Would thou like to live deliciously?

People scream, suffocating with happiness, And moan so sweetly, and breathe so quickly…

Kemetic Bright Moon 3/28

This month I again sought an omen for my community, from Bast and Sekhmet, Eyes of Ra, on the occasion of the full moon. Their message follows: You are besieged by worries, fears, bewilderment and anguish – they swirl around you, like incense smoke in the breeze. Ask for our help, and we will send a strong breeze. Ask for our help and we will blow those anxieties away! Our powers are for more…

God’s Sake

Hi everyone!

I have received so many questions regarding people’s fear when it comes to a god not liking them for a number of reasons. I wanted to make this post because its something I wish someone would have told me when I was first starting off:

Disclaimer: These are my personal opinion and experiences. Every person has a right to their own craft and the rules they make for themselves. If none of this works for you, please feel free to ignore it. Never let anyone else tell you what to do or whether or not you are doing it right or wrong. Remember that you are not only working magick, but you ARE magick.

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The Gods can see your true potential.

They know what your best and worst looks like. They know the outcome of every decision you will be faced with. They will encourage you to choose the best one for you while still respecting your free will. They know which lessons you need to learn and when your heart will be a mess. They know when you will need them and when you will forget to do rituals you promised them. They know when you are busy and when you are bored.

They know your limits.

They know your mental and emotional conditions. They know you aren’t doing it on purpose. They know you aren’t lazy. They know you were born in a world with impossible expectations. A world that suppresses your freedom. A world that treats something natural as a flaw. A flaw you will try to fix with their products while entering a rat race that makes you question your every move. They know the world will teach you to think you are ugly and unworthy but…

You are so beautiful to them even when you yourself can’t see it.

They will try their best to break the curses you have placed on yourself via personal put downs and self-sabotage. They know injustices will happen and want to help you with whatever you will need to defend yourself. They know you will die one day.

The gods love you just the same.

Some days you can do a full ritual and some days you can’t. Some days you will be able to dance under the stars and others will have you tied in bed wondering if life is even worth living. They see how horrible you feel for not doing a ritual you promised them and will be touched by the emotional turmoil you will put yourself through but they don’t want this. They want you to try your best even if your best today is not as good as yesterdays.

You are a human with limits.

You have a human body and a human brain with a massive heart that has touched the gods. They love you for you. They can see your soul. They can see everything and they want to be there for you. For all of you.

Why?

Because you believe in them.

You believe in them after they were imprisoned. After they were slandered. After their last devotees died and the rest were hunt down. You believe in them. 

Some of you may have an altar, and some may not. 

Regardless, you have given them a place in your life and invite them to experience life with and through you.

Don’t be fooled by people who try to shame you for being too depressed to work with the god you bond with. They know. Don’t be fooled by people who try to tell you, you aren’t good enough for this or any other god. You are. No one has a right to tell you who you work with and how you do it. 

That is between you and that god.

I am not Chinese nor do I practice Chinese practices, so I’ll tag @daveykimy who I Know does Chinese folklore!

The traditional Chinese pantheon is vast and apart from the huge array of central important deities, there are countless local Gods, Goddesses, and local spirits that are worshiped locally in different regions and sometimes townships.

This where it gets kind of complicated, so please bear with me. The Chinese pantheon comes from centuries of religious syncretism of Han Chinese Buddhism/Mahayana Buddhism, Taoism, and local native folk beliefs/Folk Taoism and all glued together with the societal norms and customs derived from  Confucianism (which is not a religion BTW). 

Now Buddhism of any branch in general is completely open and actively welcomes anyone of any ethnic and national background to join and participate. This includes Mahayana Buddhism or Han-Chinese Buddhism. 

Mainstream Taoism or “Organized Taoism”, is also open to anyone who wishes to join and seeks to lead their life by the “way of the Tao”. You can visit your local Taoist association.

Chinese folk religion/Traditional Chinese Religion/Folk Taoism however, is a closed practice. Not so much as one has to ethnically Han Chinese to practice, but more like one has to be either: 

1. grown up practicing it and worshiping the local gods and goddesses and spirits.

2. grown up in a family or community that practices it.

3. is part of a family or community which practices it. 

4. has blood ties/ancestry to the land where this practice is born, which according to the traditional customs one has the obligation to honor one’s clan ancestors, the spirits of the land their clan is from, and the gods & goddesses of their ancestors. 

5. you live in China or areas in Asia where historically Chinese gods and goddesses are worshiped, therefor it is acceptable (and also polite) of you to pay respects to the spirits and deities connected to the physical soil you now reside on because you’re technically on their turf.

Hope this helps and I apologize if it’s unclear, I’m actually writing this in a hurry :P 

feel free to ask me to clarify on certain things I said above.

Megami project by Miki Katoh (calendar version on kadokawa + schedule available on amazon.jp). Shown here are the following goddesses:

Benzaiten (弁財天): the Japanese form of Saraswati, auspicious goddess of everything that “flows” (water, music, speech, knowledge etc) often shown holding a biwa lute

Yahata no megami (八幡女神): one of the mythical “mothers” of emperor Ojin (the other one being famous empress Jingu), considered as an incarnation of the god of war Hachiman who tamed demons

Okamuzumi no megami (大神実女神): a goddess embodying proto-Japan’s take on China’s peach of eternity, used in some myths by Izanagi to ward off demons

Oto Tachibana hime (乙橘姫): wife of the mythical prince Yamato Takeru, who threw herself into raging waves to appease Watatsumi the god of the sea and save her people

Shinatsu hime (志那都姫): a goddess of wind born after Izanagi and Izanami created the eight islands of Japan. Those primordial winds, sometimes female sometimes male, are also given other names depending on the text

１１月２９日　金曜日

Fushimi Inari-taisha, Kyoto