Monstrous
Witches Brew => Pagan Living => Topic started by: jordyn on July 13, 2006, 08:26:06 AM
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pagan living, what does it mean to you?
surely this goes beyond the typical spell casting and wearing a pentacle, what behaviors in your life are influenced by your pagan standing.
I tend to pay more attention to gardening, it's all in pots at this point(renting and apartment)but find myself choosing plants more so for their meanings and uses, rather than just being pretty. I have a strong, concern for the earth, even my daughter knows it's not nice to throw garbage on mother nature. i strive to stay harmonious with my surroundings, it's hard with society...but generally people are nice and make it worth the sufferings of the concret world.
It's having faith in myself and my standing as a child in the universe, knowing that there's some thread that connects us all, even those who may be opponents of my belief, those who genuinely have faith, seem to understand that.
as a pagan, i don't rule my life by any crede or three fold law, why should i need those anymore than i need a bible to know, somethings just should not be done to fellow life on this planet. but i do knock on wood, throw salt over my left shoulder and do things that help people that won't necessarily help me, i suppose karma has something to do with that...
i don't worship any god, but do believe there are many, i honor spirits that may be around, acknowledge those that are and sometimes call those who i need. For me it's not about style, jewelery or books, but living and loving the world...even in all it's, ickiness...there's something new and beautiful to discover everyday...
that's how i live as a pagan, what does pagan living mean to you?
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The word pagan has a very broad meaning. Do you take it to refer to all peoples that do not practice any of the Semitic faiths? Or merely adherants in the West that have devoted themselves to exploring the roots of thee pre-Christian religions that once dominated Europe?
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The word pagan has a very broad meaning. Do you take it to refer to all peoples that do not practice any of the Semitic faiths? Or merely adherants in the West that ahve devoted themslevles to exploring the roots of thee pre-Christian religions that once dominated Europe?
even more simple...
people who have more than one god...i suppose athiests sort of qualify too?
so i'll go with question number one. :D
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I have a compost garden, I keep trying to make a herb garden. Like Dynny for their magical and medicanl uses rather than for cooking. I like to make sure my house is both clean physically and spirutally. Mostly I think it shows in how I treat my kids and the animals and vegetation around me. My daughter is so conditioned against litter that at age three she picks up rubbish off the ground and puts it in the nearest bin.
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I have a compost garden, I keep trying to make a herb garden. Like Dnny for their magical and medicanl uses rather than for cooking. I like to make sure my house is both clean physically and spirutally. Mostly I think it shows in how I treat my kids and the animals and vegetation around me. My daughter is so conditioned against litter that at age three she picks up rubbish off the ground and puts it in the nearest bin.
dynny? i haven't heard that name in awhile. ;)
i never understood compost...mine always ends up a moldy, slimy mess...i remember my grandmother used to toss her coffee grounds and eggshells into her flower beds...she was an amazing gardner.
my daughter hugs trees, and will passionatly argue the case to keep an insect alive, ending with a wail if they end up, dead...:P
the hardest part for me with children, is trying not to impress my beliefs upon them, allowing them the option to choose for themselves, when they're old enough to understand the difference between spirituality and religion.
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The probelm with respecting all life means that some have to die.
My compost sits in the back corner of the lawn and it is just a pile of grass clippings and food. NOrmally you are supposed to turn it so that the worms and other Earth insects can get at it. But I don't. I leave it open to the elements so it actually decomposes quite fast. It also feeds the neighbours cats and dogs. There is also a hedgehog that hangs around it waiting for unwary food attracted by it.
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The probelm with respecting all life means that some have to die.
My compost sits in the back corner of the lawn and it is just a pile of grass clippings and food. NOrmally you are supposed to turn it so that the worms and other Earth insects can get at it. But I don't. I leave it open to the elements so it actually decomposes quite fast. It also feeds the neighbours cats and dogs. There is also a hedgehog that hangs around it waiting for unwary food attracted by it.
a hedgehog?! but i suppose those aren't exotic to you. :)
those are supposed to be great familiars...but we tend to have skunks and raccoons around here.
any advice on growing lavender?
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I get hedgehogs in my garden. They shuffle around pretty noisily. Also, the sound of hedgehogs mating is LOUD! Seriously, it wakes me.
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Breeding; Hedgehogs are ready to breed in April. If you hear loud snuffling and grunting noises at night in the garden, it may be hedgehogs mating. The male (boar) circles round the female (sow), sometimes for hours, trying to persuade her to mate. After mating, the male leaves, taking no part in rearing the young.
http://www.yptenc.org.uk/docs/factsheets/animal_facts/hedgehog.html
See? I'm not kidding.
Edit: Just spotted this, however-
"One of the biggest rituals that they do every night is fighting. People think when they hear hedgehogs in the garden that they’re mating, but mating only takes place about twice a year. The rest of the time they’re fighting. They love to fight!
They don’t do it viciously, but they have this little hissing and spitting performance that they do, which finishes up with head-butting and pushing each other all round the garden."
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"One of the biggest rituals that they do every night is fighting. People think when they hear hedgehogs in the garden that they’re mating, but mating only takes place about twice a year. The rest of the time they’re fighting. They love to fight!
They don’t do it viciously, but they have this little hissing and spitting performance that they do, which finishes up with head-butting and pushing each other all round the garden."
I hear that every so often, sometimes it sounds like cats fighting. Luckily Mr Hedgehog (which os our name for it) seems to be mostly alone in his corner of the lawn.
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if i knew they were that cool, i would have paid ten dollars for one of them, rather than the hamsters...;)
speaking of hedgehogs....
Hedgehog: Defensiveness, self-preservation, abrasive personality, possessing a solitary nature
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Have you ever tried to pet a hedgehog? I have, just don't pat them the wrong way :-o
Anyway. :focus: I also think it important to teach our children all the we know about how to treat nature. It is one thing not to force your beliefs onto your kids, it is another when you're not sharing with your kids what you know and believe.
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Have you ever tried to pet a hedgehog? I have, just don't pat them the wrong way :-o
Anyway. :focus: I also think it important to teach our children all the we know about how to treat nature. It is one thing not to force your beliefs onto your kids, it is another when you're not sharing with your kids what you know and believe.
my best friend had one, for the familiar value...they didn't get along. ;)
Of course, but it's difficult answering some questions...either i can't think of a general enough answer, or so strong in my opinions to give a fair answer. Besides, you've always got to consider what they'll repeat...
it may be cool to be a pagan, currently..but it's still not yet accepted, by all people.
and sometimes it seems to be growing for the worse, due to it's popularity, i suppose it's because paganism has become a religion, and wicca is the most common of pagan religions generally known about?
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any advice on growing lavender?
Growing Lavender (http://gardening.about.com/od/perennials/a/Lavender.htm)
I love lavender. I haven't got any yet, but I'm planning to put a row of it along with yarrow along my fence next year. I recommend you research varieties and find one that will grow best in your climate. Generally it likes things warm and dry, and is very good for drought-prone areas. Can be killed by overwatering as easily as by underwatering.
Hedgehogs are cute. But not so cuddly.
Pagan living for me is mostly about respect. Respect for nature, yourself and other people, and different opinions. Trying to make things better in whatever way you can.
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any advice on growing lavender?
Growing Lavender (http://gardening.about.com/od/perennials/a/Lavender.htm)
I love lavender. I haven't got any yet, but I'm planning to put a row of it along with yarrow along my fence next year. I recommend you research varieties and find one that will grow best in your climate. Generally it likes things warm and dry, and is very good for drought-prone areas. Can be killed by overwatering as easily as by underwatering.
Hedgehogs are cute. But not so cuddly.
Pagan living for me is mostly about respect. Respect for nature, yourself and other people, and different opinions. Trying to make things better in whatever way you can.
that's what life should be about. ;)
considering i'm usually undewatering plants, perhaps i'll just stick with the health food stores, it's odd...one day it'll be flourishing beautifully, the next day it's sort of...dead; lavender is definitely a challenge for me, but my aloe vera grows well, i used some on my daughter's sunburn the other day...she wanted another sunburn. :doh:
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I have 3 hedgerows of lavender, each about 15 feet long, about 4 feet high. I don't water them or fuss over them, just let them get on with it.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y30/storm_dancer/picture.jpg)
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I was l;etting my lavendar grow as it would... my father-in-law decided to mow over them. They are luckily recovering.
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*ponders jealousy*
wild hedgehogs and lavender? :cry:
it seems like it should be easy enough to grow, perhaps it's because i'm consistantly trying to grow herbs inside?
we have a terribly short growing season, and flesh flowers are so expensive in the winter months.
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Most plants will grow outside if left to their own devices. But inside...
Are you following the growing conditions for each plant?
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Lavender thrives in heat, but lets face it, it isn't normally hot and sunny in England :|
The only thing I will do with it this year is cut it back to the woody stems in late autumn; apparently that will encourage growth and bulk for next year. Avoid cutting the wood, though, I'm reliably informed. Also, there are two main vairieties of lavender, English and French. French has a more vivid colour, but weaker scent. I would think - I'm no expert, just a layman - that the English variety is more forgiving of climate.
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Most plants will grow outside if left to their own devices. But inside...
Are you following the growing conditions for each plant?
i try...
a pagan that can't grow lavender...
is that normal?
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Its the good Christian Baptist girl trying to make herself heard inside... *<:)
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What I'd really like to turn my hand to next is a chamomile lawn (http://www.gardenresources.co.uk/content/herbs/0423chamomilelawn.htm)
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Its the good Christian Baptist girl trying to make herself heard inside... *<:)
anything but baptist?!?! i've heard scary things about that denomination...
frighteningly enough for all the horrors the roman catholic inflicted upon my sould, i'd have to return to them...or try the universal approach, it'd be fun worshipping through music with no particular order to it...but i'm not ready for worshipping an intangibile surreality, again.
keep pushing it, see what happens. 0:)
now chamomile!
that i can grow, easy enough...it also grows wild around here...we've got fields of the stuff, clover and daisies too...i would love to be able to grow it together with lavender...and maybe some st. johnswort...sadly johnswort is considered a noxious weed around these parts, it's completely illegal...so i'll have to settle for the healthfood store and coupling it with valerian.
i'd have better luck and less of a fine growing marijuana than st. johnswort, how's that for farming community concerns? ;)
chamomile is like a daisy you can steep in warm water and drink; they have a good energy about them and relaxing properties to boot...ii tend to be a little on the popcorn side of thought and agitation, especially when driving. :D
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chamomile is like a daisy you can steep in warm water and drink; they have a good energy about them and relaxing properties to boot...ii tend to be a little on the popcorn side of thought and agitation, especially when driving. :D
Daisy is like a daisy you can steep in warm water and drink. I have never had any luck with Chamomile (German). I can get it to grow I just dont have any luckl with it. The first one just disappeared, the second one died becuase someone dumped it out of its pot and used it to plant something else.
Stoned Sheep are easier to herd.
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chamomile is like a daisy you can steep in warm water and drink; they have a good energy about them and relaxing properties to boot...ii tend to be a little on the popcorn side of thought and agitation, especially when driving. :D
Daisy is like a daisy you can steep in warm water and drink. I have never had any luck with Chamomile (German). I can get it to grow I just dont have any luckl with it. The first one just disappeared, the second one died becuase someone dumped it out of its pot and used it to plant something else.
Stoned Sheep are easier to herd.
now you understand the pain i have for lavender. :|
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The only problem I've had with my chamomile (roman variety) is keeping it confined to its section of the garden. I had to make it a cage... Yes, a chamomile cage. It's harder to control than mint!
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The only problem I've had with my chamomile (roman variety) is keeping it confined to its section of the garden. I had to make it a cage... Yes, a chamomile cage. It's harder to control than mint!
:D i like that!
i suppose they could be considered a noxious weed, if it wasn't native.
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I have 3 hedgerows of lavender, each about 15 feet long, about 4 feet high. I don't water them or fuss over them, just let them get on with it.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y30/storm_dancer/picture.jpg)
Beautiful photo.
I have one lavender plant, have had it for years and dug it up and moved it when I moved. It's about 10 years old now. I never do anything special to it. I think it's English lavender. (It's outside).
Chamomile is easy to grow too. Just plant it and leave it alone.
So far I have mint and lemon balm, which seem to fight over who can spread the fastest and farthest; a sage bush that is at least 15 years old, oregano, thyme, chives, and every year I plant parsley, dill, and definitely basil. I use basil a LOT in my cooking. I have a bit of trouble keeping rosemary alive. I started some from seed in the winter and it looked great until it got outside, then it died.
Oh, I have a little hint to offer. Put used coffee grounds in your compost, or if you don't compost throw them in your flower beds. They attract earthworms.
~Morticia
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Put used coffee grounds in your compost, or if you don't compost throw them in your flower beds. They attract earthworms.
Earthworms who then get so wired on the caffeine buzz that they stay up all day and all night munching compost. Be warned - they can be a little cranky first thing.
"WHERE'S MY JOE??!!"
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Gees! You guys are lucky, I only have dryed herbs! :|
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Gees! You guys are lucky, I only have dryed herbs! :|
dry herbs are a lot less hassle. ;)
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Easyer to store and quicker to create teas and powders!
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Easyer to store and quicker to create teas and powders!
:D
it was easier to buy sage, rather than waiting for it to grow, harvest it and then wait for it to dry.
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Indeed! (So it's "easier" instead of "easyer"? Oops! C'est à cause de mon français!)
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Indeed! (So it's "easier" instead of "easyer"? Oops! C'est à cause de mon français!)
lady marmalade what?
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"C'est à cause de mon français" = "It's because of my french".
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Another easy way to store herbs is to freeze them. I just read of this myself:
Chop the fresh herbs and put about two tablespoons in each section of an ice cube tray. Fill the tray with water and freeze. Pop out your herb ice cubes and freeze them in freezer bags.
It would be like adding fresh herbs to a dish - just drop in the frozen cube in the winter.
~Morticia
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Great idea! I have only read about keeping 'em fresh in the refrigerator, but freezing 'em...that I did not know.
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that's a good idea!
i had a friend move and give me several dozen mini m&m tubes of herbs...i can hear my husband now inquirng why all the ice cubes have green stuff in them. ;)
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You can also do that with fruit and certian herbs for teas and cordials, its considered fancy. It looks cool enoguh, for holloween it fake bugs and things I hear (don't do hallpween over here, not yet anyway)
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i like halloween, i can loosen my skirts and dust off the broom. :D
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I prefer to use fresh herbs. I think they're easier. My herb bed is right outside the kitchen door. In the winter, when I'm fixing a turkey and want sage, I just step out back and cut off a piece. It doesn't die back too terribly much until January, so it's still usable for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Also:
I have a juicer and just juiced a pineapple, some strawberries and the last of my apples.
We're leaving for three days tomorrow and I didn't want the fruit to go bad.
I'm going to freeze it in ice cube trays. It's really good to drop a couple in a glass of cold tea.
~Morticia
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You can also do that with fruit and certian herbs for teas and cordials, its considered fancy. It looks cool enoguh, for holloween it fake bugs and things I hear (don't do hallpween over here, not yet anyway)
No halloween in N-Z? :-o I can't go live there if there is no Halloween? On what occasion will I be able to scare people? :cry:
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I prefer to use fresh herbs. I think they're easier. My herb bed is right outside the kitchen door. In the winter, when I'm fixing a turkey and want sage, I just step out back and cut off a piece. It doesn't die back too terribly much until January, so it's still usable for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Also:
I have a juicer and just juiced a pineapple, some strawberries and the last of my apples.
We're leaving for three days tomorrow and I didn't want the fruit to go bad.
I'm going to freeze it in ice cube trays. It's really good to drop a couple in a glass of cold tea.
~Morticia
*makes not to have tea with morticia*
i've got an ice shredder...i make slushies, all the time...my favorite are with a flavored coffee and hint of milk.
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You can also do that with fruit and certian herbs for teas and cordials, its considered fancy. It looks cool enoguh, for holloween it fake bugs and things I hear (don't do hallpween over here, not yet anyway)
No halloween in N-Z? :-o I can't go live there if there is no Halloween? On what occasion will I be able to scare people? :cry:
Yeah every year you get some people who try to start it up, being it looks like so much fun on American movies. Never works out afterall people don't stock lollies for it. If it helps the national colour as far as we have one is black, all our sports teams are black this and black that, its also the most commonly worn colour. And religion is a minority issue here, being NZ is considered the most secular country in the world.
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Really? Wow! :-o
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My problem with NZ is the cold...never been there but I've heard it's generally cold there. And I live where it gets around 100 F (40ish C) for several weeks in summer...I like hot weather.
My rosemary's doing pretty darn good. Don't know how it'll last the winter, but right now it's growing faster than my lemon balm. Oregano's what I'm having problems with...probably because I planted it late and it didn't have enough time to get properly rooted before the heat hit it...and the dry...have to practically drown it every other day just to keep it alive.
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N-Z reminds me of Canada, I mean the weather. Except our winters can get very cold! :x
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My problem with NZ is the cold...never been there but I've heard it's generally cold there. And I live where it gets around 100 F (40ish C) for several weeks in summer...I like hot weather.
My rosemary's doing pretty darn good. Don't know how it'll last the winter, but right now it's growing faster than my lemon balm. Oregano's what I'm having problems with...probably because I planted it late and it didn't have enough time to get properly rooted before the heat hit it...and the dry...have to practically drown it every other day just to keep it alive.
i lost my tomatoes, strawberries and a pot of flowers due to the heat we've been having...one day i miss watering them, they're dead the next...sheesh. :cry:
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Heat wave in your area too jordyn?
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Heat wave in your area too jordyn?
and people still deny there's anything to the science of global warning...they apparantly don't live far up north. :gun:
*does three cheers for Al Gore*
he really should have been president, he's got a "pagan" attitude. ;)
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Global warming? Maybe but I doubt it because our winters are freaking cold!
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ours was record setting short?!?!?
you're even further north, however...
It's just he end of july and the only snow we have are on the glaciers...nothing in the lower elevations, the lakes were warm enough to swim in late april and we barely made our watershed this winter...it sucked.
and the the polar ice cap melting?
i don't know if it's a natural cycle or really because of "us" but there are some serious issues going on with the climates.
*mutters about deforestation*
maybe i'll go meditate outside an see what the nature has to say? :-D
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True, I forgot about the "glaciers". But the human race is an alarmist one, it's just part of evolution.
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the human race is an alarmist one, it's just part of evolution.
The deep ice core samples suggest that the climate is following a perfectly normal pattern; the predominant state is Ice Age, with thaws, temperate climate, and temperature spikes in between. Make the best of those heat waves: within our lifetimes we may well see permafrost creep way down the latitudes.
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We've been getting record temperatures for awhile. It's cooled off a bit now, but it was over 100 F for two-three weeks.
My oregano is barely alive... I'm still hopeful of saving it, but it's not looking good. I may have to get a new one next year and hope it does better.
At least the heat seems to have killed off whatever was eating my basil to stubs. It's recovered amazingly.
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We've been getting record temperatures for awhile. It's cooled off a bit now, but it was over 100 F for two-three weeks.
My oregano is barely alive... I'm still hopeful of saving it, but it's not looking good. I may have to get a new one next year and hope it does better.
At least the heat seems to have killed off whatever was eating my basil to stubs. It's recovered amazingly.
for every curse, there's three blessings? :)
the human race is an alarmist one, it's just part of evolution.
The deep ice core samples suggest that the climate is following a perfectly normal pattern; the predominant state is Ice Age, with thaws, temperate climate, and temperature spikes in between. Make the best of those heat waves: within our lifetimes we may well see permafrost creep way down the latitudes.
i live in montana, there's nothing good about heat waves, just fires, a lot of fires...i'd like to find an area that has two seasons, spring and fall, maybe a month or two of a nice, temperate summer...a little snow around christmas, but otherwise spring or fall, i'd be happy in that climate.
at least we have a lot of caves when the ice age hits, if our super ancient ancestors were able to do it, why can't we?
starts experimenting with ochres.
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i'd like to find an area that has two seasons, spring and fall, maybe a month or two of a nice, temperate summer...a little snow around christmas, but otherwise spring or fall, i'd be happy in that climate.
It's called England.
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i'd like to find an area that has two seasons, spring and fall, maybe a month or two of a nice, temperate summer...a little snow around christmas, but otherwise spring or fall, i'd be happy in that climate.
It's called England.
well until i achieve the funds...i'm sort of confined to the states. :cry: but after bush one i did look into moving to another country. ;)
i'd definitly have a lot of people to meet if i ever made across the atlantic!
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i dont know much about pagan living but my mum is a pagan and i am to the sense that i care about the earth but i mainly use at as an excuse to not have to pray in some schools i have been to or when theres a priest preaching to us kids as if we are to back fully fledged angels when we die, thats why i get in trouble because i dont do religion much and i dont get into fashion much either i am mostly different from the kids in school.
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fascinating subject and one which i really must take time to study......thanks for the info all 0:) :evil: