Please read this (especially newcomers!) This article was borrowed from a writer on WitchVox.com
No Fooling: Why Humor Is Dangerous

Credit Goes to : Author: Dak
Posted: December 31st. 2006


As spoken by Meerschaum, Serious Scholar:

Why did you choose a Pagan path? Did you have a philosophical disagreement with your previous faith’s hierarchy over a political or moral issue? Were you seeking a way to become closer to nature? Perhaps you never felt a strong connection with the faith of your family, if your family even practiced one. It also could have been a desire to have more structure and ritual in your worship . . . or less, for that matter.

However you came to call yourself a Pagan, and whatever your reasons are for embracing a Pagan path, I must caution you, gentle reader, to avoid the greatest peril that hovers at the edge of our ritual circles: I speak, of course, of the Fool.

Known to many as Card Zero in the Major Arcana of traditional tarot decks, this character managed to get a so-called holiday named after himself during the Middle Ages. Blithely surging forward without any concern for consequences, the Fool creates and augments chaos wherever his feet do lead him, and I assure you that those feet are extremely random in their leadership.

Is your interest piqued? Are you at all curious why I see such danger in this seemingly innocuous being? Let me give you some background on Foolishness, and perhaps it will become clear why I bid you avert the Fool.

In the tarot, the Fool represents naïve choices, a disregard for planning, embracing change for change’s sake, and a general disdain for all things serious and adult-like. He skips gaily ahead, heedless of the dangers represented by the cliff before him, and likewise ignoring the dog that so desperately seeks to pull him back to his proper path of Seriousness and Order. In his colorful garb he is an affront to the proper adult approach to life, as was handed down by the wise sage Greyface in 1166 BCE.

It is no surprise that the Fool managed to insinuate himself into the tarot, for during the Middle Ages and before he cropped up continually, and was even rather well regarded! The Roman feast of Saturnalia permitted the Saturnalicius princeps (or Lord of Misrule) to rule for a day, and they also celebrated Hilaria with all manner of silliness.

The British town of Gotham was reputed to be packed to the gills with Fools that engaged in such activities as fish-drowning. True, it is said that the bizarre behavior of the townsfolk was a farce, intended to discourage the King from entering their home (and, by doing so, claiming the very road beneath him as his property), but the behavior of the Gothamites is held in disturbingly high regard by the emotionally immature of the scholarly community.

I can see you shaking your head as you read this (mostly because I am a clairvoyant prophet) and ask yourself, “But don’t we Pagans admire humor in our religion?” Yes, and that shall be our downfall; this is the very essence of the alarm that I desire to raise! One cannot properly honor the Gods if one is laughing; if they wished us to have fun in Their presence we would be holding rituals at a comedy club! Remember, gentle reader, that it is from our knees that we best pray!

Consider that self-described religion disguised as a joke, Discordianism. This order-resisting movement claims links to Paganism, but simultaneously disproves those claims by relying heavily on a revealed text, the Principia Discordia.

This book directs its followers to upset the apple cart of good, clean Order; they are directed to declare themselves Pope, worship their own pineal gland, deify fictional characters, and assume names and titles of a most ridiculous nature, such as Paternosterprime, Avatar of Santa, Disciple of Bill the Cat, and Keeper of the Small, Grey Lump. They appear as ordinary as any other person, but once they start their tricks, you’ll never have your coveners attending to your words in quite the same way again.

Sometimes a well-meaning Priest or Priestess (often at the sly suggestion of a stealthy Discordian in the group) will decide to invoke the Lord of Misrule for a ritual. It may be for Yule, in keeping with the tradition of Saturnalia, or perhaps the gaiety of Beltaine seems appropriate. Such a plan must be avoided at all costs!

I cannot tell you how many proper, rigid, serious rituals I have seen come apart at the seams because this unrelenting force of chaos showed up, noisemakers and all, and started . . . playing. Joking. Giggling. Tickling. Singing off-key. Acting, in other words, like religion should be fun. The very memory of such tragedies brings a lump to my throat . . .

As Spoken by Paternosterprime:

Okay, I can’t do this anymore. I don’t believe my readers are gentle, nor do I believe that the scholar Meerschaum is real. Unlike that scholar, I don’t have to be convinced of my own exist in order to have an opinion, so like a church full of space ponies, I’m making gravy without the lumps! I am a Fool and love the power that Foolish ignorance brings.

The power of the Fool is to try new things, because no one ever told him not to. He is not constrained by the assumptions of what is and is not possible. He breaks the rules so that others may see where the rules make sense and where they are just so many words on paper. As Misrule I have mocked priestesses, cast circles backwards, and broken a Maypole. He is our reminder that humor is a part of the Universe that should be honored, not forgotten. Foolishness is something we should all be willing to embrace, if only a little.

I do have a word of caution to add: it really can be problematic if you invite the Lord of Misrule to your party. He isn’t going to follow a script no matter how nicely you ask. I’ve seen rituals that fell apart because they weren’t strong enough for his presence. However, if you have a strong leader, a well-trained group of practitioners, and a ritual that promises to forge ahead regardless of what Misrule may come up with, his presence can actually bring your coven or circle together as a worshipping group and make them appreciate the majesty of serious ritual all the more.

And all the less; that’s the beauty of the Fool.

Current Mood: crappy

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I found paranormal websites with pink orbs in the photos to compare notes with.

Ghost Study Website


I have noticed the ones I took pictures of were a dull but thick pink colour, and the ones on this site are bright flashy pink!!!

I am thinking maybe the color implies that the spirit is/was a very loving person.. (use color magick as a guide). Perhaps the color not being as vibrant means that their life ended tragically and they are still not able to come to terms with what had happened to them.. The loud, vibrant colors make me think that they are in a better place?

Something to ponder. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

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Tonight: Studying. Taking tests. Looking at community college stuff for next month.

I am currently enrolled in "Magickaschool" and "Witchschool." These are online courses which offer free first lessons, and then aren't very expensive to continue on with after those initial lessons. It's totally worth it if you are interested,as they put up more and more information as time goes on, and they also put up new lessons that you don't have to pay for on top of them. A good choice for the solitary practitioner.

I think I am registering with CCP, but haven't come to a decision on that yet... maybe Temple.

I am going for Criminal Profiling. Looking for the best school for this field in my area which I'm not going to have to put out TOO much money for...


Very exciting path I am taking now.. I am really looking forward to learning and experiencing more. =)


EDIT:

ALSO, more encouraging and helpful responses from people who are going through or have been through what I currently am!!! Very interesting!

Again, names have been removed for privacy and safety purposes. I am taking a risk by having any of this public, but WILL NOT put others at risk and drag them with me!!!

Cross posted for answers...lol
Alright, so ever since I began practicing whyte magick, psionics, meditation, and "sensory training", as I'm going to call it, my instincts have been strengthened and my mind has been working double time to fix things, and not only that, but I am now feeling what people would call "spirits" or "energy" wherever I go and my dreams have suddenly become more and more intense, realistic, and horrifyingly questionable.

I have been following several murder and missing person cases and ever since I have really felt like I was connecting with the victims, my animals and fiance have noticed a change in the air, like something is lurking.

We have also found out that the person who lived here was a sex offender, so it may have something to do with that, but my dreams are going more toward these cases...and I'm seeing symbols that may or may not have had anything to do with the crimes.

Well, the problem is that I don't know what to think now.. I don't know what to do about any of it or where to take it that can even be helpful. I am trying to avoid any negative attention, but if there is something trying to get me to help, I WANT TO HELP! My dog is barking constantly in the room I keep going in that feels like something powerful is there.. it doesn't seem bad, but then again incredibly eerie and it frightens all of us a little bit...

I'm lighting white sage it seems constantly to clear the air of negative energy and using salts, candles, and incense to try to calm whatever it is down.

Nick's family once had to have an exorcist come into their old house to deal with a very powerful BAD spirit and he says this is nothing like that, but there is something here now. There are a BUNCH of orbs in the pictures I took a few nights ago, and they are all very positive looking colors.. I just am really unsure of what to do now. What steps do I take and how the FUCK can I ignore this now???

I don't want to exactly ignore it because it is really intriguing in a way, but I am not going to lie.. this is scaring the fucking shit out of me.

I need to figure out the deal with spirit guides, I think..

I have a tarot meeting tomorrow at 5 p.m... I guess they would be good people to present this to, instead of most of my lj acquaintances who have nothing or close to nothing to do with this. I am very new to all of this, honestly. I have sensed things, but it's never been so ingrained in my mind that what I am feeling is real. Please, any help on how to look at this and deal with it would be very helpful. My books only go so far into things... (My money is only going toward my apartment and my next move at the moment. Fiance and I need to control spending, but it looks like it's going to be REALLY important to pick something else up. Any good suggestions would be MUCH MUCH MUCH appreciated!!!!!)

Love and Light,

Gen



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Response 1!

"Your post is intriguing - I can only imagine what it feels like. Well, kind of - in a way I think I know how you feel. I had some strange things happen when I was in high school similar to this, although back then I knew little of what I know now, and I was only beginning to understand things I had experienced beyond the five senses. Have you incorporated shielding techniques? Obviously you are doing something with the sage, and I have found that it does help clear the air, so to speak. But another thing that I've found living through experience is that we often are afraid of things we don't understand - it might be freaking you out right now, but don't let it get the best of you. If you're not already doing it, try writing your experiences in a journal. If some imagery comes to you and you don't know what it means, write it down. This is the only way I think you're going to be able to verify things later.

I'm curious as to how your tarot meeting goes. If you feel like posting it, I'd love to hear what they have to say. It's possible that another facet of what's going on will be revealed. Good luck!"



Response 2!

"I often have had clairvoyant or sensitive dreams where I have seen frightening things, but I have never had anything to string together. I am not sure what to tell you to do. You might want to talk with professional psychic and ask them what to do. They might have some advice of where you could go to report the things you have been seeing.


Orbs in a house could be spirits following you. Often when a person has clairvoyant abilities spirits will seek that person. It may or may not be related to the dreams you have been having. I have plenty of orbs in my pictures, which seem to be floating around. Orbs can also be created by some kind of living energy. A strong feeling, emotion, action can create an orb. They are not always the spirits of the dead. Sometimes they are energy imprints left by the living.


Good luck figuring things out. I hope your dreams will prove themselves helpful and you will be able to solve some of these cases you have been seeing."


Response 3!

"i've experienced something similar to this and also had very awful dreams of murders, rapes, and suicides. some were horryifying and very disturbing, so i can understand how bizarre this is for you.

however, i don't think the spirits in question are negative. when people pass over quickly/intensely they often become trapped in a kind of limbo where they have unresolved emotion. they don't quite understand where they are, how they got there, or how to let go of their earthly existence. the orb's are probably that trapped energy. also, these spirits often don't realize they're causing any upset, nor wish to scare anyone. some of them want to be noticed. some of them don’t even realize they’re being noticed.

when you sleep, you’re obviously entering the astral plain, as i did. it’s easier for spirits to connect and communicate and show visual scenes/images/symbols etc because you’re in a natural in a state of relaxation and your awareness is heightened greatly.

i can only advice that you keep cleansing the air with sage. singing bowls, burning incense, drumming etc also good for space clearing. keep the energy in the house fairy clear and ‘high’ so that your own energy is not depleted by their urge to communicate.

another important thing is to adknowledge them. it sounds a bit daft, but try saying {out loud... or mentally, it doesn’t matter} that you’re aware of their presence and that you wish them love and healing. ask them to step back and let go a bit. usually this promps them to cross over into the more peaceful state of death rather than remaining in the confused lower level zone.

lastly, try a white light grounding/protection technique when meditating. { http://www.spiritjourney.co.uk/psychicprotection.html } ask your guides to help you keep focused and grounded. it's a good idea to spend 5 mins doing this before bed to help ease the intensity of the dreams.


i hope this helps.

with love
xoxo "


At the end of the week or when my schedule clears up a little bit more, I will be compiling an entry of my dreams and experiences of the week. This should make my journal a little more organized and take away the annoyance of seeing so many entries from the same person!

Take care, everyone!!!

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Here are some resources I provided others in communities on the internet with to get started interacting with real, living Witches from a distance or from nearby. I cannot describe the relief and pleasure I get from sharing my experiences with others!!!

try www.witchschool.com - I get a kick out of that site. or www.tarotcollege.com

If you would like to meet other witches in your area, try www.witchvox.com and www.meetup.com

If you have any other questions, please e-mail me at cthuihufhtagn@aol.com. I have many helpful resources and can sometimes BE that very helpful resource you need!!!

I will be creating more communities and stores all over the internet as I go along, but am starting off slow. This seems like the best place to start, as it IS my own current local area.

Remember always to look at others and situations from all different sides. This will benefit you in many ways!

With Love and Light,

Gen

Current Mood: complacent

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Hey guys,

This community is for Witches in Philadelphia and it's surrounding areas. It was designed to help to allow like-minded individuals in the area meet and discuss nearby stores, events, covens, denominations, meet-ups, etc.

I am not too picky as to what goes here, just remember to follow the Wiccan Rede and be nice to others!!! I will not tolerate any cruelty here, so if you are aggressive in that way and already know there will be a problem, please take it ELSEWHERE!!!

PLEASE post spells, experiences, entries about your holidays, etc. I, personally, would LOVE to read about it, as will many others!!!

Love and Light to all,

Gen

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