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Stolen Spiritual Symbols - So What?

4/6/2015

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A new book by Peter Knight is my treasured purchase from my recent pilgrimage to Scotland and England. Stolen Images: Pagan Symbolism and Christianity is an exhaustive exploration of symbols from all world religions and how they migrate from one pantheon and spiritual world view to another, emphasizing symbols from ancient pagan religions and how they show up in Christianity.
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  Here is the cover of the book and a photo of the author that I took last summer at the entrance to West Kennet Long Barrow on the night of a full moon. This beautifully produced book is in soft cover with more than 600 color illustrations.
Worldwide Spiritual Symbols

The idea that the cross and the halo, for example, were sacred symbols in religions before Christianity is not new. Similarly, we have heard that the Christian sites for abbeys and cathedrals are on land that has been deemed sacred forever and that most, if not all, of these magnificent buildings are built over the original holy well from antiquity, with cathedral coming after smaller churches, coming after temples built on the exact same site. Peter Knight, however goes into hundreds of symbols that were brought forward from the old religions: doves, labyrinths, the holy trinity, God’s extended hand, to name just a few. Additionally, the Madonna and child, lions, and lambs make sense when we think about older religions contributing symbols to Christianity, but he shows how countless other symbols including eggs, spiders, pelicans, dandelions, and geometric shapes are all a part of our sacred psyche from antiquity, brought forth into Christianity. The images here are of the moon goddesses, Venus of Laussel from 15,00BC and the Virgin Mary standing on a crescent moon from the 1500s.


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Don’t Blame the Christians

It is not only the Christian religion that has stolen images from its predecessors. Peter shows how this works in other wisdom traditions as well. But is this a bad thing? It is a very old sales technique to say, “Oh, yes, I know how important that is [whatever it is} to you and we have one a lot like it, only better.” Conversely, it also makes sense to demonize some precious symbols of old religions so that conversion to the new religion takes solid root. Peter shows how this was done with serpents, dragons, and apples, among other symbols, as Christianity took hold.


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Why is This Important for You?

In his book Peter writes, “Symbols…could be described as visual shorthand, acting as a conduit to unite our outer sensory and inner subconscious worlds.” Symbols grow us – spiritually. If you have a shape, an animal, or an object that is your reminder of the sacred, use it. Deepen with it. Find ways to have it in your environment. Contemplate it and let it work you. Have it on your home altar or find a way to wear it. Love it and let it be a part of your spiritual practice. All real religion is personal; let yours be personally powerful, as well, with the images that you, too borrow from others.


...Summer Solstice Ritual

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Happy Thoughts About the Gender and Identity of God

3/3/2015

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Recently there was a post on social media about a priest who died for a few minutes and experienced God as a loving female presence. It reminded me that most non-traditional spiritual seekers I know, try to let go of the gender issue when approaching the Supreme Being or Source Energy or Love/Intelligence or Great Spirit or Author of the Universe. All these descriptors indicate the potential problem…if we have trouble naming the All Originating Principle of the Universe, how can we get close and intimate with… ah… It?
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Enter Gods, Goddesses, and Archetypes

I think the ancient pantheons had it right. If you have a deity in charge of some specific area of earthly life, a seeker can contact that one in charge of their issue, and have some certainty that they are working with a specialist. I see all the gods and goddesses of antiquity as remembrances of the ultimate, sacred One, with a pathway into Infinity and, also, a pathway into my heart. They are easier for me to work with than trying to connect with the Ultimate Unformed Substance and I like to use the personal pronouns, he, she, him, and her so much better than It.


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Divine Help in the Garden or Elsewhere

At this time of year, my roses are just beginning to send up their beautiful, shiny, infant red leaves. It is the perfect time to invite the great god Pan into my garden to bless the new growth. I also invite Demeter to add her loving energy to the growth and health of all my flowers and shrubs. This year I am having a Garden Wake-up Party. We will sing the garden awake and honor the gods and goddesses of the plant kingdom. The result will be breathtaking, as it is each year. You too can invite any deity or archetype to assist you with any endeavor. Seekers have done it for thousands of years, so there must be something to it.


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Inviting a Deity to Inhabit You

With some practice you can actually ask a god or goddess to inhabit you and live through you. There is a story of a trial in ancient Greece in which a priestess of Aphrodite was accused of impersonating the goddess, a very serious offense. The lawyer, Hyperides, knew that logic could not win the case for himself and his client. In an unconventional defense, he asked his client to disrobe in the witness box; the strategy worked. The jurors became absolutely entranced and declared that the true presence of Aphrodite was the only possible explanation for such beauty. So, how about you? Could you use Athena, for example, in creating a business plan which benefited everyone? Would the skill of Hera heal a rift in your marriage? Could Poseidon help in a sailing expedition, or in teaching a child to swim? Or would your love life improve with Aphrodite expressing through you? All the gods and goddesses of ancient pantheons brought their followers to great depth and faith. They are here for us, too.

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