Alternative Religions Blog

"The concepts "To Dare, to Know, to Will and to Be Silent"1 are spoken of amongst modern Pagans (especially Wiccans who participate in coven activates). It is said that these concepts, especially to "be silent", were constructed during the "dark ages" to protect the coven members from persecution. This theory relies on the belief that Wicca is an ancient religion and not one that started in the 1950's popularized by Gerald Gardner. I have discovered that the philosophy "to be silent" is much older and was originally taught for different reasons."

Link to Gnostic Mystica Essay

The Dweller of the Threshold

The Voice of the Silence

Today is the feast Day of the Santeria/Yoruban Orisha Oshun, ruler of the 'sweet' waters and a goddess of love and passion. You can read more about the Yoruban pantheon here: The Seven African Powers, or about the Santeria Religion.

According to a recent article in the UK Telegraph, an academic study undertaken at the University of Derbyfound that 50,000 women a year (over one million women since 1989) are fleeing Christian churches to find fulfillment in Wicca and other Neopagan faiths. The report, authored by sociologist Kristin Aune, claims that positive portrayals of Paganism in pop culture are leading women to seek out these female-centric faiths. Interestingly enough, the main impetus behind this exodus appears to be rooted in dissatisfaction with mainstream religion's attitudes toward "women's issues" such as sexuality, single-parent families, and work. While I'm inclined to dismiss the relevance of television -my take is that it's more of a reflection of changing attitudes than a motivating influence- this is looking to be much less a brief flirtation with "otherness" than a complete cultural shift.

In honor of the birthday of the Theosophical Society, founded by H. P. Blavatsky and Henry Steele Olcott, 1875:

What is Theosophy?

There were Theosophists before the Christian era, notwithstanding that the Christian writers ascribe the development of the Eclectic theosophical system to the early part of the third century of their Era. Diogenes Laertius traces Theosophy to an epoch antedating the dynasty of the Ptolemies; and names as its founder an Egyptian Hierophant called Pot-Amun, the name being Coptic and signifying a priest consecrated to Amun, the god of Wisdom. But history shows it revived by Ammonius Saccas, the founder of the Neo-Platonic School. It was the aim and purpose of Ammonius to reconcile all sects, peoples and nations under one common faith -- a belief in one Supreme Eternal, Unknown, and Unnamed Power, governing the Universe by immutable and eternal laws. His object was to prove a primitive system of Theosophy, which at the beginning was essentially alike in all countries; to induce all men to lay aside their strifes and quarrels, and unite in purpose and thought as the children of one common mother; to purify the ancient religions, by degrees corrupted and obscured, from all dross of human element, by uniting and expounding them upon pure philosophical principles.

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"I have discovered the secrets of the pyramids, and have found out how the Egyptians and the ancient builders in Peru, Yucatan, and Asia, with only primitive tools, raised and set in place blocks of stone weighing many tons!"

So declared Edward Leedskalnin, a Latvian eccentric, who concocted a method of single-handedly erecting massive quarried stone resulting in the enigma that is Coral Castle. .

Link

What Is Occultism?

This question we may very well ask if we intend to devote time and trouble to its pursuit. Are we to content ourselves with tales of haunted houses, accounts of telepathy among primitive peoples, and research into the esoteric literature of the past? These things certainly have their value; all available occult phenomena should be carefully investigated, not only for the sake of obtaining knowledge, but also for the sake of unmasking charlatans; and the results obtained by investigators in the past are of the greatest value for counter-checking the results we are obtaining at the present day.

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I get fairly frequent emails in response to my inclusion of Freemasonry on a site about religion. The usual comment is that Freemasonry is not a religion, which is a valid grievance, I suppose- but then, there is no category for "spiritual but not religious." Freemasonry, while not espousing any particular dogma, does espouse some doctrines that are clearly religious or spiritual in nature, and much of the symbolism employed in Masonic ritual is drawn from religious sources. A few nights ago I was invited to discuss these questions and more with the folks over at Masonic Central. I'd meant to mention this before the show aired, but it would seem the internet was malfunctioning that day. In any case, if you like you can listen to the podcast here.

Today is the feast day of the Finnish Ilmatar, Goddess of air and creatrix, mother of the Hero Väinämöinen. The story of Ilmatar is related in the epic Kalevala.

Zoroastrianism is the world's oldest 'revealed' religion. A profound influence on Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, it was the first to teach a monotheistic faith of one God of light, Ahura Mazda.

The founder of the religion, the prophet Zarathustra (Zoroaster), preached a doctrine of Light overcoming darkness, the free will of man to choose either the light path or the dark path, and the presence of a divine system of law. The opposer of Ahura Mazda, the evil spirit Angra Mainyu, is often viewed as the predecessor of Satan as the enemy of God. Zoroastrianism was also the first to teach a messiah figure, called the Sayoshant, who is to be born of a virgin- a savior who will raise the dead and bring judgment to sinners. Ahura Mazda manifests to believers within sacred fire- traces of Zoroastrian mythology can be found in the Old Testament story of the burning bush, where God appears to the prophet Moses as a flame)

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