Is Deity Really Perfect?

As a child I always heard that God was the perfect being, that he (coming from a Christian worldview) was capable of no wrong and all from him was righteous. As I grew up and started questioning such premises I began to realize why perfection was such a bad thing.

Even though these experiences and beliefs are solely my own and far from the only way of thinking, its a truth that is right for me at this time. As far as I can tell, with all the wars, disease, poverty, injustice and general negativity, I've come to the conclusion that an active God/dess cannot be perfect. If he or she is so intricately tied to the functions if the universe and earth in specific then he/she/it is a lazy ass and isn't worth my time. *to put it bluntly* However, when one considers the imbalances we see in the world, however bad we may see them to be, the truth is that with life you get a mixed bag of good, bad, terrible and terrific. Because we have this dynamic cycle of deficit and excess, life is able to grow and contract accordingly.

Imagine it like this, if you were to move your arm with five pounds pulling upward, yet gravity was pulling you down with the same force you wouldn't be able to move that arm. Or if the universe were to come forth with a perfectly even distribution there would be no life or beauty; just a stale mix of nothingness.

To have perfection is to have staleness because nothing ever needs to change, everything is always marching with its own monotonous drum. Nothing is ever truly perfect because that's nit the concept with which our universe is based upon. And if there truly is a deity attached to the fabric of the universe then it too is as imperfect as its creation.

You always have people who want to project their vision, hopes and dreams in other people and concepts. This is why American culture has the issue of Deifying athletes, celebrities and politicians to such inhuman standards, they expect too much from so little. The same is especially true in religion, where you have billions of people who are free to adopt, alter, make up, or push on others any way of thinking for their own gain. They're some who are victim card holders and adopt a God who will always take care of any harm or wrong done in the world. When things don't go right its because of some outside force and almost never a misjudgment on their part. You also have people who are independent and acknowledge both the good and bad done as being their own responsibility. Having a religious beluef just gives more hope to them as they live their life.

This is the great imperfection of life, not having a cohesive mix of ideas and belief structures, which fuels debate, yet another product of imbalance.

We are graced with the gift and curse of imbalance, never having enough or just the right amount, but through this constant turmoil of need and want, have and have nots, change is able to occur. The fierce explosion of change may occur where we do our damndest to ensure that things are done to their best, which will never be, but that's not the point. The point of this crazy imbalanced world is to try and bring change when we see it needs to be done. To have the honor and civility to say that even though things aren't right that doesn't mean it has to stay that way.

This, my friend, is what I mean by perfect imperfection, chaos is the beginning and end, we just try to adjust to it. By this constant adjusting, we thus prove that Deity in whatever form cannot actually be perfect.

The God Is The Goddess

            All is one and one is all

Everything that we see is made of the one creative force that existed since the beginning of the universe. The transfer from the formless but fertile mass of the darkness to the zest and dazzling shine of the light.

There may or not be a God/s,Goddess/es, of spirit/s, but whether there is or not is irrelevant because we will be working from the premise of there being one or more.

When many think of the God and Goddess, however they may be thought of, there is usually the distinction between what associations are in the God's realm and what is the Goddess's. This division, in my eyes, is incorrect for the simple fact that it limits one form or another to a singular aspect, which is in contrast to the nature of the universe.

Of course, each practitioner of nature is free to believe what they choose, my opinion is of my own just as yours is of you.

I take the usual God and Goddess astrological correspondence of the Moon being of the Goddess and the Sun being of the God. Why is this so? Why can't the God be of the Moon, emotions, magic(k), dreams and occult practices and the Goddess be of the harvest, Sun, the wild and nature? We sometimes get so wrapped up in what we're told is the "right" thing to think that we start making a dogma, which of itself is dangerous.

We see enough of this in other faiths, where one is told not only what to believe, but also considered not of the faith if they stray from the traditional teachings. This is something that I advocate against, especially in more eclectic pagan faiths where tradition is bent to fit the individual's wants and needs. By opening your mind and questioning the the things that you're taught, you allow for a more diverse practice and spirituality. My practice for example is unique to me, not being centered on usual pagan beliefs but instead on all. Anything can be used to represent anything and I do my best to ensure that I limit as little as possible when I do things such as ritual. Some things I do that are in conflict with most spiritual teachings and pagan practices (one of the most known being Wicca) comes with how I do ritual.

My invocations are done counter-clockwise, my elemental directions aren't the usual earth=north, air=east, fire=south, and water=west. For me, earth=south, fire=east, air=north, and water=west. The sun and moon don't have fixed gender correspondences in my eyes since they are one the same.

God and Goddess, just gender terms to describe archetypal forms, they are of and beyond gender, part of the cohesive mix that ties the knot keeping the universe whole. Once you open your eyes to mixing both forms and see their mark in all that you see will you gain new insight.

All in all, don't be afraid to think out of the box, Deity is a very bendable concept that can fit into any person's imagination. All you need is faith and the will to think outside the box, then like a blind who sees for the first time, you will see beauty in the most mundane things.

Mabon Ritual

I hope everyone had a good Mabon celebration! I know I did,  and goodness was it tiring!

This was my very first public ritual, doing it in full view of the city as they hustled and bustled to and from work. Surprisingly nothing happened as I performed it, which was excellent since my intention was not to cause trouble but raise awareness.

In my own little way, by me doing this ritual in full light of day people walking and driving by would be able to see a religious practice alien to their own. By that, they become aware that the comfy little city they call home hosts those who belong to different traditions. Its not direct, but it does show the diversity of faiths instead of a homogeneous blob they may very well be used too.

But there was another reason for this ritual, and that was to prove to myself that I would be willing to celebrate my faith no matter the circumstances. With my Day of Conversion coming up, I wanted to make sure that I was able to walk the talk of bravery and resilience despite the pressures.

For some reason the memory of the cleansing sticks to my mind. It was quite dramatic, the wind blowing through the park, swirling clouds of smoke all around as I waved the sage around, calling the aspects if Divinity to guide me.

The smoky cloud traveling all down the roads to tell of ritual, a sacred act occurring yards away from them to celebrate the coming of Autumn.

The smell is still clings to my fingers as I type, even after washing my hands to try and remove its scent.

I hope the wildlife take advantage of the piles of peanuts I left all around the lake for them to eat.

Anyway, for now I sleep. . .