My Beliefs as a Solitary Eclectic Witch

[SabrinaMBowen]

On this site as well as others I have been asked about my religious beliefs. As most anyone who knows me will tell you I am very firm in my beliefs so please don't take this post as a chance to preach. I do not take well to preaching and will not generally even take the time to read through most posts or messages of that nature. I have, and continue to, study religions of all kinds. I was raised Christian and you have nothing to tell me I haven't heard and studied. So please do not waist your time or mine. However, aside from the preaching, I love religion and find it highly fascinating. I don't expect that anyone share my beliefs nor am I trying to take this time to indoctrinate you. But because of the groups, forums and other people I have come in contact with here I feel it would be beneficial to kind of spell out my beliefs, even if I am the only one who has them.

I am a Solitary, Eclectic Pagan Witch! And I am very proud of that fact. I know there are those of you whom are put off by that title and I'm sorry if you see it as negative, but I do not. I see it as a very positive thing and would shout it from the roof if I could.

But what does that title really mean? What type of beliefs do I actually hold? Well, most of you can grasp the concept that by being Solitary I generally work by myself. I have worked with groups and even in a "couple" but tend to work best alone. While I was working with a local group (now disbanded) I reached the third degree in my studies and was given the title of Priestess. However, I do not generally use this title being that I no longer work with a coven or group.

I have never been handed a book (or found a website) which I was able to say spelled out my beliefs. Many of them hold a general explanation of the majority of my beliefs but none have really hit the nail on the head yet. Although, once my book is published, I will no longer be able to make that claim. My beliefs come from religion in general, and not so much any one path. I believe there is truth to all but that no one human made path is going to have all the answers we are searching for, if there was such a path there would be no need for others. Thus my beliefs tend to be rather all inclusive. So don't be surprised if you see one or more of your own beliefs wrapped up in mine. However, I am a huge fan of truth as well. I know my history (of course not all history) and I use what I feel is common sense. For example, I know the origin of many common day religious traditions and tend not to align them with the belief systems they are currently understood to represent, but the original meanings behind them.

So, that all being said I will do my best to spell out the majority of my personal religious beliefs. While you will notice that a great many tend to align with Wicca, that mostly comes from the fact that the Wiccan religion is the closest thing that I know to the Old Ways in my life. I didn't live 1000 years ago (at least not in this life) and didn't witness how the Priestesses of Isis lived their lives. So I have to use today's Pagan religions as a guide for such things. It is worth noting however that I do not consider myself to be Wiccan, and neither would any Wiccan I know.

Deities

My belief in the Gods is one of these points that is rather all inclusive. In ancient times there was a belief in a Great Goddess (the earth) and a Great God (the sky) who worked together to create the Titans who in turn birthed the Gods... This belief slightly changes from Ancient land to Ancient land, but in general there was believed to be a Great God & Goddess and through them all things, including the Gods, came to be. I share this belief.

I see a Great Goddess and Great God as the "parents" of all. Together they created the earth, the universe and all other similar life systems (galaxies, stars, etc.) I also see them as the parents of the Gods themselves. Most Pantheons have their King and Queen of the Gods and those Gods have siblings... I believe these are the children of the Great God & Goddess. And their children are in turn the grandchildren to the Great God & Goddess. Thus forming a Hierarchy of Gods in the Universe, consisting of the Great God & Goddess (creators & ultimate power) and their children & grandchildren (lesser/local gods)

Each Ancient civilization had their own Pantheon, ruled over by the "lesser" gods. These "lesser" gods are of a local nature, watching and caring for their "assigned" land and peoples of the Ancient world. The Greeks, Assyrians, Romans, Egyptians, Aztecs and so on, were each ruled over by their specific Pantheon of real, living and completely separate Gods & Goddesses from the other neighboring peoples. The Gods ruled over and aided their people in all aspects of life & death.

But how does this translate in to today's world? Well, very simply, when the Israelites were captured and taken to live in Egypt, their God was still their God. When Persia conquered Rome and had children with their women, the children were in many cases taught a duel religion. They would have been taught to honer the gods of both their mother and their father.

Today, we are all mixed. Jumbled together like stones in the bottom of a fishbowl. My own heritage is what I like to call a colleague. I am Irish, Scottish, Italian, German, Welsh, Polish and probably other things as well. The Gods of my forefathers continue to watch over me. They don't give up on me simply because I don't live on their sand any more. And I am an American. I live in Pennsylvania. There are Gods here as well. Although in today's society people aren't generally looking for them, there are "lesser" or "local" gods attached to this land as well.

In fact there are countless Gods & Goddesses. As the need grows for a new, a new one is born. That's the beauty of the Gods. There is never a time when you are without them and their guidance. Athena was known as the Patroness Goddess of Athens. Today, most cities have not been named for their Patron God, but that doesn't mean that they aren't there. You simply have to know where to look for them!

Generally, I see the Lesser Gods as guides. They rule over their people, their land and their domains (hunting, love, birth, etc) and tend not to step on the toes of others. However, the Great God & Goddess are the ones that I generally will honor. I see them as the ultimate power in the universe, nameless and pure. However I do not believe them to be infallible. They are pure, but pure is not perfect. Life, by it's very nature is imperfect - thus so are the powers behind it.

I do from time to time work with other, lesser gods, and I honor them at different points in the year as they are the guiding force behind all we know, and should be honored as such.

Otherworldly Beings (non-gods)

But what about other things, spirits, ghosts, "monsters" and the like? What are my beliefs there and how do they translate in to my life?

Well, I see them all as probable if not definite. My belief is that we are conscious on just one plain of existence. And that generally we are only present at all on about 5 - Physical, Etheric, Astral, Mental & Spiritual... However, each of these plains of existence have their own rules, their own limitations and their own life forms. Much as our physical plain has animals, plants, and mineral life, so do these, although because they are held under different "physical" rules their bodies and lives are much different from ours.

Sometimes you will hear me call these other plains, dimensions. I honestly don't see much of a difference in the terminology. The point is that they are non-physical worlds of existence, or at least not physical in the way we are used to. And while many of the creatures from these worlds CAN take a physical form, they are generally not suited to live here with us for one reason or another. But that doesn't mean they don't exist. Unicorns, Gorgons, Dragons, Hydra... All what we normally consider to be "mythological monsters." They are however, very real to those who have faced them and lived... While it's rare, it does happen that these creatures find their way here, to our world. And generally we will see them in the tabloids and only those who actually saw them ever believe they were even here.

I don't have enough room here to talk about all the creatures here on earth. However, through some minor research it is usually possible to discover that creatures such as mermaids, fairies, giant squids & octopus are more than mythological and are physically here in the flesh. I'll cover that in a later post though.

Ghosts on the other hand, I do have answers about. I have done some work with a local paranormal society and have done a good amount of study on the subject. Now, I myself, am not dead. And therefore can not tell you with 100% certainty what happens after death, no one can. However, I can tell you why I believe and what I have found to be true.

When a person dies, their spirit, the ethereal part of our being, become separated from the body. This is a belief most (not all but most) religions share. However, that tends to be where the similarity ends. I personally believe your after life and this life are at least minority tied together. It's this tie that produces Ghosts.

There are two stages of ghosts. The first generally are here for but a few moments or at most a few days. This first type of ghost simply don't know they are dead yet. They will go about doing the things they did in life until they understand they aren't actually alive. Once they gain this understanding they can move on to the Underworld and eventually to a new physical life.

The second type of ghost is those who know they are dead, and for what ever reason choose to remain here. Usually this takes a great will or great emotional tie to this world - love, anger, hate, fear... It is these second types which tend to effect the lives of people and cause them to call in investigators or psychics.

There is in fact a third type of haunting which I do want to mention simply because we are talking ghosts. Many "hauntings" are not ghosts, but ethereal replays. When energy is built up in a place with no outlet for it, we will see things like people walking, or hear them cooking or what ever, but these aren't actually ghosts. Simply like an old film playing over and over... And these can usually be disbanded by a good cleansing on an ethereal level.

Once a spirit has the understanding that it's dead, it will generally move on. But to where? I like the word Underworld, and I use it to describe the place that these spirits go to. But please don't think of this as an equal to the Christian Hell. The Underworld, or Hades, is simply where all spirits go after death. Hades hase three levels, or three rings. The first is a place close to us here. For those who have recently died, but who have family or loved ones to watch over and protect this is were they stay. It gives them access to the physical plane. From there they can watch over and protect the living.

The other group that is here are those who have for whatever reason those who were unable to complete their "lessons" in life or who simply chose not to. For these spirits they will remain in this outer ring until their lessons are learned or their jobs are complete...

The second ring is for those who no longer have ties to this world. Those who are awaiting reincarnation. From here they will travel back to our world in the form of a new person, with new lessons to learn and new jobs to complete.

The third and final ring is the most inner. It's what would be equal to the Christian Heaven... This is Summerland, the Elysian fields or whatever other name you have for it. For those spirits who have no more lessons to learn, who have "graduated" from life... This is a place of pure beauty where the spirits can live in peace and paradise. Many believe that at this point we are one with the universe. I don't completely believe this but don't completely disagree either... I guess we will have to see...

Religion

I do want to touch on the idea of religion, because many people feel that their religious title has to dictate their beliefs or their relationship with the Gods... To these people I say Poppycock! Religion, is 100% man made. It's a set of rules and regulations laid down by MEN (although occasionally by their local "lesser" Gods) to control believers... I don't follow any one religious path. I see them all as right and them all as wrong. I don't believe that any imperfect mortal could possibly have all the answer of the universe. But I don't believe they all got it all wrong either.

Because of my belief in lesser local gods I believe that each religion was formed around the needs or wants of those local deities. Athena for example, required that her priestesses were virginal, while other gods did not. Does that mean that the priestesses of Athena were wrong? No, they were devoted to Athena, and so adhered to her rules. But to demand that followers of other gods be their equal is where organized religion has it's faults.

This is why I am eclectic. My beliefs are not dictated to me by some all knowing religious text or religious ruler. I believe a connection to the Gods themselves is much more important. I find that connection through my practice and make my beliefs a part of every day life. Meditation, Prayer, Magic, High Ritual, and simply nature conservation all work as a part of my life, my daily connection to the Divine... To me, actions are more important than memorized script or myths.

Karma and the Like

Because I mentioned actions I also want to briefly cover my beliefs about Karma. The belief in the Law Of Attraction has become very popular in the last few years. This is NOT a new belief and in fact dates back to the beginning of written record and most likely further. This law simply states that all energy put out will return. Wicca teaches the Three Fold Law. Which is simply the idea that everything we do returns thrice. And of course we a all know the Indian belief in Karma which teaches that our actions will return to us.

I believe these three teachings are in fact one and the same. When we focus our energy on an action, or thought we are sending our energy. This energy affects the world around us, even if we don't see it. Once we act on things we are actually sending out energy of three kinds. First, the focused energy during the planning stage. This must return to us. And it is this stage which the Law of Attraction is founded on. The return of the energy we put out when physically (emotionally or spiritually) taking part in the action - or carrying it out. This is energy must also return to us. And this is the stage which the Three Fold Law is based on. And finally, how do our actions affect others. Their energy, whether conscious or not, will also be aimed at us. And it is this level that the idea of Karma is based upon. Only when all three work together do we see the full picture. This is why we must be mindful, not only of our actions, but of our thoughts and emotions, for they all effect our world in one way or many...

While this doesn't cover all of my beliefs, it does generally explain my major belief systems. I'm hoping by posting this and future posts that I can help others to understand my views and encourage others to follow thier own hearts, rather than believe out of comitment or fear.

[faithnlove99]

Apr. 8, 2010 at 6:32 PM

hmm interesting ill give u that.I dont agree but. dont need to rt? lol Glad u found something ur into tho.thanks for sharing

[palexander]

Apr. 8, 2010 at 10:38 PM

I am not sure you are the only one who believes this way. As you know I am STILL finding my path. I believe almost exactly like you do. But then I am a Wiccan Witch.I ride my vaccum every where I go. What do you ride?LOL

 

[NoniMomi]

Apr. 12, 2010 at 1:21 PM

For what is is worth...I thought this was VERY nicely worded. 

[momofthree17]

Jun. 17, 2010 at 2:13 PM

I just wanted to say thank you for this post and all your others. I am just starting my path and I am also finding that I do not fit into one catogory. I also find that all the religions that I have studied so far has one common theme to do to others as you would have done to you.  I  finding that I am more like wicca, pagan, and some native american all wrapped up into one.  I beleive that we all should be nice to others no matter who they are or what they beleive in because that doens't mean they are a bad person. As long as they are nice to me I don't care who you are.  I try really hard not to judge anyone because I don't want to be judged myself. I beleive alot of the same way you do and because of that you have let me realize that it is okay to be different as long as I am okay with that and I thank you for that.  I don't feel like I am crazy anymore for having my own path in life.  I also have had to deal with depresson all my life and it is because I was tring to be what everyone else wanted me to be.  I will be 40 in August and have decided it is time to live life my way and what works best for me. Because if I m happy then my whole family can be happy.

Annette