of the, page, there was a paragraph explaining the site. it warned the readers that different symbols mean different things to people, and that we should not judge those who wear them. that pleasantly surprised me. so far, so good.

the author turned out to be a sneaky little bugger though. while most of the descriptions were surprisingly accurate, some contained what I'll call side comments. the two descriptions that stand foremost in my mind are amulets and dream catchers. both of them, after the description, had the disclaimer, "don't believe the myth!!!"

...really? no neither will save you from being hit by a bus, but they both are believed to repel negative energy. hell, the dream catcher is believed to destroy it. these beliefs promote positive thinking, which does amazing things for the health of one's body, mind, and soul. is that such a bad thing? I think not.

further on down the, page there was a link to an online book. according to this, women, being the silly, easily manipulated creatures we are, FLOCK to occultism. we see the biblical god as too harsh and look for something that is more compassionate and open-minded, (both are bad things apparently) and something that fits better with our own twisted version of truth as opposed to "biblical truth." .....right....well, if drugging and raping your father so you can conceive is truth you can keep it.

this guy almost had me. nice talk, what with the thou shalt not judge crap, but hypocrisy reared it's ugly head didn't it? granted, the judgement was subtle, but it was still there. NON-judgement would mean facts. no more, no less. "this is what this symbol means to those who believe in it." end of story. why add your own, personal beliefs on the subject. NON-judgement would mean not drawing your own conclusions about why someone practices their chosen religion, and not stating that there is something wrong with it. faith, by definition, belief, in something intangible that cannot be proved. if it COULD be proved, it would be called something else - science. truth is, despite holier-than-thou attitudes, we are all humans with no real knowledge of what's out there. talk to the witnesses of a crime. one hundred people see the same thing, yet you will get probably close to twenty different descriptions of the event and the perpetrator. none of them will be 100% correct, but none will be 100% wrong either. you don't have to agree with someone's beliefs, but who are you to say they're wrong?

peace, love, and unity. blessed be

gandhi had the right idea

the other day I attended a birthday party for a coworker's son. for the last two years i have heard stories about her inlaws, and i finally understand what she was talking about. they are all born-again christians, which i admit i'm pretty prejudiced against. my experience with born-agains has been less than desirable as of yet, and this time was no exception. it all started out normally enough, introductions and pleasantries and such. i moved into the dining room with my coworker, and we sat discussing work things and relaying funny anecdotes about work to her mother. during a lull in the conversation, i began to absent-mindedly eavesdrop on the conversation in the other room. they were talking about the bible. this was odd to me, being that it was a twelve year old's birthday party, but I let it go. not my party or my house. then her sister-in-law, “the drunk,“ as she was described to me, showed up. all of a sudden, the topic turned to atheism and paganism. I suppose since none of them knew there was a pagan not ten feet from them, they felt it safe to voice their opinions on the matter, which were not flattering, to say the least. being that I was a guest in their home, i resisted my urge to jump into their conversation. instead I took it as an opportunity to learn. this was a fantastic look into how people behave when they do not need to be politically correct. i heard the usual things. we are heathens who are going to burn in hell etc. but then I heard the most sickening thing of all. "the drunk" began speaking of a woman who is said to be a witch. then she stated, "but shes not really a witch, shes just really into nature and things like that." of all the vile things stated that day, that seemingly innocent statement disturbed me the most. I do not know if this woman is a witch or not, but the fact that she felt the need to make an excuse for her insulted me. the sister-in-law may have felt she was doing it as a kindness, but what she was doing was really a disservice. most of the population in the US who practice the craft do not come to it by birth. a lot of time, research, and soul searching is done before making that decision, and we work extremely hard to be able to call ourselves witches. to make excuses for us essentially invalidates the years we have invested into studying and working the craft. im proud to say that i am a witch. it is something I worked long and hard for, and i am more proud of it than i ever was of being a catholic. not all witches are "out of the broom closet," but we are all equally proud. I just wish people could learn acceptance without judgement. i wish they would do their homework before speaking on a subject they know nothing about. mostly, i wish more christians would begin acting as their savior did.

peace, love and unity. blessed be.