Solar Power

Pagans generally want to weave their value system into how we live our lives and we generally see things as more interconnected than non-Pagans. This combined with the recent presidential election and the state of our economy has caused me to chase worldly, but oh so connected, things..... like Solar Panels

By the end of the month of October 2012 (instead of September as orginally planned due to delays related to Hurricane Isaac) my house was generating its our own Solar Power.  The Federal tax credits for this expire in 2016.  If you own your own home, don't wait.  Do it now.  Yes it does take investment dollars from you. BUT you can get ALL of the dollars that will be reimbursed from the Feds (and your state) can be financed for 0% interest for 12 months.  The company I used Solar Universe does all the hard work. They connect you to the lender, complete all the paperwork; all you have to do is file the forms with your taxes.   With the Federal and State rebates we  had to come up with less than 20% of the cost.  With "netmetering" this will annually ZERO out our power bill.  My carbon footprint goes WAY down and I am living more lightly on the earth, woven into the web of life, even if this weave is using technology and involves plugging into our city grid.

Ok so how do you come up with 20%?  Assuming that you have a job/provable income, find a local bank and refinance your house.  That's what I did.  And along with the refinance we got what was needed to put Solar Panels on the house. 
I know. I know.
Not everyone can do this. The economy sucks and some people are upside down on their mortgages. BUT if you can, it perfectly aligns with pagan value system.

Another thing to think about. Our mortgage was with one of the large, national corporations that provide mortgages to most Americans.  And I figured that it would be easy to re-finance. After all they had watched me pay the bills (even through the chaotic aftermath of Katrina) for years. All they did was waste my time. So in July 2012 I ended up working with a local bank and the refi (at not quite 2% less interest than the mortgage I had) went through in a month.  A month! It took almost that long for the big corporation to tell me what they needed from me. And here is the ultimate irony. These days, even if you do the refi work with a local bank, they are going to "sell your mortgage" (Yep!) to one of the large corporations that provide the bulk of mortgage lending in this country.  Weird.  But true.   Yet at the local bank I spoke to a person, who walked me through the paperwork and made sure the timing (I was leaving town for 2 weeks) worked out.

This is only one of the physical, practical, grounded things that I kept me busy in 2012.
But I'm glad I did it because Solar Power fits my Value System.

Listening to Whales and Silence

Classic Pagan Tenet:  Be still and listen.

and that's just what these scienctists did... they listened.... to whales and to the data

This is why I love science. We think things like this intuitively. Whales...water...sound... noise...stress. Can't you just hear the child's question?

But science shows us so that we don't have to wonder. We can know. Now we have to wonder if we humans are capable of change,of doing anything about this. Can we learn to live lightly on the earth? Can we learn to live quietly too?

Nature is the Great Teacher.

Basic Tenants of Belief

The tenants below are taken from Italian Witchcraft by Raven Grimassi:

We believe that the Source of All Things (The Great Spirit) is both masculine and feminine in nature.

We beleive that humans bear the Divine Spark of their Creator within themselves (soul/spirit) and that we are actually spiritual beings who are temporarily encased in physical matter.

We believe in reincarnation and view it as a process for spiritual liberation from the physical dimension.

We believe in psychic ablities and the supernatural as normal conditions which have been supressed by Judaic/Christian Culture, but can be restored through practice of the Old Ways.

We beleive in Magick as a manifestation of energy that is directed by the mind through various ancient techniques.

We believe in spiritual worlds and spirit beings.

We believe in the Law of Action and Reaction, and that what we do affects others, and what others do affects us. Therefore we strive to live in peace with those around us.

We believe in karma, meaning we believe in responsibility and consequences.

We believe in love, life and harmony as the spiritual foundation of our ways.

We believe in the expression of religious beliefs through rituals and festivals.

We believe in Earth Energy, meaning we acknowledge places of natural power existing upon the planet. We hold that the same is true for other natural objects.

We believe in a positive Afterlife and a successful spiritual evolution.

We believe that everything in Nature is of equal importance. Everything is linked and entwined beyond separation.

Covenant of Aradia

The Covenant of Aradia below is taken from Italian Witchcraft by Raven Grimassi:

The Covenant of Aradia

Observe the times of the sacred gatherings, for therein is the foundation of the powers of Stregheria.

When good is done to you, then do good to another. If someone wishes to repay you for a kindness, then bind them to go out of their way to help three others, then this shall clear the debt.

Do not use the arts of Stregheria to appear powerful among others. Do not lower the standards of the Art and thereby bring contempt upon the Old ways.

Do not take the life of anything unless it is to preserve life, yours or another's.

Do not give your word of honour lightly, for you are bound by your words and by your oaths.

Do not accept any authority over you unless it is of the Gods. Instead, cooperate with others but do not be a slave and always preserve your honour. Give respect to others and expect respect in return.

Teach all who appear worthy and aid the continuance of the Old Religion.

Do not belittle another's religious beliefs, but simply state your own truths. Strive to be at peace with those who differ.

Do not purposely cause harm to another, unless it is to prevent true harm to yourself or another.

Strive to be compassionate to others, and to be aware of the hearts and minds of those around you.

Be true to your own understanding and turn away from those things which oppose the good in you, or are harmful to you. Hold reverence to all within Nature. Destroy nothing, scar nothing, waste nothing, live in harmony with Nature, for the ways of Nature are our own ways.

Remain open in your heart and in your mind to the Great Ones who created all that is, and to your brothers and sisters alike.