queer pagan's topics - tribe.net

Litha 2008 with the San Francisco Gay Men's Open Wiccan Coven

2008-06-11T20:54:50Z

The San Francisco Gay Men's Open Wiccan Coven invites you to join us as we celebrate Litha 2008!

As the Sun transits out of Gemini and into Cancer, come join us in a rite honoring Poseidon and Pelops. The Season of Planting is over, and as we pause from our labors, it's time to select our Holly King to preside over the Season of Harvesting.

Ever harbor royal aspirations? This could be your chance!

We'll celebrate Summer with a "Modern Traditional" beach bonfire (Spare the Air permitting), a little friendly competition, and a lot of Ocean Magic.

When: Friday, June 20th, 7:00-9:00PM
Where: Ocean Beach, somewhere between Lincoln Way and Fulton Street
Bring: Food and (non-alcoholic) Drink to share, Wood (we'll have some, but past experience says our HP never brings enough)
Donations: We cannot *officially* solicit donations for this event...

The SFGMOWC is open to any and all GBTQ men on a Magical/Mystical path regardless of Tradition or Experience.

For more information contact Derik Cowan [derik.cowan@gmail.com]

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Controversial banned book.....'TEARS of THE MYSTIC RoSE'

2008-05-06T20:30:46Z

Controversial banned book of Swami Rajneesh is igniting the osho sannyasins again to come together again and form a buddha field... this looks like a new phase in the osho sannyas world which always talks about buddhahood.

swami rajneesh talks about many mysteries in his much liked book 'TEARS of THE MYSTIC RoSE'....
like Black magic on osho, why osho left this body suddenly, how jiddu krishnamurti was involved in osho making this decision of leaving body suddenly, transmission of lamp done by osho, how osho went beyond enlightenment, what is the role of therapies in seeker's path and when therapies can act as a hindarance, where is buddha's body (maitreya) today... where is osho's real inner circle... why ashram(commune) was painted black....

many osho disciples have got enlightened but were not coming in open but now they may join together to make a buddhafield to help seeker on any path.

energy created by osho sannyasins to meditate is always open for seekers from any path.
infact buddhahood is our real nature.... osho or buddha or ramana or ramakrishna or nisargaddata or gurdjieff or jesus are just devices to take us towards meditation and realize our true nature.

link for downloading the book free is
http://www.oshorajneesh.net/osho_rajneesh_tears_of_the_mystic_rose.pdf

to know more about swami rajneesh website is www.oshorajneesh.net

with love

Prayoga

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An Inconvenient Truth Presentation

2008-03-20T19:59:27Z

Other Worlds of Wonder Sponsors
An Inconvenient Truth Presentation
By Official Presenter Ezra Eckmeyer
Sunday, March 23rd @1 P.M.
Multnomah County Library, Midland Branch
805 S.E. 122nd Avenue Portland, OR 97233
Raise your awareness, and discuss strategies each of us can be involved in to address global warming.

This is a fund raiser for Pagan Land
Donations gladly accepted
Questions owoworg@hotmail.com or visit www.owow.org
OWOW is a federally recognized 501c3

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Ostara Blessings

2008-03-19T21:28:40Z

vernal equinox -begins 3/20/08 at 12:57 am EST (05:57UT)

Wishing you all a Blessed abundant Spring season...
enjoy this tasty 'lil egg i 'made' for you...

Happy Ostara!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k54cn1gbIyI

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Ostara 2008 with the San Francisco Gay Men’s Open Wiccan Coven

2008-03-14T19:09:49Z

The San Francisco Gay Men’s Open Wiccan Coven

Invites you to join us as we celebrate Ostara 2008.

Thursday, March 20th, 7:30-9:30 PM
The San Francisco Unitarian Center Chapel
1187 Franklin St (at Geary).

The SFGMOWC is open to all GBTQ men on a Mystical or Magical Path regardless of Tradition or Experience.

Rituals are free, although a donation is suggested. Bring food and drink to share.

For more information, email derik.cowan@gmail.com

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Embracing Queer Spirit - A Book Club for Spiritual Growth

2008-02-14T03:00:03Z

I know I'm probably preaching to the choir here.... but maybe you know someone who would be interested. Please pass it along if you do!

Embracing Queer Spirit
A Book Club for Spiritual Growth

Have you ever felt that being homosexual, bisexual, or transsexual is a good thing rather than an abomination?
Have you ever thought that you exist the way you are for a reason rather than as an abnormality?
Have you ever considered that being gay, bi, lesbian, or trans might be a gift rather than a burden?

Chances are you haven't because these ideas aren't modeled for us. What if you could explore these ideas for yourself in a safe and supportive environment?

This book club is a gateway to embracing yourself as a queer being. We do this by exploring the writings of those who've journeyed ahead of us. Our vision is that each of us in the group move toward a greater understanding and acceptance of ourselves as queer beings. We hold a sacred space where personal sharing and deep listening are practiced. The goal for each of us is to move closer to being able to say YES to the questions above.

This book club is just like every other book club in that we read books. We differ in the way that we work with the material. Each week we bring more than our thoughts, we bring our experience of how the books are affecting us, changing us, and challenging us. We are asked to go deeper into the material. What made our hearts joyful and what made our hearts ache?

We will meet twice a month on the first and third Monday evenings. We begin on March 3rd and we will meet at the First Unitarian Church of San Jose.

Space is limited in this small group so please contact me to reserve your space or if you have questions.

Warmest Wishes,

Hayden Reynolds, MA
haydenspiritguide@earthlink.net

Hayden Reynolds, MA has completed his training for the doctoral certificate in Spiritual Guidance from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, and is completing his dissertation on gay spirituality. He is skilled in many processes and techniques for working with spiritual material, including: hypnosis, dream work, ritual use, and journey work. Hayden has practiced and studied many faith and spiritual traditions and honors the truth in all systems.

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Pantheacon

2008-02-08T19:18:40Z

Hey guys,

I'm wondering if any of you are going to Pantheacon this year. I've seen some of you around in years past, and wanted to meet you. I'm kind of shy about aproaching strangers. This year I'm making the effort to introduce myself, so that I can make some new friends.

I'm a pagan gay guy. I live down here in San Jose. I'm technically still a part of the gardenerian tradition, but I haven't practiced with them in years. I guess I'm a solitary practitioner. I'm not strictly wiccan either. I'm more guided by working with Spirit, spirit guides and ancestors. And as I'm sure you are aware that can take you in many, hard to define or label directions.

I'm also cute, smart and have a great sense of humor. Although my icon's looking a bit distorted right now!

I'd like to meet and hang out with some of you guys at the conference if you'll be there. I'm looking for more friends, especially gay men.

This is the first year that I've signed up for the whole conference and intend to make the most of it. Thus I'll probably be there each day.

Anyway if anyone's interested please shoot me an email via tribe and we'll take it from there!

Blessed Be!

Hayden

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Coyote Grace in Providence!

2008-01-28T22:25:16Z

Coyote Grace
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Hourglass Cafe -- Brown University
75 Waterman St.
Faunce House basement
Providence, RI

Coyote Grace will be the featured artists at the Brown University Hourglass Café, Faunce House basement TRANSCEND COFFEE HOUSE: open mike/speak out hosted by the LGBTQ Resource Center and co-sponsored by QA, GLAAM, UFB, the Office of Institutional Diversity and the Office of Campus Life & Student Services as a part of a Transgender Day of Remembrance event.

You saw them at play at Starwood this summer!
It should be a GREAT show!

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Hail!

2007-11-29T21:30:50Z

I'm new here, shouting out a mightly helloooo! Namaste dudes. Check out my page and art and enjoy. Ran

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Spirits

2007-11-04T18:37:31Z

I have summoned hundreds of spirits and have boiled it all down to very simple and powerful easy to follow Magick Ritual books. Please go to www.Kuriakos.biz

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London based music project for gay/queer men

2007-10-08T17:39:37Z

I'm a queer/gay man training as a music leader, looking to create a project for my peers, 40+ age group, addressing the need for grass-roots (as opposed to commercial/scene) music making, exploring group dynamics, 'community' and any other content agreed by the group that will aid creative music making. Vocalists and musicians of any level welcome, including those with no previous music education. No fees. This is intended as a pilot project to bring together men/musicians who would not usually have the chance to meet up and explore.

Many thanks,
Wynny Mark

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Does HIV really cause AIDS?

2007-09-19T20:06:24Z

"HIV MIGHT BE [HARMLESS]" - Dr. Montagnier (co-discoverer of HIV)

At the San Francisco International AIDS Conference in 1990, Dr. Luc Montagnier (the French guy who discovered HIV) claimed "HIV Might be Benign" (harmless). He obviously made these statements against his own interests, owning half the rights to the patent on the HIV tests.

"There are over 100,000 studies on HIV/AIDS and there is not one that has direct proof that HIV causes AIDS." - Dr. Peter Duesberg Ph.D., National Academy of Sciences, many have called him the worlds best expert on retrovirology.

If HIV is NOT the cause of AIDS, we are letting millions of people die of a disease while looking in the wrong direction. We would be wasting billions of dollars and would have committed the worst scientific blunder of the 21st century.

Does HIV really cause AIDS?

AIDS has been called the plague of the century and betrayed as some sort of medieval nightmare. We've been told it can strike anyone and everyone is at risk, it has no boundaries. For over 15 years now, AIDS has terrorized social America and we have spent 40 billion dollars and mobilized the greatest scientific research effort in the history of man. In fact, the "War against AIDS" has spent more money and utilized more scientific talent than it took to land on the moon. All this, while focusing on fighting a microscopic enemy (the HIV virus) for over twenty years with no success. So why has AIDS research failed? Could it possibly be that "AIDS research has not failed because it never found a cure...AIDS research has failed because it never found the cause!" as many respected researchers have been claiming ever since the beginning (including the guy who invented HIV). Yup that's right - hundreds of researchers worldwide have claimed HIV is NOT the cause of AIDS. This claim has constantly been dismissed by the government, suppressed in the media, and censored and suppressed (note: not disputed) by the political-economic powers of the AIDS industry. If HIV is NOT the cause of AIDS, we are letting millions of people die of a disease while looking in the wrong direction. We would be wasting billions of dollars, tortured countless animals without justification, and would have committed the worst scientific blunder of the 21st century. To understand why HIV has become the target of the campaign against AIDS, it's important to look back in history.

Following the depression of the 1930's and WWII, America entered a new era of technology and prosperity, as well as society changing as people were having more time for recreation and self realization. We conquered polio, the last great infectious epidemic of the modern world. New antibiotics emerged, giving cures for everything from minor infections to venereal disease. With the emergence of birth control came the sexual revolution; freeing the public from age old fears and norms. Homosexuality found more freedom and acceptance as gays came out of the closet and formed their own subculture. During the Vietnam era of the sixties, recreational drug use skyrocketed among the young and would continue to grow. Yet we remained optimistic that we could solve all our problems through our new faith in science and technology.

Before long, the consequences of this new 'liberated' lifestyle began to rear its ugly head and headlines began to emerge about a 'gay disease' starting in 1981. It was first thought to be caused by behavior unique to homosexuals. But soon, similar conditions began appearing in IV drug users and hemophiliacs. Gay Related Immune Deficiency (GRID), as it was called, was thought to actually be an infectious disease that might spread throughout the entire population. This threat of a deadly infectious disease that could be spread by sexual contact was sensationalized by both the media, as well as enraged gay activists who demanded action by the government. Threats in the media that this disease could be acquired by anyone sexually were now beginning to frighten everyone, not just homosexual males. Suddenly, immune deficiencies found common in only IV drug users, homosexual males, hemophiliacs, blood transfusion patients, and advanced TB patients, became linked together in a microbiological search for a common cause. The collective condition was transformed to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, or AIDS. As the fear of AIDS spread, and bath houses in San Francisco began to close, The Department of Health came under fire to find the cause and cure quickly. The public was willing to believe that science could find a quick fix. The funding began to roll in and the huge army of virus-hunters who had been unemployed by the unsuccessful cancer/virus program went back to work.

Scientists speculate (and I'm not disagreeing here) that AIDS patients lack the ability to fight infection due to a shortage of T-cells that co-ordinate immunity. In an AIDS patient, the level of T-cells (cells that help white blood cells produce antibodies to fight off infection) is below 200 per microliter of blood. In a healthy person, the level of T-Cells is about 600-1200 per microliter of blood plasma. Someone with AIDS has levels too low that when the patient gets an infectious disease such as the flu, pneumonia, or tuberculosis, their white blood cells cannot fight off the infection. Eventually the immune system gets ravaged by disease and will succumb to death. The official stance today is that the retrovirus HIV is what destroys T-cells and thus what leads to AIDS. But that will be debated as you read on.

But is HIV really what is killing T-cells? In the beginning, a lot of other causes where suspected, such as hard drugs that we know today to cause immunity suppression: heroin, cocaine, poppers, barbiturates, speed, PCP, LSD. Other causes: Malnutrition, repeated infection, overuse of antibiotics, and emotional distress. However these behavior-oriented characteristics where political incorrect to gay activists; who would never want to admit that AIDS could be self-inflicted. At the same time, researchers need money and promised results on being able to find a cure for an infectious disease, just like we did with polio and so many others. So, the decision was made politically, not scientifically, and the infectious epidemic model of AIDS was accepted (over the behavior-related model). Now all researchers had to do was promise to search for a vaccine or treatment and they could get funding.

Dr. Robert Gallo (National Cancer Institute) and Dr. M. Essex (Harvard AIDS Institute) were the first to suggest that "AIDS might be caused by a retrovirus" as early as 1982. Keep in mind that Gallo's prior work at the NCI failed to prove his theory that retroviruses caused cancer. He also failed to show they caused Alzheimer's Disease. Gallo believed to have found the retrovirus HTLV III to be the one that destroys T-cells. He approached the head of U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Margaret Heckler to set up a press conference. On April 23, 1984, Heckler claims "The probable cause of AIDs has been found [HTLV III]" At the same time the press conference was going on, the blood test used to detect HIV was being patented, which would earn Gallo large royalties. Thus the AIDS Industry was born. Heckler claimed that a vaccine ready for testing would be ready by 1986. Everyone was happy that the cause had been found, especially gay activists, who were pleased the government had responded and would do something for them. But before the announcement, Gallo had bypassed a major checkpoint in scientific discoveries: he had not submitted his test results for peer review! Now no one had a chance to critique or verify his claim, and his test results were not published in Science magazine until one week after the press conference. We are talking about a major violation of scientific protocol here. Shortly after, researchers began to attack Gallo. Moreso, an International Lawsuit from France charged Gallo with scientific misconduct, because the Institute Pasteur claimed that Gallo had stole the discovery of Dr. Luc Montagnier, who had sent LTV (HTLV III) samples to Dr. Gallo six months earlier. This issue was settled diplomatically between Ronald Reagan and French President Jacques Chirac. Due to the settlement, the name of the virus was changed to an internationally recognized "HIV" and the profits from the blood tests was agreed to be split between Montagnier and Gallo.

It is now believed by the public that in order to get AIDS, you MUST be infected with HIV. However in Gallo's own original test results (in Science magazine, Vol. 224, May 4 1984), only 44 of 93 AIDS patients tested actually had the HIV virus. But Gallo claimed to be able to reproduce tests where up to 90% of AIDS patients had HIV, as did some other researchers, and thus it was soon internationally accepted by most that HIV must have something to do with AIDS.
Now let's meet one of the most outspoken critics on the HIV/AIDS hypothesis. Dr. Peter Duesberg Ph.D. was the first man to map the genes in viruses (like HIV) in the National Cancer Program at UC Berkley in the 1970's. His memberships include National Academy of Sciences due to his discovery of cancer-causing genes. Having researched retroviruses for over 30 years, many have called him the world's best expert on retrovirology. Dr. Duesberg was skeptical of Gallo's claim from day one. He says that Gallo's claim would have been the first time in the history of human or animal biology that a retrovirus could be the cause of a disease. For the next few years, Dr. Duesberg researched every single scientific publication on HIV and AIDS. When his conclusions came out On March 1st, 1987, in Cancer Research Magazine, he stood alone against the tide of public opinion and the government-funded AIDS Industry. He argues that HIV is not causing AIDS; and that HIV is a harmless passenger virus that has lived in humans for centuries without causing diseases. He believes that AIDS is caused by other non-infectious factors like drug use, and ironically enough, AZT, the AIDS drug. That might come to a shock to those of you who trust pharmaceutical companies: AIDS drugs causing AIDS itself?! Stick with me...

Many of Duesberg's colleagues studied his research and have come to the same conclusion. Among those are Nobel Prize winners like Dr. Walter Gilbert, Biochemistry Dept, Harvard (Nobel Prize, 1980) and Dr. Kary Mullis (invented Polymerase Chain Reaction, or P.C.R., Nobel Prize, 1993). And still, Duesberg's arguments in Cancer Research have still to this day never been responded to by Gallo or anyone else. A group of 12 of these scientists created The Group for Scientific Reappraisal of the HIV/AIDS Hypothesis. The group wrote a statement questioning Gallo's bold conclusions and asking for more independent research on HIV and AIDS. They wrote letters to practically every medical journal asking that their four-sentence long statement be printed; each time it was rejected. This made them angry, and they sought out to expand the list. It soon became 100 signatures and by 1994 reached 600; of these 188 had advanced degrees. The group of scientists has operated a newsletter and website for years now. Thus, many in the scientific community (including experts on virus' like HIV) have questioned the HIV/AIDS hypothesis from day one.

At the San Francisco International AIDS Conference in 1990, Dr. Luc Montagnier (the French guy who discovered HIV) claimed "HIV Might be Benign" (harmless). He obviously made these statements against his own interests, owning half the rights to the patent on the HIV tests. But the conference attendees were too brainwashed and kept going on talking about new antiviral drug treatments.
Why is the scientific community (really, only those who write scientific journals and who dictate what is taught in schools) ignoring such credible scientists? "Too many people are making too much money off of it" claims Dr. Charles Thomas, Fmr. Harvard Professor and Founder of the Group for Scientific Reappraisal of the HIV/AIDS Hypothesis. Dr. Thomas has learned that after two decades of his group being denied publicity, "...money is much stronger than truth." So...now you know why contesting the HIV/AIDS hypothesis has failed to overcome the scientific community. Now it's time you (the public) learn 10 Scientific Reasons HIV does NOT cause AIDS, and What the REAL causes of AIDS could be. It will also explain why conventional sex does not spread AIDS and why clean needles or condoms will do little or nothing to stop AIDS.

10 Scientific Reasons HIV does NOT cause AIDS

1. HIV (like all other viruses) is harmless after antibody immunity.
The HIV test does not test for presence or proliferation of HIV, or if it is attacking cells. The test shows if you have antibodies for the virus. If you have antibodies to chickenpox or the measles, it means you had it already. The virus is either eliminated or lays inactive in your body and will never make you sick again because your body has the antibodies to fight it if it begins to proliferate. Thus, when a person tests "HIV positive" this actually means they are now immune to the virus. This is why we give people vaccines, so that our bodies can produce antibodies against infectious diseases. No known viruses can proliferate faster than the body can produce antibodies to fight it off, and no known virus has been found to cause an illness ONLY AFTER the antibodies have done their job. Very rarely some infectious viruses can re-infect the host, but none of them do this ONLY AFTER antibodies are present.

2. HIV does not kill the T-cells it infects.
Because HIV infects T-cells, it was thought that HIV was killing them. But only under rare laboratory conditions do retroviruses kill their host cells. In fact, HIV researchers use T-cells to grow the virus because T-cells live compatibly with HIV.

3. HIV does not infect enough T-cells to cause AIDS.
Shortly after HIV is brought under control by the antibodies, the billions of virus particles become dormant and begin to disappear. HIV infects only 1 out of 1,000-100,000 T-cells. T-cells can reproduce at a rate of 5% per day. Therefore, even if HIV killed T-cells, it does not infect enough cells at a time to lower T-cell count and bring down the immune system. This is a notorious flaw in the HIV/AIDS hypothesis that supporters even claim has loose change. This is the reason it has been so hard to isolate the HIV virus (and thus create a vaccine for it); because it is so rare and hard to find.

4. HIV has no AIDS-causing Gene.
All retroviruses have only three major genes, GAG, ENV, and POL, and six minor genes. The amount of and sequences of genes in retroviruses is so limited, so they need all the genes to replicated. HIV is almost genetically identical to all other retroviruses. There are 50-100 different retroviruses that can be found in every healthy human body. HIV reacts no different than any of these in the way it mutates, becomes dormant, and re-activates. If none of these other retroviruses cause AIDS, why should HIV? If HIV DOES cause AIDS, why DON'T all the rest?

5. There is no such thing as a slow virus.
HIV is said to be a "slow virus" that takes 10-12 years after infection to cause AIDS. The only way to explain this would be to give HIV magical abilities to reactivate, mutate, migrate, and hibernate. Supporters of the slow virus myth base their hypothesis on studies of Epstein Barr, which they thought would include a cancer infection 10 years later, or herpes viruses, that reemerge in persons who have suppressed immunity and can't generate a sufficient defense. These both differ from HIV because large amounts of active virus can be found causing specific symptoms. In HIV, there are no symptoms until 10 years later. In total contrast, HIV is inactive but said to cause 30 different diseases 10 years later; none specific to HIV itself (some of those diseases, all of which are previously known include: strongyloldosis, aspergillosis, cryptococcosis, histoplasmosis, herpes simplex, Kaposi's sarcoma, toxoplasmosis, lymphoma, cytomegalovirus, leukoanceophalopathy, cryptosporidiosis, dementia). Viruses cause disease days, or weeks or at the very most, after infection - how long is a direct function of the "generation time" which is how long it takes the virus to infect the cell and generate new virus particles.

6. HIV is not a new virus, so it could not cause a "new" epidemic.
AIDS cases have increased exponentially ever since 1981. But HIV cases have stayed at roughly one million ever since the Center for Disease Control started testing in 1995. So for the last decade, we've had approximately the same number of people measured with HIV. Farr's Law of dating viruses states that an infectious virus will spread exponentially in a population (like a seasonal flu epidemic). If we've had the same number of HIV cases every year, HIV must be an old virus. HIV must have been infecting every generation for centuries, without causing AIDS. Duesberg claims HIV probably came into America with the first immigrants, and that anyone who has antibodies to it today, has gotten it parentally; from their mothers, not from dirty needles or unsafe sex.

7. HIV fails Koch's Postulates.
The universal test used by scientists to determine if a disease is being caused by an infection was developed over 100 years ago by Robert Koch, The Father of Bacteriology. Koch's Postulates states that 1) the organism/virus must be found in all cases of the disease, 2) you can isolate the organism and then 3) inject it into a new healthy host, and it causes the same disease in the new host, and 4) it must be found growing in the newly-diseased host. HIV fails part one because 10-20% of all AIDS patients have no HIV at all. When HIV is found, it is only in tiny amounts and is dormant. HIV fails part three because when health care workers accidentally are infected they rarely get AIDS (unless they use recreational drugs or AZT!).

8. AIDS has remained in its original risk groups for over 12 years; and different risk groups develop different diseases.
If a disease does not spread, it must be caused by something non-infectious. CDC studies show that AIDS is not spreading among the population at large and it is locked among its original risk groups; homosexual males (62%), IV drug users (32%), hemophiliacs (1%), and transfusion patients (2%) [CDC, Pharmac. Therm. Vol. 55, 1992]. Although HIV is evenly spread among men and women 50/50, AIDS cases are 90% male, 10% female [U.S. Army 1985-1996]. This could explain why drug use is more related to AIDS than HIV infection: In the U.S., males use over 80% of all hard psychoactive drugs. Among women with AIDS, approximately 60% use hard drugs also.

IV Drug Users who are HIV positive and die of AIDS develop Tuberculosis, Pneumonias, and Wasting Syndrome, whereas gay males (who do a lot of poppers) develop Kaposi's Sarcoma and Cytomegalovirus. The slow, wasting deaths of heroin addicts and other drug addicts have been documented in medical literature since 1898. What is interesting is that these same diseases are present in those risk groups WITH OR WITHOUT HIV. Drug users also loose the same T-cells as those who are HIV positive.

9. The International profile of AIDS patients is inconsistent.
A germ related disease would affect populations consistently. In the U.S., AIDS patients are 90% male 10% female. In Africa AIDS patients are 50% male 50% female. In the U.S., 97% of AIDS cases are among risk groups. In Africa, it affects people at random and there are no risk groups. Why does AIDS react differently in the Industrialized world? The best explanation for this is that HIV does not cause AIDS, and that in Africa, there is widespread malnutrition, parasitic infection, poor sanitation and other conditions causing immune deficiency. Those that test HIV positive and die of immune conditions are thus counted amongst official AIDS statistics. In the U.S. and Europe, where malnutrition is not a problem but where IV drugs are available and used mostly among males, we have 90% of immune deficiency among males, those of which who are HIV positive are counted amongst official AIDS statistics. One incentive for African countries to report deaths from diarrhea or poor sanitation as "AIDS" is to get money from the United Nations or World Health Organization.

10. AIDS occurs without HIV infection and most people with HIV never develop AIDS.
The evidence in support of the HIV/AIDS hypothesis is based SOLELY on correlation. Correlation does NOT mean causation. In the beginning, the official statistics showed that there were 4,621 cases of those who have died of AIDS but were found to be HIV negative. Since then, the official definition of AIDS was created to eliminate every case of AIDS without HIV. So as Dr. Richard Strohman, Ph.D., Fmr. Professor of Cell Biology at UC Berkeley says, "If you ignore all the cases where there isn't a correlation; [of course] there is a correlation...it's a self-fulfilling prophecy...it's not scientific" So, when someone dies of one or more of 30 specific diseases and are HIV positive, they are said to have died of AIDS. But when someone dies of one or more of 30 specific previously known diseases, but are found HIV negative, they die of that specific disease, be it pneumonia or TB. Those patients are NOT counted among the AIDS statistics and the data is skewed to create a perfect correlation: everyone who dies of AIDS had HIV. The WHO estimated in 1996 that 28.1 million people worldwide were HIV infected, and there were only 1.4 million AIDS cases. Therefore, 95% of those with HIV do not have AIDS.

Furthermore, the list of diseases that AIDS encompasses has increased over the years, and has skewed the data to make it look like the number of AIDS cases is actually increasing. Whereas dying of one of 10 diseases and having HIV was considered an AIDS death, today one of 30 diseases and having HIV is sufficient to count in official statistics as an AIDS death. By increasing the number of AIDS cases to make it look like an epidemic, AIDS researchers, AIDS charities, the United Nations, WHO, and third-world countries all can demand or expect an increase in funding. But if you question the official hypothesis, you are threatening a lot of people with some serious money. You are also frightening religious conservatives who can use the fear of AIDS to promote abstinence. That's not to say that I really believe that either of them are "in on a conspiracy." I just think that this is a big gigantic scientific blunder, which many researchers and charities are too close-minded to open up for discussion because they know they benefit from the myth too much. If we continue to put all our eggs in one basket, and continue to fail to produce any meaningful research to help people with AIDS, and if we ignore what could be the true causes (drugs), we are allowing 100's of 1000's of people to die from preventable causes each year.

I'm not completely sure. But based on how it probably isn't HIV means we should shift the funding to finding out the true cause of AIDS. But here is what Duesberg and others hypothesize (but aren't boldly claiming without concrete proof, unlike Gallo did): Drugs are the cause of AIDS in 9 out of 10 cases. Since 1981, there has been an increase in the cocaine and heroin use in the U.S. [use, overdoses, and hospital visit data, CDC], and the correlation between these drugs and AIDS cases correlate pretty well. Whereas, the correlation between HIV and AIDS does not. HIV has remained affecting 1 million people every year, and AIDS has skyrocketed from zero to half a million over a decade. Unlike HIV, we have a pretty good idea of how drugs suppress the immune system. It should be no awakening revelation to us all that hard drugs, especially drugs that "speed" you up and make you able to stay awake for days, have an adverse effect on your immune system. It's like owning a car and once a week, driving it 160 mph for days straight without rest. Of course the car isn't going to last as long as if you were to drive it 60 mph! So far no long term studies on drug use and AIDS has been conducted even though hard drug users who loose the same T-cells as AIDS patients, and who develop the same diseases as AIDS patients. But what we have done is promoted hard drug use by passing out clean needles and telling addicts it's OK to do drugs as long as you don't get HIV.

Why are 60% of AIDS patients in the U.S. gay males? There are two possible reasons. First, let's look at drug use. It's amazing that 96% of all gay males have used one drug that was available legally, known by many as 'poppers' or nitrate inhalants. In addition, 90% use marijuana, 50-70% amphetamines, 40-60% LSD, 25% barbiturates, 10% heroin, 50-60% cocaine, etc, etc. , Poppers are knows to cause Kaposi's Sarcoma, a rare form of skin cancer that affects around the nose, lungs, throat, and skin. It is found very high in gay men not infected with HIV.

Next, let's look at the preferred method that many gays have sex: anal intercourse. Whereas the vaginal tissue lining is 3 layers thick, the anal tissue lining is only one layer thick. During sex, the anus tears and foreign viruses along with semen and bacteria have a direct route into the blood. Contamination with feces and bacteria has been blamed for 'gay bowel syndrome' where the rectum and colon become inflamed, accompanied by diarrhea and malnutrition. Foreign proteins found in sperm have been found to be immune-suppressant. It has been suggested that when they enter the blood, they can trigger an autoimmune reaction, where the bodies' immune system turns upon itself. Small cuts on the penis are routes by which infection can spread to the person on the giving end. The use of condoms can protect against these foreign proteins from entering the blood, but is still not enough to protect the recipient from rectal tearing, which still exposes them to chemicals used as lubricants. Is it possible that lots of anal sex that produces infections in the anus can possible cause AIDS? This is very possible; especially when done in connection with heavy drug use.
Many gay AIDS patients (the promiscuous and sexually active ones) have multiple infections of gonorrhea, syphilis, hepatitis A and B, herpes, cytomegalovirus, and other diseases. To combat these repeated infections, gays take huge amounts of antibiotics (which are drugs!), which also wear down the immune system. In retrospect, it is not all gay males who are at risk for AIDS, but just those who are living one type of gay lifestyle: the fast-track, heavy drug use, and sexually promiscuous one. These make up a very small percentage of gay males.

OK, what accounts for the other 1 out of 10 AIDS Cases besides recreational drug use? Why the AIDS correlation between blood transfusion patients and hemophiliacs? It is a medical fact that the more blood you receive during a medical procedure, the less your chance of survival. About half of all transfusion patients die within one year after receiving a transfusion. It's the same reason your body will reject the organ from a non-human animal, or why there may be a risk for foreign proteins found in sperm or feces getting into the blood system. In order for your immune system to be healthy, your body would like your own blood and it wants it to be clean. The risk of AIDS in transfusion patients directly corresponds with how much blood they received and the condition of their illness; but not whether or not the person's blood they received had HIV (antibodies) in it. Duesberg claims that specifically, it is foreign proteins found in clotting factor VIII that have a dose-response in suppressing immunity among hemophiliacs. A British study (the Darby Study) on HIV/AIDS and hemophiliacs seems to support the HIV/AIDS theory by showing an increase in deaths among hemophiliacs testing HIV positive, but the study failed to control for the foreign proteins and thus it is possible that it was these that were actually causing immunosuppression, not HIV. The most alarming observation about this study shows a huge spike in deaths among HIV positive hemophiliacs, around 1984, and more exaggerated in 1988. 1984 is when hemophiliacs started to be tested for HIV and told if they had HIV. Since emotional distress has been known to cause immunosuppression, can there be an effect from the fear, terrorization, and diagnosis of death one has when told they have HIV and will die of AIDS? Furthermore, the 1988 exponential spike can easily be explained by the introduction and increased access to the first major AIDS drug, AZT.

How AIDS Drugs Cause AIDS: AZT was a poisonous chemotherapy drug that was banned because it destroyed the immune systems of cancer patients too badly. In 1987, when the AIDS scare was at its height, the FDA was pressured to re-approve the drug, this time for those with HIV/AIDS. It is even prescribed for people who are healthy, and have no sign of AIDS (but are HIV positive). It does not cure AIDS, and is only supposed to slow the progression. It does this by destroying all cells randomly. AZT destroys the genes and cells, especially in the bone marrow where white blood cells are made. These are the very cells that AIDS patients need the most yet they are being destroyed by "AIDS drugs"! Yup - that's a good name for them; call them what they are: AIDS Drugs. AZT destroys bone marrow, kidneys, liver, intestines, muscle tissue, the brain, and central nerve system. Because HIV infects 1 out of 1,000 T-cells, 999 healthy t-cells must die to kill 1 HIV-infected cell. Even the drug literature itself admits that AZT causes this. AZT clinical trials were an abysmal failure and even FDA Toxicologist requested that AZT not be approved. However, AIDS activists won a "victory" by getting the FDA to approve AZT. AZT costs a patient an expensive $8,000-12,000 a year, mostly paid for by the tax-payer. The maker of AZT was Glaxo Wellcome, today GlaxoSmithKline, who have generated sales of over a billion dollars a year just from AZT! A bottle of AZT costs $5 to make but is sold at $500 and the markup is subsidized by the taxpayers. AZT tricks patients, because initially it creates a small increase in the amount of T-cells. Duesberg explains, "when you go on AZT, it starts destroying your bone marrow, and your immune system says overproduce as much as you can...and for a while people start producing more [T-cells] than they did before the treatment [AZT]. As Dr. Charles Thomas, Jr., Ph.D., explains, "All toxic substances, initially, administer a positive response for a little while, for example...making a person stronger and healthier, for example, low level doses of radiation...ethylene chloride [etc], produce a lengthening of a lifespan of rodents...higher doses of course will kill them." Duesberg says that within a year or two, those on AZT die from it. Worldwide, 200,000 people, many who are not sick and who have no AIDS symptoms, are being treated with AZT.

Studies show that physicians are less likely to question authority than other professionals. As long as the HIV/AIDS theory is the official stance of the American Medical Association and U.S. Department of Health, physicians will not question it. If HIV is harmless and AZT is what is causing patients to die, physicians will probably be the last to know. AIDS deaths from those on AZT are 25% higher than those not on the drugs. And at the International AIDS Conference in Berlin in 1993, it was admitted AZT was ineffective in preventing AIDS among HIV positives.

Tremendous pressure is put on women to get HIV-tested and to be treated with AZT if they are found to be HIV positive. This has been found to cause abortion, malformed heads, extra fingers and toes, and holes in vital organs like the heart. Even if we are to say that HIV could be dangerous, it still does not make sense to feed AZT to pregnant mothers and their babies. Within 12-18 months after birth, 40-90% of babies who test HIV positive at birth are later HIV negative, because they develop their own immune system. Mothers who refuse to take AZT or giving it to their baby can find their physician calling Child Protection Services and having them arrested and jailed. Worst of all, their babies can be taken away from them indefinitely and placed into foster homes and submitted to AZT. Adopted children are usually tested for HIV before entering the U.S., and many have been forcibly put on AZT and have since died as a result.

Other newer AIDS drugs, like ddI and ddC are similar to AZT; in the same class of "chain terminators." The newest types of treatment for AIDS are Protease Inhibitors, which are supposed to prevent the virus from detaching from the cell, so that it cannot reproduce and affect new cells. Pharmaceutical corporations that produce protease inhibitors, like Hoffman-LaRoche (Saquinavir), Abbot Labs (Ritonavir), and Merck (Indinavir), all announce their drugs at press conferences (and see skyrocketing share-prices starting that day) rather than publish their research for scientific review. Dr. Duesberg has researched extensively and says he found "no clinical benefits of these protease inhibitors whatsoever."

Well I hope that sort of helps everyone think about what other scientists are saying and If you feel compelled to question this a little deeper, theres more info on AIDS specifically can be found at The Group for Scientific Reappraisal of the HIV/AIDS Hypothesis's website, www.rethinkaids.com or virusmyth.net or by google video-ing Aids Hoax. The information is out there, so research it more and learn the truth.

posted in queer pagan - 23 replies

QPC 2007

2007-09-03T22:42:53Z

Well it’s a week since queer pagan camp 2007 finished. Our tenth year. in the hills of lush, green and dreamy dorset

Another fantastic camp… and a real community spirit of support and love. Brought out im sure in part due to adverse weather conditionsJ)) as it rained A LOT! Tends, marques, domes and yurts were flooded. The café was a bog mire… shin deep in mud! Oiy.oiy,oiy! But we escaped the worst, as our marques didn’t blow down unlike camps else where in the county!

Highlights for me: the opening and closing rituals. With gigantic fires. The boy’s night walk: damn proud of the ladz! Wading through floods. Dealing with rain, clambering along rocky paths and so on. The cernunnus ritual, one I help organise… went very…. Interestingly well! Hehe… dark moon ritual, shamanic healing, body healing workshops, singing workshop, amazing drumming by the fire! Fabulous cabaret…as ever! Sherry hot chocolate at morning meeting, pagan paths workshop, the queer dome and its wonderful burner! The surprising visit of a mobile sauna! A hot sauna in a horsebox! Wow!!! Falling down the stairs of the tree bog, the distant sound of a sax, dream retrieval, two breakfasts everyday, and moo’s garden! Walking along monarchs way and collecting wild fruits and nuts, having a pallet outside my tent covering the small muddy lake that had developed there…

So much from such a great crew of people!

Most of you never make it there and I wish you could experience it just once. But I kinda always think of you all out there when at camp and hope a bit of it’s joy and energy finds a way to you.

Love and antlers, draeyk

posted in queer pagan - 2 replies

Homophobia in paganism?

2007-09-03T17:05:45Z

Hi, folks— ever find yourself "educating" pagans who aren't queer friendly? What do you say?

posted in queer pagan - 8 replies

Gods of Employment

2007-09-03T13:23:57Z

Hey guys, now...I've somehow screwed up my right-shouldar and upper arm as I slept last week, so I'm in a lot of pain (especially when typing), so I'll try and keep this brief. Anyway, I was wondering if anyone is familiar with Gods and Goddesses especially associated with employment? I ask because I've squirrelled away some money in order to create a potion and spell to these ends-- I'm simply sick of being unemployed! But, for the last two years, I simply lost the Will to even continue looking, due to the unyielding rejection I kept recieving (especially when that damned three-tiered interview-process makes it so inconvenient!). Hel, one large company wouldn't give me a chance due to an instance of miscommunication [the denotation I was taught in college, that signified an "open ended question", was not what she viewed as an "open ended question"; and she could not give me a second chance nor did she bother to explain her connotation at the onset]; another large company I applied to wouldn't give me a chance because I was not "hot" enough-- the guy I would have been replacing, the "face" of the Co. when you walk into the front door, could have been an underware model[!]; while, I have also encountered a sexist stigma that closes many doors to me-- receptionist or desk-type "jobs" are viewed as "women's work", while, for men, unless you have some sort of degree in business or computers, etc. you are relegated to the most harsh and physically demanding jobs. Jeeze, I couldn't even get Target to hire me to work on the floor! So, because of my experiences, I had fallen into absolute despair for a long time (almost 2 years, in fact)! It was this that lead me to think that maybe I have been cosmically black-balled-- after all, I couldn't even get a job when I was applying all across town during and shortly after college (and this was a college-town). And, that thought constantly eats away at my resolve. What's worse is when the hiring managers look at you with a blank, careless expression, as if they've never been without a job a day in their lives! I've even had my lack of experience with a certain form of software held against me, despite the fact that knowledge in it was not requested in the initial advertisement (nor would it have been hard to learn on the job!)-- they just blind-sided me, that way. (Okay Wade, catch a breath....)

Anyway, some of the thoughts I jotted down this morning were:

* Mysore sandalwood oil [I seem to recall that Ganesha-- to whom this is sacred-- is regarded as a God of the lower class people and their prosperity or employment]
* Bay (Laurel) oil [For "winning" or "out shining" the others, because this it what was used to crown the winners of the ancient Olympic Games]
* pinch of sea salt [our word "salary" comes from a Roman expression for salt; and salt was once extensively used as a foprm of currancy, particularly by the Celts at the Halstatt region]
* Venusian, Mercurial, and Solar influences [the latter for the "All Seing" attribute of the Sun, 'cause I happen to believe that the Gods almost certainly can see what I cannot; hence, They may be able to find a job that I would be entirely unaware of-- as a result, I was seriously thinking about using a yellow candle in the spell]. And, perhaps something small relating the the Earth for pragmatism, oir something also for success.
* Tonka Bean oil [??? Just a random thought, because I hear it's unparalleled in drawing prosperity and wealth...and it's supposed to smell a bit like honey!]
* Bayberry [of course, there's an old addage that, "A bayberry candle burnt down to the socket puts plenty of money in the pocket!"]

Oh, it looks like I almost forgot to interject the statement about what role researching Gods and Goddesses of Employment might play in the Employment Potion I want to make. Well, I would like to discern what fragrant herbs and oils were (and are) dedicated to Them, and if these same substances can be said to draw wealth and prosperity, good fortune, and particularly employment! ;o)

Y'know, thinking about this topic, I have never seen any Witch devulge a list of what they deem to be, in their experience, the best herbs and EOs for gleaning employment-- and why! (Hey, "Why?" is my favourite question!) This seems to be an aspect of Magick often over-looked in modern Pagan literature...

Take Care,
Wade MacMorrighan

posted in queer pagan - 4 replies

Looking for Male Models for Pagan Projects...

2007-08-27T05:04:10Z

Up until now I have always had people I know pose for me, but I now think that I need to expand my base.

The vast majority of my work centers around homoeroticism in a mythological Pagan context. I am looking for men of all races who are comfortable posing nude and possibly in erotic situations. Pretty much everything is negotiable, so feel free to ask. Right now I am especially looking for someone with a muscular build for a particular project I want to do, but I welcome most other body types as well for other projects.

Check out my work at www.faerywolf.com and if you are interested in the type of work that I do, please contact me along with a face and body pic. If you have any questions please let me know. I am in the SF Bay Area.

posted in queer pagan - 22 replies

New Member loooking for new friends

2007-08-25T20:59:48Z

Hello everyone... i'm new here and im happy to join a place where there are other gay pagans/witches in the world. heh.

i hope to make new friends and share my knowledge of wicca and learn from others aswell : )

so stop by my page and leave me a msg, or add me, or both! lol

posted in queer pagan - 3 replies

Formulating a Leather Bouquet (ie. Fragrance)?

2007-07-22T14:05:35Z

Hey guys, I'm really interested in formulating an oil-based Bouquet of Leather (with Essential Oils), but...I haven't a clue about where to begin. (Having a number of formulas to examine would sure be a good place to start!) What I'm personally looking for, however, is that it *must* be "macho". ;o) Anyone got any ideas, perhaps?

Take Care,
Wade MacMorrighan

posted in queer pagan - 2 replies

Super Cheap Potion Supplies?

2007-07-20T21:03:06Z

Hey guys, one of the key-ingredients for a Potion I want to blend-- an Employment Potion-- is Sandalwood Oil. Anywya, I only have about $15 (I'm reserving $5 for s/h) to spend on Essential Oils, plus a carrier (something happened to my bottle of sweet almost, 'cause it's no longer in my apothacarey!)-- this budget also includes the shipping fee. So, I was wondering if anyone knows of REALLY CHEAP essential oils suppliers I could do business with? The folks I usually buy oils from-- Isis Books & Gifts [http://www.isisbooks.Com]-- are asking for $12/dram of Sandalwood oil! So, I thought to myself, "Surely this is a drastic mark up per dram! After all, the Dryad Design idol of my beloved Morrighan that I bought from Ancient Ways for $45 is being sold at Isis for $90!!!!!!"

Anyway, I also need some Bay (Laurel) Oil, for "winning" and "victory"...though, I've got some ground cinnamon for success, some sea salt for "money" (our word, "salary", comes from a Roman expression for salt). Though, I'd like to add at least two other fragrances, if I can: Now, I immediately thought of baybarry ('cause, "a baybery candle burned down to the socket, always puts money in the pocket!"), but...I don't want a potion that smells *too* piney and herbally, as well as woodsy! So, I may be looking for two other possible ingredients! Anyone else care to recommend anything they can think of-- particularly with some herb-lore attached-- centered around money and actual "work" or "employment" to some extent? ;o)

Heck, on top of that I need to buy two candles (I only buy my ritual candles from SomaLuna.Com!), and at least one sheet of parchment. I just hope I can afford all this for the spell I have planned-- jeeze, it sucks not having the supplies on hand when you REQUIRE them for use!

I tried scoring a job once before without any sort of a Magickal aid, and I made a promice to myself that I'd never do it again without one!

Take Care,
Wade

PS: You know, as commonly used as Sandalwood Essential Oil is-- particularly in aromatherapy-- you'd think it's be skags cheaper than what I've seen it!

PPS: Please, *no one* recommend AzureGreen as a source. I *refuse* to purchase oils from them, because, despite their claims to being "Essential Oils" (at their quantity and prices), they clearly only sale fragrence oils!

PPPS: Also, if anyone's gonna' say, "Well, you might have to just bite the bullet!", don't bother responding. ;o) That's defeatist! Besides, there's ALWAYS a choice, or an option! You just have to find it, first.

posted in queer pagan - 0 replies

New M4M Member, Intro 2U: C My Page/Send Add?

2007-07-14T21:41:36Z

Hello Dear Tribe Members,

Just Wanted to Introduce Myself…
Hope you will want to see my page, send an add, and even write a testimonial:
http://people.tribe.net/d6aa2e9c-308c-4ab8-b937-d29e5f46af62

I am author, artist, illustrator, filmmaker, and photographer, Merton Parrish. I am a devotee of Priapian Spirituality (Priapus), and have a special devotion to my fellow gay, bi and str8 m4m men. I have diverse interests and am enjoying the diversity here on Tribe. I live in the midwest with my male partner of eight years. I am 44 years young.

Because the M4M life and Priapian Spirituality has been such a joy to me, I am here to provide information on these things for my m4m brothers. I would like to share with you my blogs, writing, art, and the various pages I have created on the net. I hope to be of service to you, connect with you, and become friends with you here on Tribe.

I will enjoy knowing you visited my page. I would be so pleased if you would add me as a friend and write a testimonial, and hope that you will also bookmark my Tribe page, and bookmark the various pages I've listed in my links section (I think you will enjoy my regularly updated 360 and Blogger Blog in particular… http://mertonparrish.blogspot.com/ and http://360.yahoo.com/mertonparrish )

Finally, I'd be happy to chat/cam/IM/Em with you (for friendship, camming, play, cockworship, or to answer any questions you might have about M4M life or Priapian Spirituality). Detailed contact info is below my signature…

Peace, guys!

Merton :)
*************************
Tribe page:
http://people.tribe.net/d6aa2e9c-308c-4ab8-b937-d29e5f46af62

Email:
Preferreddad@aol.com

My Y_hoo IMs:
Numeroushats2 (for camming with guys nationwide)
Numeroushats3 (for rt with Indianapolis guys/guys who visit Indianapolis)
MertonParrish (for questions re: m4m/Priapian Spirituality)

Note: If you send an add to my IM list for any of the above IMs, make sure your age, sex, and location is on your profile and 360. Ty! :)

posted in queer pagan - 0 replies

Hello

2007-07-12T17:03:52Z

Newbie here, be nice or I'll do bad things to you. ;-)

posted in queer pagan - 4 replies

new event listed: queer pagan camp summer 2007!

2007-07-12T08:00:09Z

see event listiing...

posted in queer pagan - 0 replies

ZEITGEIST

2007-07-11T23:22:01Z

ZEITGEIST
the movie : Official Release
www.zeitgeistmovie.com/

Thank you for your interest in Zeitgeist.
Zeitgeist was created as a not for profit expression to inspire people to start looking at the world
from a more critical perspective and to understand that very often things are not what the
population at large think they are. The information in Zeitgeist was established over a year long period
of research and the current Source page on this site lists the sources used / referenced.
Soon, an interactive transcript will be online with detailed footnotes and links.

It's important to point out that there is a tendency to simply disbelieve things that are
counter to our understanding, without the necessary research performed.
For example, some information contained in Part 1 and Part 3, specifically, is not obtained
by simple keyword searches on the Internet. You have to dig deeper. For instance,
very often people who look up "Horus" or "The Federal Reserve" on the Internet
draw their conclusions from very general or biased sources. Online encyclopedias or text book
Encyclopedias often do not contain the information contained in Zeitgeist. However, if one takes
the time to read the sources provided, they will find that what is being presented is
based on documented evidence. Any corrections, clarifications & further points regarding the film
are found on the Clarifications page.

That being said, it is my hope that people will not take what is said
in the film as the truth, but find out for themselves, for truth is not told, it is realized.

Thank you

www.zeitgeistmovie.com/

"They must find it difficult...
Those who have taken authority as the truth,
rather than truth as the authority."

- Gerald Massy -

posted in queer pagan - 0 replies

what is 'to challenge' the orthodox?

2007-06-23T20:45:00Z

As we’ve just been having an interesting discussion on another “very interesting thread” about what a ‘coming of age’ ritual might be, it seems a wider discussion might be interesting…

So im curious, when people work in ritual do you create your own workings, adapt existing methods, follow prescribed notions, work only intuitively, mix it all up? And if so why? What works for you, Is part of the reason because your queer or Just your style? Is it due to your gender/non gender identity or your social class? Again is it a mix of all this and more?

We all usually start from our personal ego but then what?

I’ve discovered that my approach is at odds with many, im sure we all have at some point! But has enough commonalities in that I can work with others. That’s because those I might work with are open to suggestions. However ive met many folk who will not roam from prescriptive methodologies. So the directions when called are set, they can’t be altered. The moon is female, cernunnus is male, unity in ritual is worked through a male and female balance and so on.

I don’t deny the ‘truths’ people experience but I see no reason to accept this reality as my own truth. All my workings have led a different way and as a queer they have run up against a good deal of hostility from shall we say, a mainstream straight pagan scene. This is more that inbuilt notions of duality based on gender, it’s also about a whole approach. it seems that many of the queer pagans ive met come up with the same issues i.e. creating our own distinctive queer paganism has conflicted with the orthodox. Well hello! Isn’t that always the case?

So what do we do with that?

I remember having a huge discussion about holding hands in circle? Why hold hands? Why a circle? Ok I know the arguments but what about trying it a different way? Does the circle unite or impose conformity? How happy are we to subjugate ourselves to the group? Do we even know what the intentions are of the group are, and is it acceptable to us? Have we trust? Is the linking of hands an intrusion? Don’t get me wrong I like a circle at times but it took a while to develop a feeling that one could be in circle without holding hands, by stepping out but ‘holding the space’. That all of us scattered in a field could create ‘circle’ i.e. unity just as a call for ritual over the phone can link those who want to take part. So our instinct to start all group ritual with circle can be challenged. oh and yes I know its not always done this way, there are alternatives but it’s a familiar one so people feel comfortable with it. But my feeling is that it’s not about comfort but creation.

So we’ve all had these feeling so what do we do with them? How do we work it?

I had the same discussion about the genderised deities people work with? Why is the moon given a female identity? What does that femininity mean? Isn’t really female? Does she, the moon care? Do we care? Do we need ‘her’ to be female like we need the sun to be male? Can she be he? Or other? Or is it all about personal connection and gender doesn’t come into it? Does a collective belief shape and are we happy with that? Is the moon happy with that???

So the former is less a queer issue, the latter more obviously so?

so the discussion mutates and goes on… thoughts?

posted in queer pagan - 1 reply

very interesting thread

2007-06-19T06:08:19Z

There was a thread on the Pagan Men's Lodge tribe about rites of passage.

I felt compelled to respond to it as some of the posters were feeling some pain about never having gone through a rite of passage into adult hood, some suggested that it may be a lack off accomplishments in the others lives, I suggested that even though many people have accomplished great things, that in our beliefs that maybe the reason they need the rite at any age may be more spirtual in nature, I think that no matter what age we are that without this rite of passage we may become stimied and feel unable to move forward in our life. So even at an age that is far beyond what is considered the normal age of passage we may need to experience this rite to move ahead in our lives not on the physical worldly level, but in our spirit.

Any thoughts?

Cody

posted in queer pagan - 14 replies

The Horned God in My Own Image!

2007-06-17T14:50:15Z

Well, here's how-- generally-- I envision my Horned Lord. How doi you guys see Him, physically? Now, I know that the Gardnerian Horned God is the Stag-God, but...I wonder how they strictly envision Him (pressuming they do). And, Asterion (who's likeness adorns much Minoian currency; whom Rhea loved so much she forbid Him the love of any woman, whereby Poseidon-- the Earth-Shaker-- is said to have succumned to His lusts...this may mirror the role between the Minos [the Minoan H.P.] and his "Server" [the working partner and fellow H.P. of the Minos]) of the Minoan Brotherhood too, for example. Anyhoo...here's how I "see" Him:

* He'd be ripped, and buff! Hey, I'm Gay, and have certain proclivities regarding the male form, akin to that of Classical Greece. Take a look at str8 adult porn stud Colt Steel for more detail concerning the God from the neck down, generally-speaking. I also see Him with the sexiest ass imaginable! I kneew a guy back in college with an ass like that which actually took my breath away!!!
* There should also be something-- to be determined later, when the sacred inspiration [or imbis forosnai] comes upon me-- relating Him, also, as the Dread Lord of Death, as appears to be the origional concept in Traditional Wica [note the singular "C"].
* He'd have a set of Stag antlers, each of seven tines [or points] to represent the King Stag.
* I envision Him with a goatee, rather than the "traditional beard". First, because they're quite fetching on most men. And, secondly, it is commonly believed that earlier cultures could not have had groomed facial hair! However, this has proven to be a false assumption. The Celts, for instance, were a deeply festidious band of tribes! The archaeological record attests to the fact that they took great pride in their appearance, having had combes and mirrors, and other such personal grooming devices. This, more than likely, extended to men's facial hair, as well, rather than the "wild," tattered, massive beards we so often envision due to popular culture [and indeed, this idea is far too often promulgated amongst modern Paganism]. Hey, the beard may have been rebeliously "stylish" back during the 60s, but no longer... Ditto with with the long ex-hippie hair-do!
* He'd proudly display various personally designed tribal tattoos across His torso, and body; perhaps spirals of rebirth [i.e., His dying/rising Aspect]. Perhaps gleaned via meditation and skrying... And, maybe, wreathed around each bicep could be witnessed-- such as the tribal/barbed wire motif so popular today-- a tattoo of intertwining holly and oak.
* Some very "shamanic" accoutrements would adorn His Holy visage, such as a necklace, ear rings [nipple rings? Prince Albert piercing? ], an anklet, perhaps a torque, or other jewelry, as well as a staff or stang, etc.
* No "goatfoot" God for me, thank you! Cloven hooves would recall Pan, rather than the Horned God of the Celtic-type, I believe.
* I am certainly no prude, nor are any of the Traditional Witches from Gardner's renaisance. However, modern Pagans seem very close minded, sexually, and where the human body is concerned. My image of the Horned God would definately, like most Horned Gods, be ithyphallic [even Patricia Crowther, Gardnerian HPs, called Him such in one of Her chants, when she sang, "Ithym phallus Thou do bear!"], and proportionately-so. But, an uncircumcised phallus, at that! Now, I cannot speak for all modern Pagans, but I should think that they should be opposed to this so-called "common" proceedure [i.e., circumsision]. Also, It will have to be a LARGE phallis, but nothing cartoonishly-huge! Something anatomically correct, but One that even a size queen (not a Fister) could handle!
* I should rather He at least be cast in the "Bone finish" as my beloved Morrighan statue, for no other reason than to asthetically compliment Her upon Their Holy altar.

Hmmm...can anyone else think of any other ideas worth "adding" to Him? I was also considering rummaging for some photos of men to get His physical form "just right". You know, take these pics. to Artisan X and say, "Now, I want Him to have his arms, oh, and this guy's rump, and this blokes jaw and cheek bones, oh, and his pecs!", etc. Heh heh heh...

Take Care,
Wade MacMorrighan

posted in queer pagan - 2 replies

Ostara Is Upon Us

2007-03-20T21:38:46Z

Ostara Is Upon Us
Vernal Equinox: Tuesday March 20th 2007@ 8:07 pm est

The vernal equinox, the world is poised on the brink, suspended between the cold months and the new warmth of the growing season. The world is coming alive with green shoots and animals seeking mates. Ostara is one of the Lesser Sabbats, usually celebrated anywhere from March 19th to 21st. Some celebrated on the fixed date of March 25 (Lady Day), while others celebrate on the next full moon (a time of increased births). While the equinox is a solar holiday, Eostre is a lunar goddess. This may be viewed as symbolic of the goddess (the moon) and the god (the sun) coming together in completion. Other names by which this Sabbat may be known are Oestara, Esther, Eostre's Day, the Rite of Eostre or Rites of Spring, Alban Eilir, Festival of the Trees, and the Bacchanalia. The Christian holiday of Easter is determined as the first Sunday after the first Full Moon after the Vernal Equinox.

According to the Venerable Bede (673-735), the Anglo-Saxons called the fourth month "Esturmonath" for the goddess Eostra. Her festival became the celebration of Christ's resurrection when Anglo-Saxon and German peoples were converted to Christianity. While English and German Christians still attach the name of Eostra to their most sacred holiday (Easter or Ostern), other European languages base the name on the Hebrew word "pasah," to pass over, reflecting the Christian holiday's Biblical connection with the Jewish Passover.

All cultures living in temperate climates celebrate the coming of spring with rituals and festivals. This was one of the most important of spring festivals among pre-Christian Germanic tribes, dedicated to the goddess Ostara, a goddess associated with the "east" and thus "dawn" and "morning light." Ostara is a time to celebrate the renewal and rebirth of Nature herself, and the coming Summer. Light and darkness are in balance, as are masculine and feminine energy, yin and yang. Ostara is a fertility festival celebrating the rebirth of the God and the awakening of life from the Earth. Some Wiccan traditions worship the Green Goddess and the Lord of the Greenwood.

The Spring-cleaning tradition derived from the old witches who engaged in a cleansing each spring followed by setting up a hedge of protection. All motions involving scrubbing of stains or hand rubbing the floors should be done "clockwise." This custom aids in filling the home with good energy for growth. Another Spring tradition for ancient pagans and magicians was to dig a small trench around the outer perimeter of their home. At each quarter they would bury an egg. A modern practitioner might also add iron, old rusty nails, metal keys, old razor blades, pins and needles or witch bottles filled with the above items to diffuse magical attacks and spiritual negativity. (If you are unable to dig a perimeter, you can improvise by placing iron keys above your door, and pentacles and sigils drawn on pewter or parchment paper under your carpet or floorboards.

As a time of cleansing and renewal, Ostara is an excellent time to begin some new project. It is an excellent month for prosperity rituals or rituals that have anything to do with growth. Spells for improving communications, fertility, and abundance are especially strong at this time. Some Pagan customs include ringing bells and lighting new fires at dawn for cures, renewed life, and protection of the crops. A common belief in nineteenth century Germany touted the curative properties of water drawn early on Easter morning. One nearly universal craft is decorating hard-boiled eggs.

Eggs have long been a symbol of rebirth. They have been found among the grave goods of Anglo-Saxons, within the tombs of the Egyptians, and were placed on the fresh graves of the deceased Greeks. In ancient time, eggs were gathered for use in the creation of talismans and ritually eaten. The gathering of different colored eggs from the nests of a variety of birds has given rise to two traditions still observed today, the Easter egg hunt and coloring eggs in imitation of the various pastel colors of wild birds. Some believed that humankind was inspired by watching birds weave nests to begin weaving the first baskets. This is perhaps the origin of the association between colored Easter eggs and Easter baskets.

The custom of coloring eggs seems to be limited to the Germanic countries, Slavic countries, and America. In Scotland and Ireland, the custom is virtually unknown. Each spring in Germany, bakery windows are filled with elaborately painted eggs. Eggs are also hung from flowering branches to make "egg trees." Easter is celebrated in Germany more enthusiastically than it is anywhere else in the world with decorations up a good month before the festival. There are parties, egg hunts, and other celebrations weeks in advance of Easter itself.

In many places, it is traditional to keep Easter eggs or shells all year to ward the family and cattle against harm. They are also used specifically as a charm against hail and lightning. For this reason, great care and thought goes into the creation of egg decorations, egg-trees, boiled and decorated eggs for eating, and hare cakes.

Eostre is a goddess of the moon, an ancient measurer of time. The lunar month of 28 days gives us thirteen periods in 364 days, equivalent to the solar year. The hare, though viewed as a symbol of fertility, is also a symbol of the moon. Ixchel, the Mayan Goddess of the moon, midwifery and weaving, has a rabbit totem. Mexican panels of 600-900 AD show her giving birth to and suckling a rabbit, and another shows the rabbit representing phases of the moon.

The Egyptians called the hare Un, which means open, to open, and the opener. The month of April, the first month of the spring season, comes from the Latin “to open.” Un also means period of time. The hare as "opener" symbolizes the New Year at Easter, and fertility and the beginning of new life within the young. Since the hare can sleep with its eyes open, the Romans equated it with vigilance and believed that rabbits watched over everything. According to one story, Buddha placed the rabbit in the moon after it voluntarily gave itself as food for one of Buddha's hungry friends. In another, a rabbit jumped into a fire to feed a hungry Indra and out of gratitude, Indra placed the rabbit in the moon. Rabbits were significant totem animals however and eating them was prohibited in Britain and Egypt. A Scottish superstition suggested that eating rabbit was equivalent to eating one's grandmother.

In Asian myth, rabbits and the moon are virtually identical. The Rabbit in the Moon sweeps its surface clean with bound horsetails according to Japanese stories. The rabbit pounds rice into flour, making mochi which means both rice flour and full moon. The Sanskrit word, cacadharas also means both moon, and "that which carries the hare."

Rabbits also represent immortality and vitality. Pliny the Elder stated that rabbit meat enhanced one's beauty and radiance for a week afterwards, and Chinese myth believed rabbit meat was essential for vitality. According to Chinese myth, the rabbit is a symbol of longevity. Its fur turns white at age 100 and blue at 500. In Eastern Asian myth, rabbits created an elixir of immortality. The Algonquin trickster rabbit, Manabozho, is thought to embody all life-giving energy.

In Greece, live rabbits were popular love gifts, indicating sexual intentions. European wedded couples in the Middle Ages exchanged rabbit-shaped rings. Rabbit's popularity as a sex charm or fertility totem is related to its' natural cycle. A rabbit's gestation period is approximately one month, and it tends to be the first animal to give birth in the springtime, continuing to have litters of kits during the year. In Asian folklore, a rabbit may become pregnant simply by staring at a full moon, licking a male rabbit's fur under a full moon, or running across a moon-lit water's surface.

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Los Angeles County GLBTI Pagan meetup group

2007-03-18T16:34:39Z

Merry meet everyone,

Just a note to let you know that I've started a meetup group for LGBTI Pagan follk in LA County. Currently, we meet at Zephyr Coffee House in Pasadena on the second Monday of each month at 8:00pm. We just held our second meetup this month and are in the process of developing a nice community. I invite any of you who are interested to check it out at http://glbtpagans.meetup.com/189/

Bright blessings!
-aquilo

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SF area Pagan Tribe

2007-02-13T16:19:24Z

I formed a new tribe, hopefully I will get something going on a more local level to actually cometogether and meet in the real world and learn from each other in doing so, So here it is the gay pagan tribe for the San Francisco bay area:

tribes.tribe.net/baygaypagans

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An Intro.

2007-01-13T17:15:18Z

I'm a Witch, yes, a Witch-- just don't tell that to my folks that, or they'll accuse you of not being able to spell! LOL... Okay, that's my bad attempt at a joke that I ripped off-- err, ugh...I mean was "inspired by"-- Bell, Book, and Candle. *G*

I have been studying/practicing Witchcraft [not "Wicca," per se] for nearly a decade. However, my journey to this religion was quite an interesting one, to say the least. At first they seemed like random coincidence, however, when you have more than one coincidence right after the other, you have what is known as "synchonicity", which basically means that it was meant to happen. Even Carl Jung, who was a student of Freud, believed in synchonicity! He defines it as, "The coincidence in time of two or more causally unrelated events which have the same meaning."

It began with a life long interest in The Occult; a life-long "calling" if you will. I was never reared into many of the Christian trappings of guilt, even though my parents went to church on the extremely odd occasion (like, once every 10 years, or so)-- and for that I consider myself greatful. And, so, my jorney began... (Yeah, I can be heavy on metaphores!)

While I attended Junior High School I became quite environmentally aware (I was always a hippy at heart); and, also, quite interested in Native American religion, including my own Irish-Celtic heritage; much like many Witches that I know, I also absorbed all of the mythology that I could get my hands ahold of throughout Jr. High, etc. Two of my favourite books-- at that early time-- were the clasics: Bulfinch's Mythology and Brian Froud's Fairies. Though, these were really all I could really find in my very limited school district!

These formative years were quite literally years of progression: Because I was always pretty "psychic", from a very early age, I saught to explain these abilities-- I should also mention that I'm a dyed-in-the-wool skeptic at heart! So, I hit the books, trying to quench my desire for knowledge, which wasn't easy in the small town that I grew-up in, as the libraries were equally as small and sorely under stocked. I wanted to know how to explain them-- their physiological basis.

It seemed shortly after my initiation into the realms of parapsychology that my family & myself began to study the Mormon faith. And, it was also during this treatise, that my whole spiritual perception was forever changed: I, being the cheaky 12 year old I happened to be, took it upon myself to seriously question what I was told and asking some very advanced questions-- for any age, really! One such life-altering example occured one evening when the missionaries stopped by for their weekly "lesson". And, so, because we had been taught from the beginning that we are Jesus's brothers and sisters, and that we are God's children (literally), and having a basic working knowledge of genetics & family structure, I asked, 'Well, if we are God's children, and Jesus is our brother... Does God have a wife?', using the words and knowledge available to me at the time, for I had never really given time to thinking of (nor been exposed to) the feminine pronoun of "God" as "Goddess" per se, as a practical aspect of religion-- this was before my later interest in ancient religions. So, I simply used the word "wife". Their answer? "We believe He does, but...He loves Her so much that He does not reveal Her name to us!" Strange seeing as how they taught us that His actual Name was "Jehova"-- an ancient Pagan Name of the God from the Middle East who probably had a bull-cult! But, they admonished me with the following, "But, we don't pray to Her!" What the...?!?! Why in the world not?!?! "Nuts to that," I thought! And, it was from that moment that I began to pray to the Goddess.

But, my formal introduction into the religion of Witchcraft would wait until my first year of college. It was through a friend, naturally enough. She was performing some research on it, herself, and when I saw the word "Wicca" (having never been exposed to that term before) I simply asked her what it was. And, so began my journey into The Craft. Because, it pulled together everything I had experienced & believed & researched so much earlier in my life... It was truly a Home Coming!

I do consider myself lucky, however, because I knew that Witchcraft was nothing "evil" or in any way associated with any "devil" or other such nonsense. (It is interesting to note that the word demon was origionally Greek and, rather than referring to something "evil" originally denoted a genus, or spirit, with implications of "divine wisdom"; while in Latin, when rendered as daemon, it means "divinity" or "spirit"; and the word devil, actually means "little god".) Thanks, in no small part, to Leonard Nimoy's old 70s series 'In Search Of...' (I love that show; I still gladly make time to watch it whenever I catch it airing on Sci Fi). On one episode it did, in fact, detail a coven of American Witches and interviewed them so that we may walk away with a wonderful understanding of another religion, quite different from those that most knew. Incidentally, [perhaps this is synchronicity at work, again, as we will see?] the Coven of Witches was those presided over by Laurie Cabot!

But, I digress... My friend had only a passing interest in it, and soon dropped it altogether, which leads me to believe that I may have, perhaps, been lead down this Path from the very beginning-- because I firmly believe that many things happen for a reason-- call it "synchronicity"! Even physicists believe in synchronicity!-- Dr. F. David Peat defines it as: "coincidences that are so unusual and so psychologically meaningful they don't seem to be the result of chance alone." Thus, it is through synchronicity that we may be able to glimpse a deeper order to reality!

I found it utterly fascinating, and felt the calling of the Goddess, and that of my ancient Celtic heritage, once again, since all those long years ago. So, I began to further research it (as best I could, anyway). And, eventually found it frustrating, because I wasn't finding the answers to many of the questions I was asking-- questions which many books, at the time, seemed to avoid, with such dodgy answers as "You have to believe in spells for them to work!" without giving any rational, logical, or left-brained reason "to believe".

And so, in the time that I began to doubt my "faith" (relatively-speaking), I raised my voice in a silent petition to the Gods asking for Their guidance in answering the questions that I saught! (You have to realize that I come from a world in which "spells" are given over to the world of dreams and "fairy tales", with no factual basis in reality.) And, They did! A book found its way to me, as an answer to that humble prayer. It described, using Quantum Mechanics, a world and Universe that makes sense to the Witch! Having, since then, read a number of books on physics, I came up with the following analogy: The more I read about it, the more the Universe seems like the film The Matrix, if you've seen it (I happened to be reading a book on physics [The Holographic Universe], one evening, while The Matrix was airing on HBO, I believe, when this conclusion occured). But, I digress... The book-- which still holds a highly place on my book shelf and those that I can in good consciousness recommend-- was Laurie Cabot's The Power of the Witch: A Witch's Guide to Her Craft. (The two chapters, "Alpha" and "The Science of Witchcraft" are worth the cost of the book alone!)

Soon after, however, my Matron-Goddess, The Morrighan ["Great Queen"] came to me upon one Lughnasadh Eve. It's quite a lovely story, and I hope you enjoy it [it's actually one of my favorite stories to tell!]:

"Generally-speaking, if you ask most ol'-time Witches, they'll tell you that the Gods choose us, rather than the other way around. I live in a small town (a farming community) surrounded on all sides (for miles) by farms, fields & farmers! And, in the field in front of me, off in the distance (on the Eve prior to Lughnasadh) I was treated to a spectacular fireworks display! I have often wondered if the farmers new that this was the Eve of a Sabbat, or that it was at least a Harvest Feastival!?!?!? So, soon after the last whisp of light faded into the warm embrace of the night, I went back inside, and retired to bed. That night, one of The Morrighan's triplicities (whom is also frequently honoured on Lughnasadh) came to me in a dream; She came to me in the guise of the Macha ['Plain' or 'Field']! And, because I'm sure The Goddess knows how stubborned and left-brained I can sometimes be, She came to me on the Eve after Lughnasadh; this time as The Morrighan, dressed in Her dark robes & vestments. That was enough for me to take the hint! I have worshipped Her ever since! And, since, I have heard music in the call of the crow...felt Her black wings of protection & love! After all, we worship the Old Gods because we love Them." Also, contrary to what modern Pagans like to believe, She was not (and is not) a War-Goddess, but an Earth-Goddess-- at least according to to modern academia, as I have reseaarched Her.

Furthermore, my "Pagan name", if you will, came via similar means, as well. Albeit, a very few years there after. It is merely a spiritually adopted surname: Wade MacMorrighan [Ir., "Wade Son of The Morrighan"*]. It came to me, one quiet night, during a light state of trance. And, being as stubborn, as I often am, I could not accept it at face value. So, I had to validate it, rather than seem somewhat foolish in adopting a senseless spiritual name. And, it so happens that it was correct! As with all things, I neither chose this name, nor the Goddess whom I serve!

* Similar to other such Irish-Gaelic names, although this patronymic happens also to be Scottish-Gaelic, as Manannan mac Lir [Ir., Manannan "Son of the Sea"], Aengus Mac Og [Aengus the "Son of Youth"] or Mac Grinene [Ir., "The Son of the Sun"], etc.

Oh, and, incidentally, because of my belief in synchronicity, I am in the process of writing a few books, too (more than a few, actually)! For about 3 months straight, I'd talk to several fellow pagans, or dear friends of mine (this was about 3 years ago), and talk about this-or-that, and each one would say to me, "You should write a book!" So, I am! I'm actually co-authoring two with a well known British Pagan author-friend of mine, and have permission to use the local history museum, and the Museum of Witchcraft in Boscastle, England, to perform some further research! I can't wait!

Other than that, the only other bit of information I have to add is this: I'm a Consecrated Priest of the Irish Earth-Goddess, The Morrighan (don't take my word for it, look it up if you don't believe me-- please; often people don't, despite the current thinking that's so often dismissed as "inconsequential"!). And, unlike some other posers that are skulking about the cyberspace, She chose me to serve Her, rather than so many Buffy Bunnies (and Fluff Bunnies) invoking Her to their pedantic ends, or what they think She is based upon specious, "fixed," late 19th. century pseudo-scholarship.

But, I really am a nice guy, honest! I just tend to get upset by all of the posers that plague modern Pagan Witchcraft these days. Especially the anti-Fluffy Fundamentalists (despite the fact that I'm as anti-Fluffy as all get-out, but not to such an extreme!) which are just as bad as the Fluffy Bunnies in many respects (they like to tell everyone how wrong they are, or claim one's research is crap, despite the shifting winds of academia or methodology), or enact out-and-out character assassination for no other reeason than their own selfish Egos. Another personal quibble I only very generally admit to having is that such individuals refuse to, for example, question what they are "taught," taking it for granted as some "holy writ"! "Initiation" is a prime example of this: Far too many so-called "Pagans" (and un-Initiated, too boot!) are under the impression that it denotes a membership into a secret club, to learn said "secrets". In other words, this is the ONLY acceptible definition of "Initiation". Well, this is only an erroniously simplistic definition as far as I'm concerned. And, for this reason, I have differentiated what I term "Ritual Initiation" from "Authentic Initiation"-- an "Authentic Initiation" (which may include "Spontanious Initiation") being that which cannot be bestowed upon by anyone else, but can only, ultimately, come from within; The Charge of the Goddess even speaks of this! In fact, the author of The Charge Of The Goddess, Doreen Valiente, also questioned the Initiatory-mandate that "only a Witch can make a Witch"!-- she's my hero (another hero of mine is UCLA Archaeologist, Marija Gimbutas, because she dared to interprate)! I also recommend Mircea Eliade's Shamanism: Archaic Techniques In Ecstacy for an examination of a shamanistic-Initiation cycle.

I really have to grind my teeth when the "Occult Police" take to throwing their weight around! So, enough of my ranting...I'm sure you're sick of it by now!

Albeit I do not consider myself "Wiccan"-- despite the fact that this was the method through which I came to The Craft-- structurally-speaking (it even applies to the 8 Sabbats that I personally celebrate-- hey, I'd be mad to turn down a chance to party! LOL) I follow "Wiccan" proceedures to an extent, while following at the heart of my practice what may best be described as Gaelic Traditionalism (i.e., Reconstructionism). So, I guess one could define me as a cross between a Witch-Priest and a Gaelic Traditionalist/Reconstructionist!

Thanks for letting me ramble, a bit!

Take Care,
Wade MacMorrighan
http://MySpace.Com/MacMorrighan
MacMorrigaine@AIM.Com

posted in queer pagan - 1 reply