Welcome to part two of the constellation series. As you can see, I'm trying for an alphabetical order in these but I might sneak one in if I forget one of them. Which I will. Anyway, the second sign we'll be looking at is Aquarius.
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Every month, the members of Neos Alexandria study three different Deities for our Gods of the Month Club. Originally, the Deities were limited to the official Hellenistic-oriented pantheon of Neos Alexandria itself. This year, though, members agreed that we could start looking into Deities outside ancient Alexandria, allowing for some very lively discussions (is Brigid three Goddesses or a trinity?) and comparisons (who knew Athena and Kali had so much in common?).
Early on in the GMC program -- though I can't remember exactly when -- I made a capital-P Promise that I would write at least one poem in honor of each Deity for that month. So far, I have managed to keep that promise. And, I have to admit, I have been very surprised to discover that it is not my matron and patron Deities that I am most excited to write for (though I will take any chance to pen a poem for Hermes or The Charites), but rather those Deities with whom I have only a passing familiarity or no familiarity at all.
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I am absolutely terrible at poetry. Brighid was my matron for years and still, I never grew out of the fourteen year old emo poems
I greatly enjoy looking at the night's sky although I can barely make out any of the constellations. As a new and regular series on Baring the Aegis, I want to share with you my study of the mythology behind various constellations. Today, I'm starting with Andromeda.
I ease my students into Beowulf by having them read the Anglo-Saxon poem 'The Wanderer' first. It's a great introduction to the warrior ethos that the longer narrative celebrates, but in a short form. It's a poem about grief but the first thing we'll notice is that the loss mourned isn't a partner, child or parent, but the narrator's leader.
Wyrd bið ful aræd! Fate always goes as it must!
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We don't hear enough about the sanctity and beauty of the warrior ethic from these traditions. You know how much I love "Beowulf"
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Thank you, my dear. This piece actually motivated me to kick off a series on Hávamál, so I hope you'll find that appealing as well
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Really great information here. Lots to take in and consider.
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Thank you, Hunter.
A few weeks back, I listed the how-to writing guides which I found most useful. Among them was Corrine Kenner's Tarot for Writers. Throughout her text, Kenner references the traditional Rider-Waite deck -- a deck which I have never owned or used. Nonetheless, Kenner's exercises and suggested spreads work with (virtually) any deck.
That (virtually) there is important. The book has proven most useful not just with the decks with which I am most familiar, but also those decks that contain the most densely packed imagery.
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Three hundred?!
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Yes on the Wildwood but no on the Oracle. I have close to 300 decks. I am loving the Zirkus Magi (selfie) but haven't used it wi
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I'm not familiar with either of those decks. Maybe I can find a used copy online. Have you looked into The Wildwood Tarot or the
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I love Corinne Kenner's book. I use Tarot for writing a lot (teach a course on it even). A deck that is surprisingly fun for me i
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Thanks for mentioning Dugan's new tarot deck. I will have to see if I can find a copy.
Over at Patheos, Star Foster recently blogged about the paganizing influence of books such as the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. It is a conversation I have had many times, online and in person: do such books really bring people to Paganism (of whatever tradition)? Based on my own completely unscientific survey, I believe the answer is yes. Books like the Percy Jackson series -- and possibly Rowling's Harry Potter, Neil Gaiman's Odd and the Frost Giants, Anne Ursu's The Cronus Chronicles, and others -- do seem to spark an interest in the old Gods and mythologies. Or, perhaps, fan a flame that was already there.
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It seems I have taken you up on your challenge, Rebecca: http://witchesandpagans.com/Pagan-Paths-Blogs/the-man-who-wailed-at-the-s
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@Brian: give it a shot. You might discover you have a talent for writing after all.
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@Amy: thanks for the suggestion. I will add Bird's book to my To Read list.
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Great ideas for books! I would totally use the ideas, I just wish I was a writer!
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Have you tried the 'Circle of Three' series by Isobel Bird? It's pretty good - no 'special effects' and lots of good information.
A few days ago, I got into an interesting discussion with PaganSquare founder Anne about Hellenismos in general and slavery in particular. The discussion focussed on what should and should not be part of Recon practice and slavery, obviously, was one of the things we both thought had no place in it. I realized, though, that not everyone may know what slavery entailed in ancient Greece and the many difference there are between the ancient Greek form of slavery and the modern history version of the same practice.
With that out of the way, indulge me as I paint a picture of slavery in ancient Hellas. First, its prudent to describe the life of ancient Greek slaves, as slaves, too, could acquire rank and even slaves of their own. The word 'slave' wasn't known in ancient Hellas, in fact, the first mention of the word dates back to the seventh century C.E.. A Greek slave was called a doûlos (δούλος), which would translate best as a 'servant' or 'serf'. In ancient Greece, doûlos were the working class. They were teachers, farmers, shop owners, herders, doctors, city militia, cleaners, etc. Because many performed a public service, they had a house of their own as well as a salary. Household serfs were called oikétês (οἰκέτης) and lived in the house of their master who was called a kyrios (κύριος). The female head of the household was charged with teaching--and keeping order amongst--the household serfs.
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Are you familiar with the Theodish practice of "thralldom"? They have essentially taken the ancient practice and turned it into a
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Even before checking out that link, I have to tell you that I literally woke up my girlfriend with my giggling at the use of the w
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Thanks for an interesting post, Elani; the only part I didn't get was the disclaimer in which you disavowed the practice of slaver
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Expect that post coming somewhere this week. I'm still trying to figure out some ground rules for that as well. As for slavery; li