My “Power Quote”

I tend to take notice of thing that pop up in my life three or more times. A friend of mine calls it synchronicity, which it is. I think of it as messages. Something important, something I need to know or be aware of or confront. As of late I’ve been seeing one particular quote over and over and over. When I mentioned it on Facebook, a friend called it my “power quote” and I have to say I love that phrase. I think we all have power things: power quotes, power colors, power words, power symbols, and so on. They give us strength and hope; provide something we are lacking.

I’ve been thinking a lot about my power quote – specifically about getting it tattooed on my arm so I can see it every day. Most likely it will be simple, but of course, beautiful.

“We do no great things, only small things with great love”

Breaking Hiatus for Breaking News

May 1^st 2011 – Today it was announced to the world that Osama Bin Laden was killed by a US special operations team in a 40 minute firefight. Here’s the break down of how I felt:

10:00 pm – First got wind of the news from various updates on Facebook. I was pretty skeptical until I turned on the news to hear George Stephanopoulos talking to various commentators. My first reaction to that was a strange sense of relief – let’s face it, for a lot of us, this man was the face of evil. I think I summed up this feeling well in my Osama-is-dead-facebook-update: “It’s like someone killed the boogie-man.”

I quickly went from weirdly relieved to feeling totally surreal as I waited for Obama to make his statement. Listening to his statement I really latched on to the message he was trying to send about unity and peace. The destruction of this powerful symbol is something that will allow for deeper healing to finally occur.

11:00 pm – I was then watching footage of the crowd outside the White House – flying flags, singing, cheering. A part of me felt joy watching my fellow citizens come together – unite – in celebration. And another part of me felt a bit horrified at the celebration of someone’s death.

Soon after, a friend on Twitter made this statement: “I apologize for the fact that this country, this world, resorts to murder as a form of justice.” And as much as I know I felt relief but an hour before, I realized that she was partly right. Everyone is talking about how this is justice. As the strange i-can’t-believe-this-actually-happened feeling passed, I felt that I would much rather have seen Osama captured alive and put on trial. Is it possible that this was the purpose of this operation? Sure, but I doubt it was.

12:00 am – People began to frighten me, talking about how they wish they could have been there to spit in his face and hope he burns in hell, calling this a happy ending. I was disgusted. It’s one thing to be grateful that a terrorist is no longer able to terrorize but it is another entirely to relish in his death and wish such pain on another human being.

Now I realize I sound a bit hypocritical, but hear me out. I believe that Osama Bin Laden was a “bad” person, willing to kill innocent people. But I also believe that all life is sacred, even if that life has been given to a “bad” person. But what really breaks my heart is that many of these remarks relishing his death came from my fellow Wiccans.

1:00 am – I began to write this, trying to sort out how I feel and how I ended up feeling that way. Another Twitter friend put it well: “Call me a hippie. Perhaps it’s what I am. But I cannot celebrate the death of any man.” I can, however, celebrate the destruction of a symbol, the promotion of unity, and the promise of healing.

Runic Music

Someone in my Rune Workshop suggested I check out Wardruna – “a Norwegian musical constellation set out to explore and evoke the depths of Norse wisdom and spirituality. Musically Wardruna has its main focus on the cultic musical language found in the near-forgotten arts of galder, seidr and the daily acts of the cultic life, mixed with impulses from Norwegian / Nordic folk music and music from other indigenous cultures”.

This is beautiful! I check on Youtube first, to see if there was any of their music up. I first ran across Hagall:

This is something I’ll be keeping my eye on!

Amazing Movies: Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Since I’ve been thinking about movies and Tarot as of late, I thought I’d share a beautiful movie that uses some familiar Tarot archetypes. Unlike the other movies I’ve shared, this isn’t a documentary. You may have heard the name in relation to the death of Heath Ledger, as this was the movie he was filming at the time and is his final role.

As you may have guessed from the trailer, the Devil archetype is a major part of the plot. He spends his time weaving webs of bets and debts around Doctor Parnassus. He knows that the man can’t resist a bet, knows that he can’t say no. He finds a way to make that bet, no matter how dangerous, seem tempting and worthwhile.

The Devil in the Tarot is much the same. The Devil is all about temptation, desire, wanting, longing. The physical things that distract us from our lives is what the Devil offers us; the bad habits and relationships that hold us back. He makes them look so good to us, like they are the only things that we could want. He tempts us and addicts us; makes us think we need what ever it is he’s pushing. Be it power, escape, wealth, or anything else, it distracts us from our true selves and keeps us bound, constrained. The Devil also reminds us that we choose to “give in” to temptation and that we therefore have the power to turn away from temptation. If we have the will, and we make the choice, we can break the chains that bind us.

Perhaps less obvious from the trailer is the role of the Hanged Man (mentioned before here), symbolized by the character Tony. As I’ve mentioned before, the Hanged Man speaks to one’s sacrifice for knowledge and wisdom. I don’t want to spoil the film, but it’s sure to say that “sacrifice” is indeed an important aspect to Tony’s progression through the story.

Even if you’re not a Tarot lover – I highly recommend this stunning movie.

Amazing Movies: Killer at Large

Killer at Large: Why Obesity is America’s Greatest Threat reveals the disturbing effect of our cheap supply of calorie rich food and life style of most Americans. Obesity, however, is a very complicated issue. This movie also discusses the influence of stress on the body and other factors leading to the “obesity epidemic” in America.

The most frightening thing for me as I watched this was the story of Brooke Bates, who at 12 decided that liposuction was her only option to feel accepted by her peers. Her parents were enthused, by the way. The abusive way we treat our bodies, and teach our children to abuse their bodies makes my heart hurt. We let big corporations into our children’s head and tell them how much they need candy and fast food. It’s no wonder that childhood obesity is on the rise.

It really does hurt my heart – and I don’t say this as a thin woman, I’m not. I’ve got a little more to love and I’m not ashamed of it any more. I know I’m not perfect, and I’m working to become more healthy. But that’s no reason I can’t love my body here and now.

This movie also discusses what we should be eating and how to solve this problem. Will it be fast? No. Can it happen? Sure, if we’re willing to work for it. I wish I could grow my own food! I’m so jealous of everyone who has a back yard in which they can do what they wish. We rent, so I’m not allowed to fiddle with the yard… And I’d grow some mean potatoes, spinach, carrots, broccoli, lavender (yes, you can eat it!), and what ever else my heart desires. The food that we eat is devoid of the nutrients that should be there because we process it to death! Also, this movie points out that in America, processed foods are cheaper then healthy, natural, organic foods – seems weird, doesn’t it?

Man, I miss the farmer’s market!

More on Perfect Trust

I’ve talked about “perfect trust” before on this blog, but I’d forgotten that I had made a video a while before that on the topic of trust.

In this video I also talk a little bit about how “perfect love” is important to understanding “perfect trust” which I still think is true. Something I didn’t mention in the last post but did in the video is the issue of being trustworthy and to me that mean not lying or being dishonest to others in my life. This is another way in which I try to live in perfect trust, I trust myself to be honest and I trust others to be honest with me in turn.

Amazing Movies: Food Matters

I was introduced to the documentary Food Matters this past summer at a meeting of a local vegetarian/vegan group. This has been totally life changing!

I think it’s imparitive that information be spread – you can’t make an informed choice if you aren’t informed! If you haven’t seen this amazing movie yet, I highly recommend it. I know that since watching it, I’ve been taking a lot more interest in my medicine/food and what I’m putting into my body.

The Green Man

Herne, horned one, leaper in the corn
Deep in the Mother, die and be reborn

I recently received this Green Man pendant - I wear it all the time now

In my ongoing endeavorers to connect to the male aspects of Divinity, I’ve become very attached to the idea of the Green Man. To me, he is the spirit of wildness, rebirth, and rediscovery of the self.  He is the forests and the vines; the provider and the very thing provided; the heart of Nature. I connect him very closely with the Horned God figure and understand them as two sides of the same coin, and often use the names interchangeably.

Both the Horned God and and Green Man are powerful symbols of sacrifice and rebirth. They are symbolic of the very food that we eat and which nourishes us. The Green Man speaks to our wildness – something our culture has managed to suppress in most people. We are not encouraged to seek our wildness; we are told it is evil, harmful, and savage. The Green Man actually offers our society a softer version of masculinity. The Green Man does not seek to dominate or control – he is free to be himself while allowing others to do the same.

I’m sure as time goes on, I’ll write more about my particular views on sex and gender later – but now isn’t the time. I just wanted to share a little of my understanding of the Green Man.

Questioning “Perfect Trust”

“In perfect love and perfect trust” is written in the Rede, but what is perfect trust exactly? Is it unquestioning, unwavering, or undeniable? It is toward humanity, Spirit, or self?

I believe being in “perfect trust” is all about always trusting Spirit to do what is right or best. We cannot know all the ways of the universe – and If we can, we certainly do not right now. I live in perfect trust by always trusting the universe to do what must be done, even if I don’t know the reasoning behind it.

Is this trust “unquestioning”? To an extent yes, but not inherently. I often question why things happen the way they do, or why I should trust the universe at all. I always come to the same conclusion – the universe always comes through for me when I need it, not necessarily when I want it. And that’s okay, because the universe doesn’t actually revolve around me.

I trust the universe always – this is one way I live in perfect trust. I always try to extend that trust to the rest of humanity. It isn’t easy in this world, but I try. I don’t distrust people based on inconsequential things (race, gender, religion, orientation, and the like). I distrust people who prove to be untrustworthy. If people are acting “shady” I don’t ignore it nor do I judge them solely on that. I just keep it in mind.