The Pagan Heart
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January 2005 Issue
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From the Desk of
Greetings and Merry Meet! It's official. We are now The Pagan Heart and with the new name come some strong, positive changes. The wheel turns, bringing a new year and new beginnings. Our new art director and new web designer have worked together on the design and layout of the magazine to create a more dynamic look and feel to the publication which we hope you will enjoy. And our editorial staff continue to bring you fresh and exciting monthly columns - this month we introduce, among others, Callum's Herbaria and Diversified Paths. Holidays Around the World is a multicultural exploration designed to both enlighten and spark interest in how people everywhere choose to observe their festivals. In the Kitchen offers more tasty recipes for your celebrations and daily meals. A feeling of family and community is very important to us here at The Pagan Heart. This edition's Crossroads of the Pagans and the FAQ explore an integral part of this belief. They invite you, our readers, to participate and open up a dialogue with other Pagans about what being 'Pagan' means to our community. These are just a few of the changes taking place at The Pagan Heart as we strive to bring you a strong community-orientated magazine. Communication, respect, celebration and education - these are all things that help a community remain vibrant and alive. Helping to encourage these elements within the Pagan world is our mission. A number of our readers have sent in letters - browse through them on the Editorial pages. If you have any suggestions or comments on how we can better serve our community, please contact one of our staff members. Their details can be found on the Staff Biography Page. Light and Love,
Pagan Essays The Goddess is Speaking. Are You Listening?
By Kari As a silent observer of these recent natural disasters I have come to believe that the Goddess is trying to tell us something. Not too long after the tsunami, I read an interesting CNN article online about an entire Thai village that was saved because of the local fishermen, a group known as the Morgan sea gypsies. Reportedly, few people in this country have a closer relationship with the sea than these gypsies. These people brave each monsoon season on their boats, traveling thousands of miles. At annual boat launching festivals in May, they ask the sea for forgiveness. Their knowledge of the sea is passed from generation to generation. To them it is a force to revere. The article in English language Thai daily The Nation reports that by the time killer waves crashed over southern Thailand, the entire 181 population of their fishing village had fled to a temple in the mountains of South Surin Island. "The elders told us that if the water recedes fast it will reappear in the same quantity in which it disappeared," 65-year-old village chief Sarmao Kathalay told the paper. So while in some places along the southern coast Thais headed to the beach when the sea drained out of beaches - the first sign of the impending tsunami - to pick up fish left flapping on the sand, the gypsies headed for the hills. This article, along with a PF BC post about RVs settled on the delta of the Ventura River, has me thinking that the further we detach ourselves from the rhythms of Mother Nature, the closer we are to disaster. Why is it that animals knew instinctively to travel inland before the tsunami, but people gravitated towards the beach? Why? I think the less time we spend in nature and understanding that we are all part of one unifying force, the less likely we are to observe Her subtleties or heed Her warnings. Yes, while a tsunami alert system, instituted by Asian governments will greatly increase the survival rate if such monstrosity should ever happen again, I believe there is another key to our survival and growth, and that is listening. In the quiet whisper of the wind, or in the shout of a storm, the Goddess is speaking. Lately, I don't think Her message has been cryptic or complex. I just think She simply wants us to listen.
Reminders of Diversity
By Heather L. Love I had the good fortune to have a wonderful experience in one of my classes this morning. I'm taking some filler classes for my associates' degree, and ended up in a History of Music Literature class. It's not a long stretch, by any means: I love music, I love history, and when you put two or more of my loves together, I'm sure to be happy. It's only the third class, and we touched on about 1500 years of musical history today. We were discussing the Greeks. Now, the Greeks philosophized about everything: life, religion, history, the human psyche, and many other things. There were many modes of Greek music intended to invoke a certain response from people: ie, Dorian mode was to inspire happiness and good thoughts. This lead to a discussion on how certain music makes you feel. A young man in my class started relating this conversation to how as Christians, we all should be careful about the music we listen to, because it can inspire us to cuss, think bad thoughts, etc. He went on about how he went to a bible college and managed to witness to someone and got them to throw away all their rap music. Those of you who know me can only imagine how I was sitting there, getting hot under the collar (I go to a public community college). How dare he assume we're "all Christians" and how dare he assume we want to be witnessed to?! My professor weathered this with a wry grin, and went on to different church music history, and then we touched on calendars - we currently use the Gregorian system, but there were others before that, of course. Apparently, the Egyptians had a 12 month, 30 day per month system, making up the days at the end of the year with a week or so of feasting and revelry. I commented on how that wouldn't be bad today, even though we have something of that nature. My professor grinned, cast a look at the young man who before had tried to witness, and went into a 10 or 15 minute talk on the Winter Solstice - how the popes had moved Christ's apparent birth to better coincide with it, the history of bringing trees indoors, why lights were originally put on trees, you name it. I just sat there openmouthed and grinning - I have never had a teacher mention anything but mainstream western culture before (other than in World Religions). I went to him after the class and thanked him for touching on the Winter Solstice, and reminding some people that their way is not the only way to the divine. He said he was glad I was in the class because most people don't have a clue, nor do they care about anything beyond their small bubble, and that we would touch on a lot of wider world-views, because music is everywhere. To me, it's heartening to know that even here, in my little city and my little community college, different viewpoints exist and different viewpoints are welcomed. Every day brings something new I didn't know before, and I'm so happy to be learning. |
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