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You’re going about your day, walking to school, shopping at the mall, riding the bus, when suddenly you look down to see that you are completely naked. Maybe you duck behind a tree or desperately search your backpack for something to cover up with. This is a particularly common dream, and it is also one that can have a variety of meanings depending on the context. It is important to recognize the feelings you associate with your dream, as this will help you to uncover its meaning.

Most often, naked dreams are associated with feelings of insecurity. Nudity represents vulnerability—your clothes act as a shield to protect you, and, once that shield is gone, you may feel exposed and defenseless. In your waking life you may be too concerned about how others perceive you, or perhaps you are in a situation that is making you feel helpless. Nudity might also indicate that there is something in your life you are trying to hide from the people around you, such as a secret, or an insecurity that you feel might bring you embarrassment if your friends knew about it. If you are in a situation where you are hoping to impress others, your dream might be telling you that you are trying to be someone else. You aren’t being true to yourself, and you fear that if your classmates find out who you really are, they might judge you. Being naked in your dream can be a hint that you are unprepared for something as well. Do you feel unprepared for a school project? A test? There may be something in your waking life that has caught you off guard and is causing you anxiety. Your subconscious might even be trying to tell you that you’re holding yourself to a standard that is too high for you to meet.

One day the youngest warlock goes to the oldest and says:

I don't understand. I sing the songs, I make the offerings, I dance the prayers. But in my heart, I am not there. What more should I be doing that I am not already doing?

The eldest rises, lifts his hands, and splays his fingers. At the tip of each finger licks a tongue of fire.

My son, he says, If you will, you can become entirely flame.

The mixing of Western and Eastern mystical traditions is criticized. The Pomegranate discusses the state of contemporary Pagan studies. And a trial begins for Pagans accused of engaging in prostitution as part of their sacred practices. It's Watery Wednesday, our weekly segment on news about the Pagan community! All this and more for the Pagan News Beagle!

A Valentine for Your God (Written together with A.D. Kent)

"The whole thing is to love God
and to taste His sweetness.
He is sweetness and the devotee is its enjoyer.
The devotee drinks the sweet Bliss of God.
God is the lotus and the devotee the bee.
The devotee sips the honey of the lotus.

As a devotee cannot live without God,
so also God cannot live without His devotee.
Then the devotee becomes the sweetness,
and God its enjoyer.
The devotee becomes the lotus, and God the bee.
It is the Godhead that has become these two
in order to enjoy Its own Bliss."

—  Sri Ramakrishna, "The Sacred Jewels of Yoga"

St.Valentine's Day!
Ahh, it's the Secular Day of Love made popular by greeting card companies-- and the Feast of Saint Valentine, which has more significance if you're Catholic. Most people get through not having the traditional secular day of love “valentine” by ignoring the public displays of affection or out and out having an “anti-valentine” of some kind. Ie ask why expend that energy being negative? There's enough negative energy in the world already. If you have no other valentine you may do a variety of loving things for yourself-- or in devotion for your God. That's really what I want to talk about.

Divine Love. Love of the Divine. Bhakti.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhakti

There's the wikipage on it, so wiki away if need be, and then come back. If not then good, you're just that much ahead. The important thing is Love is an experience that grows-- sometimes faster, sometimes slower, depending on how you nurture it. If you even WANT to love your Goddess or God deeply, then probably you are already on the way of growing that love.

“Teach me how to love you”, “Let me love you more and more every day”.
These are absolutely legit wishes for you to present your deity and no one is pushed into that type of relationship with a deity-- (consent is a very big thing. A powerful thing.) If you want it, just ask for it. (If you don't, please make that clear too) Just ask for it in a prayer. Ask the deity to help you to “grow more in love” with them, and if that feeling between you is mutual, They will definitely help! You may notice the changes coming into your life, emotions and feelings that burst forth. These small changes will build into a sense of renewal and well-being.

“People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life. I don’t think that’s what we’re really seeking. I think that what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances with our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive.”

From The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell

Joy is sacred, He said, and I didn’t understand. Isn’t all of this serious stuff? Shouldn’t I be in awe and terror of You?

Do you respect Me? Do you take Me seriously when I need you do that?

(Image of Loki by Astral Eventide, commissioned by me in 2011)

The prompt for Week 3 of the Pagan Experience is to blog about Deity - Those Who guide you. Considering the fact that this blog is pretty much The Loki Show, it's probably redundant to introduce Him here; if you read my blog, you're familiar with His work.