| Spirits of Nature The Newsletter of the University of Bristol Earth Religions Society |
| Hello all, and welcome to the Samhain/Yule edition of the newsletter. In this issue we explain what Samhain and Yule are all about and tell you what’s coming up next term, as well as offering advice on what to do if you have absolutely no idea which path is for you! There’s also a piece on conservation, which is not as random as it seems because surely a large part of being pagan is to care for and help protect the natural world. |
| Events for the rest of this term and the future… Friday 30th Nov – Odinic Gathering at Wayland’s Smithy (for more details ask Ed) Tuesday 3rd Dec – Talk on Satanism from a sociological viewpoint Tuesday 10th Dec –Social! Meet at the Union and progress towards the Hatchett. Yule Break! Tues 21st Jan – ‘Return of the Horned God’, a talk by Ronald Hutton Tues 28th Jan– Charm-making workshop 10th-12th Feb – Jorvik Viking Festival inYork Friday 24th April – Visit to Stonehenge, with access to the stones! There’s also much more, including a trip to Glastonbury (just because it’s great) and Wayland’s Smithy, |
| Samhain, or Hallowe’en The word Samhain (pronounced ‘Sow-in’) is Irish Gaelic for the month of November, and this festival marks the beginning of winter. It’s a time of remembrance where we look back over the old year and remember past friends and relations, and can also think about our own personal development and changes that have occurred within ourselves during the last year. It’s a good time to relax and mentally rest – take a break from your inner quest for a bit and just be quiet and peaceful. This isn’t always easy – sometimes the world seems determined not to let you sit down – but try to find a few minutes every so often just to sit and think about the past year and to wonder what the next will hold. People have always said that there’s something different about Hallowe’en night; some pagans believe that at Samhain the barrier between worlds is thinner and easier to break through. Tradition says that to draw the spirit of a loved one to your home at Samhain a lighted candle should be placed in the window, so that they can find their way. Carved pumpkins with twisted faces are also placed outside, in order to keep away unwelcome presences. Mothernight, the Yule festival Yule is the main festival of the Northern calendar. Historically this is because it is a time when there is little work to be done for farmers, the seas are too rough for fishing and the weather prevents raiding of other settlements and also protects you from the raids of others. This leaves everyone more or less free to make merry. We celebrate the rebirth of the sun, and though the teeth of winter will become sharper and their bite yet harsher, we know that the Sun is returning and heralding a new spring. At this time magical beings, elves, trolls and the spirits of the dead roam freely and must be either warded off or welcomed in friendship. The Wild Hunt also ride most fiercely at this time of year, and though they are dangerous to meet many leave gifts of food and drink for them. There are many customs still common today that have their origins in Odinic practices, these include feasting, giving gifts, evergreen decorations, ‘Christmas’ Trees, and Yule candles and Yule logs. Yule is a time for comradeship and hope, the wheel of the year has turned a full circle and a new circle is beginning. Wassssail!!!!!!! |
| What to do if you have no idea what exactly you believe in The first and most important thing is to not let yourself be intimidated. You are not the only person who’s confused, and you are no less ‘valid’ a person if you don’t have a precise name for what it is you believe in or if you’re not even sure what it is you do believe. There are so many people out there (Pagan or otherwise) who will sit there and announce ‘This is what I am’ and then look at you as if you’ve got two heads when you tell them that you’re not exactly sure what you are. Don’t let them scare you into pretending to be something you’re not. Not all of us just ‘drift’ onto a path – we sometimes need to go searching for it. My first advice would be to read as much as you can, on all sorts of topics. There’s so much literature out there these days that it’s easy to find out the basic beliefs of various traditions, so that you can at least have an idea of what a group are about before you meet up with them. Most pagans know a little bit about everything, having investigated a lot of traditions before finding their own – this means that the conversation will never be dull! Go on the web, join an online group…basically learn as much as you can and somewhere in there will be something that makes you go ‘hmm’ and want to know more. A lot of people will tend towards the beliefs of their ancestors, simply because it’s what resonates best within them and fits in with the way they think. This does lead to a lot of ‘this is MY religion – go find your own’ attitudes though, which doesn’t help if your cultural background is less than clear-cut. I mean, I’m Welsh/Syrian and have never lived in either country– what tradition am I meant to follow?! I tend to search for ways of thinking that match mine instead, and currently am getting interested in witchcraft and the concept of hedgewitches (a witch who works alone and not in a group). The advantage of being a solitary is that you can believe what you like, but sometimes it’s nice to have a group to chatter to. That’s a principal part of this society, really; we’re here and willing to talk, listen, lend books and give ideas. No-one’s trying to pigeonhole anybody else, but instead will try to help you find a way of living and being that you personally are happy with. And because I’m being honest….Paganism isn’t for everyone. There’s no central dogma, there’s no evangelism, there’s no big rule book. There’s just you, and what you believe. Blessed be. |
| Conservation and how it concerns us Pagan religions are land-based, and as such the well-being of the land and its creatures is of key concern to many pagans. There are several simple ways in which we can help our environment, and quite a few more challenging ones if you’re feeling motivated. Either route will give you that lovely warm glow of having done something worthwhile. Easy ways to conserve include recycling (if you’re in Uni accommodation, they’ve given you a recycling box and you have absolutely no excuse not to), buying organic fruit and vegetables at the supermarket so that no extra chemicals get pumped into the soil on our behalf, re-using plastic bags and refraining from littering. Oh, and if you have a dog then please clean up after it when it goes for its walk – no it ISN’T fertilizer. Those are the simple things you can do if you don’t want to be bothered too much. There are other more active things you can do like going to your local nice grassy spot with a bin-liner or twenty and removing all the waste from it, or even get involved with a local conservation group – there’s a university conservation society, btw. Local authorities are always happy to enlist volunteers, and you’ll both stand to gain from the experience. In any case, the more active forms of conservation can take you across the world – working with endangered species, keeping habitats safe, campaigning, fund-raising etc. You’ll be helping another species (we’re not the only one on the planet, you know) and also hopefully become less of a distinct entity from the land and its creatures. Humans have elevated themselves to a level where they are more or less totally cut off from the natural ecosystem. We stamp on it and keep it out of our cities, which is completely against the natural order of things. We’re not above the earth, we are of it. Try to remember that. Here’s some good links: www.wildlifetrusts.org.uk www.archelon.gr (a turtle conservation society, great to work for) www.frontier.org (conservation expedition organisation) BACK |