Living in the Way
A Suggestion for Pagan Living
Many religious traditions, past and present, are more than mere acknowledgements of a deity or deities: they are ways of life. There are some religious movements which profess fleeting and temporary communion with their prospective deity (ies), and then lapse into disinterest and disuse. The Pagan Way need not be a quick flash or a sudden chill; it aspires towards a foundation for everyday existence.
Living in the Way entails four basic parts, each of which corresponds to a cardinal point of the compass. These points are 1) the solar way; 2) the terrestrial way; 3) the seasonal way; and 4) the personal way. What follows is a discussion of the first of these four ways.
The Solar Way
The Solar Way is the way of the stars and planets. It is the way which is found overhead. One must look up to see the solar way. It is not found in the written word; it is not found in the spoken word. It is the way of the heavens. The solar way is the astral dance. As mundane life goes on here on Earth, there is an astral dance which whirls in harmony in the evening sky. Planets race through space and the firmament, dancing an ageless dance. Yet, this way is too often ignored. To the ancients, the night sky held the story of the Earth: what was and what was to become. The movement of the planets and stars indicated many things to the ancients, for example, the onset of seasonal changes could be seen in the return of certain constellations in the evening sky. Elaborate observatories were constructed to mark the coming and passage of stars and comets. Yet today, many are unaware. The planets turn about the Sun, tracking an ageless path throughout the solar system, yet to many, the bright wanderers are merely “stars”. They have tracked their celestial courses long before the dawn of man, and will course through quiet space for eons after the passing of man. And yet there are so many unknowing.
Stillness is the void of space. To scry the depths of the night sky offers the stillness of the Aether. To the observer on Earth, all is quiet in the depths of the stars. In ages past, long before the advent of electricity, the night sky held man close to the bosom of the Earth Mother. The spirits of the night moved freely through the darkened night. Yet these spirits are in hiding, driven from the night by artificial light. How special is the night sky unscorched by the light from cities far and near!
The Pagan Way is the way of the night sky. It encompasses the darkness which exists, albeit hidden. For darkness is a part of life. Without darkness, light is meaningless, indistinguishable, unknown, and assumed. To know the night sky and the movements of the wanderers, the planets, helps the pagan to know their place in the cosmos. The pagan is a child of the Earth Mother, and Father Sky towers overhead, vaulted and limitless. The movement of the constellations and the planets indicates how small man is, here on Mother Earth. To know the way of the night sky is to know the rhythm of the night sky. This rhythm allows the pagan to know the pulse of the universe. To appreciate the rhythm and to feel the movement is to be a part of it.
Nightly examinations and reflection on the night sky bring the rhythm into the pagan’s life. It makes the pagan the child of Father Sky. To be truly one with the Universe, one must sense the presence of the Universe. To be truly one with the Universe, one must participate in the Universe. Watch the heavens. Learn the constellations. Discover the planets. How beautiful it is to see the wanderers aligned or askew in the night sky. If one watches long enough, one may even see the great planets return to their positions in the night sky. The Earth is indeed one of the wandering planets. Yet, to those on Earth, the movement is barely noticeable. To know the vastness of space is to know the vastness of the Gods.
Next, Part 2: The Terrestrial Way