In the pagan community, one often hears about "cultural appropriation" and how terrible it is. As a pagan myself, and having heard the numerous terrible things about people appropriating Native American culture and practices, and misrepresenting tribal culture and tradition, it's no wonder that cultural appropriation has such a bad name.
What does this mean for those of us who practice magic of a Jewish flavor, like Kaballah? For those of us who are not Jewish, who do not even have Jewish family or anything rooting us to it by blood or marriage, what business do we have using Kabballah? What business do we have speaking the god names, and working within a magical mythos that we have no ties to, other than practice? What does this mean for me as someone who identifies as pagan? I'm basically someone who has taken old gods of the Egyptians, the people who enslaved and killed Jews according to the Torah. How do I even reconcile the fact that I work with Egyptian gods, and yet work in Kabbalah, a system which I have appropriated from a culture that I'm not even a part of.
People who work in Kabbalah, and who are not of Jewish blood, are guilty of cultural appropriation. The question becomes, does that make it wrong? To answer that, we have to look at why cultural appropriation has been a problem in the past. To look at a more modern example, lets look again to the Native Americans. There are plenty of New Agers who have no idea what they're doing, who have no training, who try to run sweat lodges, and end up killing people who thought that they were some kind of leader. Great example, and a recent one. The person who ran the sweat lodge, appropriated native practices to fit his agenda- making money off of the gullible who thought he was some kind of guru. Then there are other people who claim to be shaman of a native flavor, without understanding what that actually means, and without having ties to any actual native shamanic tradition outside of the "new age" phenomenon. It appears that this mostly becomes a problem when dealing with people who claim to be a leader, a spiritual authority in an area that they have no business with.
There's a reason why cultural appropriation is so common right now. There's a reason why people are turning left and right to different religions and cultures to find identity. At least here in America, we don't have a culture. We don't have a mythos or framework we can turn to. Even our bedtime stories, our fairy tales, all come from a continent away. Cultural appropriation becomes a problem because we have no culture without adopting from another. The problem isn't so much cultural appropriation, but the con men who make a living off of it: the people who both exploit and discredit the cultures they are taking from. There will always be con men though, and there will always be people to fall for their cons.
Western magical practice is not exempt from this. How much "knowledge" was supposedly taken from Tibet, according to magical history writings in the early to mid 1900s? How much do Hermetic groups claim their lineages back to ancient Egypt, when it is likely not true? Western magic is rife with appropriation!
Now we're back to the question though: Is cultural appropriation wrong? I think the answer is no. Cultural "exploitation" is wrong, but the appropriation in and of itself is not. Appropriation isn't something that is going to stop, and is a big part of how we learn and grow. The thing we have to do as responsible mages, is we have to check ourselves. Do we have the authority to do what we're doing? Is something you're doing damaging to others who you may have taken ideas from? We also have to put our foot down when we see con men and women in our communities. If these people have less of a chance of flying under the radar, we will have done more to help the magical communities we know and love, as well as prevent others from becoming victims.
The exploratory writings and magical experiences of a Hermetic Egypto-Pagan.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Books!
There's one thing a lot of people seem to dread getting for Christmas: gift cards.
I'm not one of those people. So when I unwrapped the box that contained my $50 gift card to Powells from Erelin; it was with a squeal of delight.
After scarfing down our burgers from Carl's, we headed out last night to the book store. In case you aren't familiar with Powells Books, and you consider yourself a bibliophile... It's safe to say you've probably never had your bookstore cherry popped, and should consider yourself still a virgin. Its the biggest book store on the west coast, if not in the world. It's a building the size of a city block stacked several stories high, and it's full of books. They have a huge selection of everything you could think of, including a rare book room, where I've seen old grimoires going for thousands of dollars, tucked away behind a heavy door.
I only had $50 however, so I made do with wandering between the metaphysical section and books on painting. I started with checking the carts off to the side of the shelves. As I was looking through them, Erelin spotted something I'd missed: a small hardbound copy of the Kybalion. It's missing its dust jacket, but it's in excellent condition. I never would have guessed that I was holding a book that was over 100 years old. I netted it for $10. Upon further inspection, it contained a card inside showing that it was once the property of a Masonic lodge in Chicago. It also has a name inside, with an address and a date. (Wilma C.Light 1116 Fteley Ave Sep. 1928) I love it when my books have a bit of history :)
I proceeded to find other things which were interesting, but not near as old. I'm now the happy owner of
The Kybalion, Hermetic Philosophy by the Three Initiates
The Astral Plane by C. W. Leadbeater
The Kabbalah Unveiled by Macgreggor Mathers
An obscure little tarot pamphlet by Diane Ronngren, which apparently originally came with a tape set. (I'll be checking if I can find a copy of the tape contents on Mp3 or CD)
And I also picked up Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter by James Gurney
All in all, it was a great evening, with a great haul! Good thing I'm getting another bookcase soon :D
I'm not one of those people. So when I unwrapped the box that contained my $50 gift card to Powells from Erelin; it was with a squeal of delight.
After scarfing down our burgers from Carl's, we headed out last night to the book store. In case you aren't familiar with Powells Books, and you consider yourself a bibliophile... It's safe to say you've probably never had your bookstore cherry popped, and should consider yourself still a virgin. Its the biggest book store on the west coast, if not in the world. It's a building the size of a city block stacked several stories high, and it's full of books. They have a huge selection of everything you could think of, including a rare book room, where I've seen old grimoires going for thousands of dollars, tucked away behind a heavy door.
I only had $50 however, so I made do with wandering between the metaphysical section and books on painting. I started with checking the carts off to the side of the shelves. As I was looking through them, Erelin spotted something I'd missed: a small hardbound copy of the Kybalion. It's missing its dust jacket, but it's in excellent condition. I never would have guessed that I was holding a book that was over 100 years old. I netted it for $10. Upon further inspection, it contained a card inside showing that it was once the property of a Masonic lodge in Chicago. It also has a name inside, with an address and a date. (Wilma C.Light 1116 Fteley Ave Sep. 1928) I love it when my books have a bit of history :)
I proceeded to find other things which were interesting, but not near as old. I'm now the happy owner of
The Kybalion, Hermetic Philosophy by the Three Initiates
The Astral Plane by C. W. Leadbeater
The Kabbalah Unveiled by Macgreggor Mathers
An obscure little tarot pamphlet by Diane Ronngren, which apparently originally came with a tape set. (I'll be checking if I can find a copy of the tape contents on Mp3 or CD)
And I also picked up Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter by James Gurney
All in all, it was a great evening, with a great haul! Good thing I'm getting another bookcase soon :D
Friday, December 31, 2010
Goodbye 2010
2011 is just around the corner, and in the last couple of weeks, some significant things have happened. Most of the year, was full of drama, financial problems, heart wrenching moments. These recent things however are good. I have a job again. It's a job that was willing to take me back after I hadn't worked there for a year and a half, and a job that went from being just holiday work, to actual lasting employment. I'm discovering how wonderful it is to have a job that actually cares about me again, and treats me like a human being. It'll pay rent, and take care of my basic needs, and won't overwhelm me with stress. Great, that's all I really need. I live pretty simply. I've got my studio apartment downtown that I share with the one I love, and my lizard.
I worked for a few months to try to find work, but when Mercury retrograde hit, things went pretty still. No matter how many rites I worked, or talismans I charged, work was slow in coming. I was still able to find gigs here and there that made ends meet (I tend to be very resourceful with finding one time jobs) and that's what saved us.
I won't really miss 2010. It was a year of struggles; fighting to keep my head, and my boyfriend's head above water. Things went awry left and right, and trust I had in certain people close to me was shattered beyond repair.
I've got plans for 2011. I've got things I'm going to fight for. I'm determined to make it a better year.
I worked for a few months to try to find work, but when Mercury retrograde hit, things went pretty still. No matter how many rites I worked, or talismans I charged, work was slow in coming. I was still able to find gigs here and there that made ends meet (I tend to be very resourceful with finding one time jobs) and that's what saved us.
I won't really miss 2010. It was a year of struggles; fighting to keep my head, and my boyfriend's head above water. Things went awry left and right, and trust I had in certain people close to me was shattered beyond repair.
I've got plans for 2011. I've got things I'm going to fight for. I'm determined to make it a better year.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Offerings
You may remember when I started trying to work with Sekhmet. It was pointed out to me that one of the reasons why she may not have responded right away, was the quality of my offering. It wasn't something I had really considered before. With Anubis, he's practically right there when I call. But Erelin pointed out to me that an offering is meant to be something you put effort into getting for the spirit. I don't drink, so dipping into a rum bottle that had been sitting around forever, and pouring some for Sekhmet, isn't actually that great of an offering, considering I just walked into the kitchen to get it. It wasn't special, it was just something I had around.
With that in mind, I went the extra mile with getting the supplies for the offering to the Spirits of Venus. (and I'll do better for Sekhemet and go to some trouble to get something good for her next time I call) After a long day at work, instead of going home, I went to the nearest store for the herbs I needed for the incense offering, and selected the best looking red candle in the store. With that done, I hopped on the train home.
After getting home, I ate dinner, and made sure I was refreshed, I set up my altar, called the spirits, expressed my sincere apology to them, and made the offering. I lit the candle first. Then I lit the incense. The charcoal didn't want to light at first, but soon the wonderful smells of saffron, rose hips, and myrrh were coming from the censer. I don't think I'll ever use stick incense again. There is no comparison.
The entire candle was gone within an hour or two. By gone, I mean gone. The wax evaporated, leaving only a dime-sized bit of wax with a bit of burnt wick in it. I've never seen such a clean burn, and can only believe that the spirits accepted my offering. I felt the presence again, but this time it was much more subtle.
So what have I learned from all of this? It's that offerings are indeed meant to have some effort put into them. Something you had "laying around" isn't the same as going out and getting something special. When you call a spirit, you are knocking on their door. When they open their door, do you really want to be the one standing there with something you had sitting around and didn't, need? Do you really think they're going to want to take whatever it was that you had sitting around? If they do, it'll be halfheartedly. If you go out and get someone a gift, the response is much different!
An offering is a gift. It shows you care enough to go out and get something nice. This is especially important when you do the equivalent of knocking on a stranger's door, and tell them to keep their damn kids off your lawn, except they don't have any kids... well it sounded good in my head anyway.
Next time I knock on Sekhmet's door, or any other entity I'm trying to build a relationship with, I'll be sure to be there with something new, and worth putting a bow on.
With that in mind, I went the extra mile with getting the supplies for the offering to the Spirits of Venus. (and I'll do better for Sekhemet and go to some trouble to get something good for her next time I call) After a long day at work, instead of going home, I went to the nearest store for the herbs I needed for the incense offering, and selected the best looking red candle in the store. With that done, I hopped on the train home.
After getting home, I ate dinner, and made sure I was refreshed, I set up my altar, called the spirits, expressed my sincere apology to them, and made the offering. I lit the candle first. Then I lit the incense. The charcoal didn't want to light at first, but soon the wonderful smells of saffron, rose hips, and myrrh were coming from the censer. I don't think I'll ever use stick incense again. There is no comparison.
The entire candle was gone within an hour or two. By gone, I mean gone. The wax evaporated, leaving only a dime-sized bit of wax with a bit of burnt wick in it. I've never seen such a clean burn, and can only believe that the spirits accepted my offering. I felt the presence again, but this time it was much more subtle.
So what have I learned from all of this? It's that offerings are indeed meant to have some effort put into them. Something you had "laying around" isn't the same as going out and getting something special. When you call a spirit, you are knocking on their door. When they open their door, do you really want to be the one standing there with something you had sitting around and didn't, need? Do you really think they're going to want to take whatever it was that you had sitting around? If they do, it'll be halfheartedly. If you go out and get someone a gift, the response is much different!
An offering is a gift. It shows you care enough to go out and get something nice. This is especially important when you do the equivalent of knocking on a stranger's door, and tell them to keep their damn kids off your lawn, except they don't have any kids... well it sounded good in my head anyway.
Next time I knock on Sekhmet's door, or any other entity I'm trying to build a relationship with, I'll be sure to be there with something new, and worth putting a bow on.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Sometimes dreams are just dreams
When people start studying magic, one thing I see a lot is that people seem to get this idea in their head that every dream they have MUST be interpreted, because it obviously has some significant magical message, or is otherwise important.
My dreams are crazy. They're bright, loud, vibrant, and have a level of super-realism that challenges me to figure out I'm dreaming even when I'm semi-lucid. Yes, some of them are communications with Anubis, or premonitions of people I will meet, or situations I will be put into shortly.
If I took the bulk of my dreams even remotely literally, or to be more than just crazy brain-narratives from an eccentric mind, I'd have some serious issues though.
I am not capable of flight, I do not have wings. I am not a shapeshifter, or a non-human entity. (shamanic shape shifting doesn't count) I have not disemboweled demon dogs with my hands, nor will I ever meet the gargoyles from the Gargoyles tv show. I am not a chosen "anything" and any narrative where I am the center of some great destiny is just because I am the center of my personal universe. I have never been to Narnia, nor will I ever. The same goes for the Harry Potter universe, or the dream I had last night where Russia invaded California. It was incredibly vivid. Russia had suddenly devoured a portion of northern California, and that suddenly made Oregon into California. It made no sense. It was a nonsense narrative. They happen. Get over it.
No matter what your dreams tell you, you are not a special snowflake meant to save the world, or whatever. You are not the "chosen one" of some great destiny, and believing that you just need to wait for the "next step" to be revealed in your dreams to achieve greatness, is folly. Get up, live your life. Don't wait for your dreams to tell you what to do. If you have some options in front of you, but you aren't sure which one would be best, do a reading. Dust off those runes or tarot cards and get to work! Life, magic, it's all work. The trick of the magician to is to turn it into the Great Work. To do that, you can't sit and wait, you have to act. You have to do more than just dream. You have to do.
My dreams are crazy. They're bright, loud, vibrant, and have a level of super-realism that challenges me to figure out I'm dreaming even when I'm semi-lucid. Yes, some of them are communications with Anubis, or premonitions of people I will meet, or situations I will be put into shortly.
If I took the bulk of my dreams even remotely literally, or to be more than just crazy brain-narratives from an eccentric mind, I'd have some serious issues though.
I am not capable of flight, I do not have wings. I am not a shapeshifter, or a non-human entity. (shamanic shape shifting doesn't count) I have not disemboweled demon dogs with my hands, nor will I ever meet the gargoyles from the Gargoyles tv show. I am not a chosen "anything" and any narrative where I am the center of some great destiny is just because I am the center of my personal universe. I have never been to Narnia, nor will I ever. The same goes for the Harry Potter universe, or the dream I had last night where Russia invaded California. It was incredibly vivid. Russia had suddenly devoured a portion of northern California, and that suddenly made Oregon into California. It made no sense. It was a nonsense narrative. They happen. Get over it.
No matter what your dreams tell you, you are not a special snowflake meant to save the world, or whatever. You are not the "chosen one" of some great destiny, and believing that you just need to wait for the "next step" to be revealed in your dreams to achieve greatness, is folly. Get up, live your life. Don't wait for your dreams to tell you what to do. If you have some options in front of you, but you aren't sure which one would be best, do a reading. Dust off those runes or tarot cards and get to work! Life, magic, it's all work. The trick of the magician to is to turn it into the Great Work. To do that, you can't sit and wait, you have to act. You have to do more than just dream. You have to do.
An apology in the making, and other news
After discussing the previous working and experiences with a friend, it became clear that I had wronged the "Spirits of Venus" and owed them an apology, as the source of my issues stemmed from somewhere else entirely. As I found myself suddenly being overwhelmed by mundane things like working 10 hour days, I had been unable to collect the appropriate materials for an offering of incense. I did however purchase a large red candle to burn as a sort of two-pronged offering, and will be getting what I need for the incense in the next few days.
I found myself with the time and energy this evening to approach the "spirits" again, this time with a sincere heart-felt apology, and the candle offering. When I called and tried to light the candle, interestingly enough it didn't light at first. The flame flickered on the wick, and died, which I had never experienced before. This could also just be a product of whatever material the wick was made out of, and have absolutely nothing to do with a magical occurrence, but is interesting to note regardless.
Once the candle was lit, the flame danced merrily, and I had no further issues. Considering the size of the candle, and the late hour, I placed the candle inside of a metal can that I had used for storing some of my art supplies, and placed that in the bathtub, to be sure that I wouldn't light anything else on fire.
My communication with the spirits was again limited to feelings, and sensations, but this time the experiences were positive. The energy felt warm and welcoming, not like a hot fire, but more like the feeling of relaxing in front of a warm fire in the middle of winter, being embraced by a good friend, or holding an armful of warm laundry fresh from the dryer. It was relaxing, it was friendly, and I understand now more than ever how wrong I was to accuse the spirits of this sphere for my problems.
I will be making an offering of incense as soon as I am able, and I hope that in the future I will have a good working relationship with the spirit or spirits that I wrongly accused previously.
In other news, the neighbor had been trying to get in touch with me again to borrow my book on runes. I also had some time to do that, after I got home from a nice Christmas dinner with friends. That led to us both pouring over the book a bit in his apartment, and trying to come up with a couple of bind runes to incorporate into talismans, since he liked the idea, but was lacking ideas on how to combine certain runes aesthetically. I came up with a couple of ideas which he seemed to like, and he's going to be studying my book to learn more, and create other designs for future use.
It looks like I may have met another magician in the building, or at least someone interested in the Magical Arts. Depending on how far he decides to take things, I might have someone living downstairs to talk shop with, as well as share art supplies with. At the very least, I've got a new friend :) and that's really what matters.
I found myself with the time and energy this evening to approach the "spirits" again, this time with a sincere heart-felt apology, and the candle offering. When I called and tried to light the candle, interestingly enough it didn't light at first. The flame flickered on the wick, and died, which I had never experienced before. This could also just be a product of whatever material the wick was made out of, and have absolutely nothing to do with a magical occurrence, but is interesting to note regardless.
Once the candle was lit, the flame danced merrily, and I had no further issues. Considering the size of the candle, and the late hour, I placed the candle inside of a metal can that I had used for storing some of my art supplies, and placed that in the bathtub, to be sure that I wouldn't light anything else on fire.
My communication with the spirits was again limited to feelings, and sensations, but this time the experiences were positive. The energy felt warm and welcoming, not like a hot fire, but more like the feeling of relaxing in front of a warm fire in the middle of winter, being embraced by a good friend, or holding an armful of warm laundry fresh from the dryer. It was relaxing, it was friendly, and I understand now more than ever how wrong I was to accuse the spirits of this sphere for my problems.
I will be making an offering of incense as soon as I am able, and I hope that in the future I will have a good working relationship with the spirit or spirits that I wrongly accused previously.
In other news, the neighbor had been trying to get in touch with me again to borrow my book on runes. I also had some time to do that, after I got home from a nice Christmas dinner with friends. That led to us both pouring over the book a bit in his apartment, and trying to come up with a couple of bind runes to incorporate into talismans, since he liked the idea, but was lacking ideas on how to combine certain runes aesthetically. I came up with a couple of ideas which he seemed to like, and he's going to be studying my book to learn more, and create other designs for future use.
It looks like I may have met another magician in the building, or at least someone interested in the Magical Arts. Depending on how far he decides to take things, I might have someone living downstairs to talk shop with, as well as share art supplies with. At the very least, I've got a new friend :) and that's really what matters.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Lunar Eclipse
I sadly was unable to see the eclipse in my area, due to cloud cover. I did however do some deep contemplation and devoted some of my time to helping a newcomer to my apartment complex, and cleaned out some of my own apartment clutter as well!
It was a good feeling to be able to help him and myself. While I am unsure of his magicical involvement, he asked to borrow a book of mine so he could make a runic talisman for a friend as a Christmas gift. It was nice being able to help out and hopefully we'll become good friends.
It was a good feeling to be able to help him and myself. While I am unsure of his magicical involvement, he asked to borrow a book of mine so he could make a runic talisman for a friend as a Christmas gift. It was nice being able to help out and hopefully we'll become good friends.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)