Beginning the preparations

I'm behind on setting up my Samhain altar but I did manage to dig out the ancestors' pictures for the wall above it.  As I spent the day running errands, I won't get much done today but hopefully tomorrow at the latest I'll have it ready.  I really like this time of year, this kind of festival.  You can feel the veil thinning, the energy escaping from beyond.  This weekend Zach and I plan to go to the Mounds to offer up a sacrifice to the ancestors there.  They aren't my Native American ancestors but they are ancestors that deserve honoring.  Mine are too far away, being from the southwest but I feel certain that these will adopt me as their own, no matter how miniscule the Native American contribution to my DNA.

I also hope to have some pictures up some time this week, of my altars and my Halloween decorations.  And hopefully will take pictures of our journey through the Mounds.  I don't plan on going there on Samhain.  At least not this year.  I want to focus more on settling in with the Celtic gods who have called me and been so patient waiting for me to accept their offer.  I think I finally have.

I was reading on a Greek reconstructionist place on the internet and was astonished to read them talking about inactive proselytizing as a way to increase the members of their group.  They even called it an outreach and used Christian paradigms as a way to do this proselytizing.  One member was outraged but the others seemed okay with it.  They want to increase their numbers to be competitive with Christianity, it seems. I think this is a large part of why I can't seem to connect with the Greek gods longer than a day or two.  There is too much going on of late that reminds me of Christianity, including their disdain for Pagans out there.  One of the statements was that since the Greek gods were perfect, there was no need for any other gods.  I know they meant that those who worshiped the Greek gods, but it smacked ever so strongly of fundamentalism.  And it nauseated me.  Maybe not all Greek recons are like that but this was enough to make me back far away.

I know the gods are not the same as their followers but I am a bit gun shy about being associated with any group that is that dogmatic.  Not to mention I really hate all the deconstruction of what the gods believe, who they are, what is the proper way to worship, etc.  Why make it that hard?  I don't mind good conversations, but why make it so hard to be a worshiper?

So I think my visits with the Greeks might be few and far between from now on.  Besides, there are many more gods to visit from time to time.  Debra suggested the Hindu gods.  And I've been fascinated by the Norse gods most of my life, too.  Plus I've been intrigued by the South American Native gods, too.  Not to mention the Native American gods here.

Speaking of which...I watched Navajo Cops on National Geographic this weekend and loved it.  Mostly for the acceptance they had of their spiritual beliefs and how they had to manage them when faced with obstacles in their jobs.  What was intriguing was the skinwalkers and how they take them seriously.  One cop demonstrated what he did for protection before going on his job.  I'll watch this show in the future.

Well, I should get some work done, including fixing supper so maybe I'll be able to sit down and read a bit before I turn on the tv for knitting.  I've decided I have to give up my Sims game on facebook because it's sucking the life out of me and taking up too much time.  There is so much more I want to do out there besides making an imaginary home.

BB