The Nine Noble Virtues: a Modern Take - Honor (Cross-post)

Cross-posted from Kali-Ma: The Dark Side of Paganism blog.

The Nine Noble Virtues are a modern invention, so it seems my title is redundant. However, little seems to have been done to bring the concepts themselves from the past into the present.

I do not consider the NNV to be a historical reference. I do consider them to be a modern way of understanding cultural and even subconscious values that were stressed, if not perfectly, by those peoples lumped together as Norsemen.

This series will explore my thoughts on these values and, hopefully, start conversations about them in a modern context.

I'm starting with Hospitality because it is my favorite. When I first learned about it, a chord was struck within me and I began to work out my thoughts and feelings on the idea, immediately. The first thing I noticed was that hospitality takes the place of charity.

From a historical context, there are some texts that talk about situations in which hospitality was used or abused, which gives us a strong basis for believing it was important. The "why" is a little trickier. There are just some things that people don't think to write down because, within the culture, it is so obvious that explaining it would be redundant.

We can extrapolate ideas from the way hospitality is talked about. Many of the texts focus on providing food and shelter and, when looking at the weather conditions of that time, that makes sense.

Skadi, Goddess of snow
and blizzards, with Ullr

To me, hospitality is a social exchange. You extend the generosity of your home and resources to save lives. Yes, that's a bit hyperbolic, but when you think about how people would get caught in snowstorms, or lost without food after travelling for weeks, it's not too big of a stretch.

And the sharing of resources means that there is an exchange of obligations. The host is obliged to actually take care of the needs of their guest to the best of their ability. The guest is not only obliged to respect the host's offerings, but to eventually pay that generosity forward.

In this way, a family might host travelers on and off for several generations. Then, the son may go travelling, himself. If he finds himself in a bind, he doesn't have to feel bad about asking for hospitality - his family has paid that obligation off many times over.

Think about what that means. By fostering generosity and hospitality, you are not obligated to feel SHAME if you require hospitality in return.

Imagine how different it is to see the giving and taking of charity and other forms of aide as both sides of a social obligation. Those accepting charity would be just as respected in their role for PROVIDING THE HOST WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET THEIR SOCIAL OBLIGATION.

On the other hand, serving a guest, because of the importance of the obligation, becomes an HONOR instead of a menial action. The host and server does not give food and drink with head down and a meek expression. She (for it was usually the matron of the household) holds her head high and gives her guests the offerings of her generosity.

By changing the way we look at hospitality, we take something that was often shameful or belittling and transform it into something bigger and better. In many ways, it is a sacred act to contribute to this exchange of obligations.

Odin the Wanderer

Let us not forget the number of gods who walked the world, visiting humans and taking of their hospitality, as well. Each guest could be Odin or Zeus in mortal garb.

Extending the hospitality of your home and resources can and should be a spiritual/holy/sacred act.

Summer Camps for Pagan Children: The Absence of Adventure

You would think that summer camps and Pagan children would go together like ice cream and waffle cones. Unfortunately, there is a serious gap in getting summer camps appropriate to Pagan children, particularly ones that are affordable.

Why? Well, because so many summer camps are sponsored by religious organizations. Pagan organizations tend to be sparse and/or ill-funded. Christians, however, have church groups in spades.

This means that affordable choices are often reduced to A) day camps for art or technology, B) 5-day or week-long camps for one sport or another, or C) 5-day or week-long summer camps that start and end each day with a prayer service.

Don't get me wrong. I don't begrudge other religions their beliefs, but I attended one of these camps with a "prayer service." We went horseback riding, swimming, canoing. We played Capture the Flag, and roasted marshmallows over a campfire. And nearly every single attendee was convinced to "accept Jesus into your heart" through individual prayer and counselling by the camp staff.

The point is, having a traditional camp experience, with a variety of outdoor activities, is incredibly difficult to find without the strings of (often Christian) religion attached. Attempts have been made to create Pagan-centered summer camps for kids but, so far as I can tell, they have all fallen away.

It might be worth it for us, as a community, to consider what the core issue is. Is the community just not family-oriented enough for kids' summer camps to be a priority? Is it that Pagans aren't supporting our spiritual organizations to the degree that such a sponsorship would happen?

Growing as a community means we need to start considering the needs of our future generations. We are seeing more and more Pagans raised in the Craft, and surely we will see even more in the future. Let's give those kids some memories and adventures, too.

Making Introductions: Teaching Our Children About Our Gods

"Who is this?" says the child, picking up the magnet of Kali from the fridge door.

"That's Kali," I respond. "She my favorite goddess."

"She looks scary."

"That's because she protects us from bad things. That's why she's a bit scary."

That was how I introduced my son to Kali, many years ago. He spent over a year entranced with the magnet showing Kali in all her deadly glory. When we moved, he insisted that we bring her along with us. Because she protects us.

Kids want to know about our gods and goddesses. They crave the security of having someone else looking out for them. They want to know that someone is looking out for mom and dad like mom and dad look out for them.

Here are some things to keep in mind when introducing the gods:


1.   Keep pictures and statues in sight and let the kids become curious about the images on their own. And they will. Kids are curious about everything.

2.   Don't be afraid to filter out some of the more complicated stuff - you can get to that later, when the child is older and better able to grasp those nuances.

3.   Keep the language age-appropriate. Just because a $5 word is commonly used doesn't mean that is the best way to describe the god or goddess to your child.

4.   Introducing the gods to our children doesn't have to be a full education. Our minds develop in such a way that we learn very well with small bits of information, stories and pictures. Tell a basic story or simple explanation of the god or goddess. Then, let the child have time to consider that. More questions will come.

5.   Involve the kids in basic rituals once they've been introduced. Our kids were intrigued about the candy we left out for Ganesha. Soon they were excited to help give the offerings (and later steal them - good thing Ganesha likes kids).

6.   Don't just limit the information to a textbook-type of description. Make sure that you explain why you like the god or goddess, and how they influence or help you. Show them the ways we interact with our gods and why we do it.

7.   When they are older, help your kids decide when and how to honor gods and goddesses for their own lives. Perhaps Thoth can help them study, or Apollo will inspire their choice of band instrument. Don't be afraid to make suggestions, but don't push them. Most kids will find the idea intriguing without any pressure.

Toddler Altar by MazerCreations

8.   Eventually, the child will ask about a god or goddess that isn't one of your bent. It may even be Jesus or Jehovah. It is important to remain objective about them. If you aren't critical about any other gods, they will notice if you are critical about that one. Explain who the god or goddess is, why some people choose to worship them, and why you choose not to. It's okay to go into social and historical contexts, as long as it's age-appropriate.

9.   Have fun! Gods and goddesses are for celebrating. Let your child feel your own emotional connection to the gods, and let them get excited to share that.

10.  Don't worry about brainwashing. It's a lot harder to brainwash people than you think. For children, this is a comfort and a family bond. If you don't think they will ever be able to choose for themselves... well, wait 'til they're teens.

Children & Beliefs: Teaching our kids our practices

Illustration from Pooka Pages

Why we should teach our kids our religion while we raise them? Why it is so important to embrace sharing our beliefs with our children? How to do so without forcing them or making them feel trapped by their parents' beliefs?

These are questions that the Pagan community struggles with as we raise our children in the highest numbers since Gardner published Witchcraft Today in 1954.

We are so used to seeing the effects of religious belief being framed in Christian terms. That is the world we live in.

But what does pure religious belief have to offer our kids? There are studies (here, here, here, and here) that indicate that sharing religious beliefs, activities and experiences can strengthen a family's relationships to each other. There is often more connection and communication.

Children standing with The Lady of Cornwall
in a neopagan ceremony in England.

Religious beliefs may help children better deal with the natural stresses of life by providing a sense of belonging to a group and being part of "something bigger". The routine of rituals and holidays can provide a sense of structure to a child's life.

Healthy spiritual beliefs may improve health, both physical and psychological. Religion provides a way to express the innate need to find purpose and reason in the natural world, and a way to express our beliefs in a supernatural world.

Obviously, these benefits are only seen when the religious experience is a positive one. When the religious experience is confining, restrictive or even hostile, the affects of religion can turn very dark.
Some ways that teaching religion does NOT support healthy religious beliefs include:

• punishment for not adhering to religious behaviors
• teaching by rote memorization rather than engaging with stories and games
• negative reactions to questioning the religious teachings – this can include refusal to answer or refusal to consider alternatives
• using fear as a way to reinforce belief – ie, if you don’t believe, you’ll go to hell

Leaving kids the choice is an issue that I hear a lot of. So I ask, how does allowing your children to religiously identify the same way that their mom and dad do, close the door to them asking about other religions? Or prevent them from later changing their mind?

From Raising Pagan Children

If we want our children to feel like a complete part of our families, we need to include them in our religious experiences. We can do this by talking to our kids about our beliefs, about the rituals that we practice, and about the gods and spirits that we interact with in our lives.

I will leave you with a quote from an article from UU World: “Sharing personal religious and spiritual beliefs with children is not indoctrination; it is offering the guidance they eagerly seek until they are developmentally ready to decide for themselves. If children receive vague and confusing answers time and again when they ask about spiritual and theological issues, they’ll eventually stop asking and start looking for answers elsewhere. But many of the other people your children may encounter in life will not be so hesitant to pass on their religious beliefs, opening up the possibility that the vacuum you’ve left will be filled by others who are seeking to indoctrinate them.”

The Verdant Child: a new Norse myth

I had a dream today about this story, so I wrote it as a poem. I hope you like it.

At the dawn of time,
In the chaos and the wild,
The spirit of all nature
Found the Verdant Child.

Twas after Yggdrasil formed

Midgard and eight more worlds,
After all creation;
All life had been unfurled.

And Yggdrasil watched over
All things as they were made.
Ensuring laws of Physics
And Nature were obeyed.

The Mother Tree checked over
All creatures as they birthed,
Counting limbs and organs
To see that they would work.

There, amongst the monsters,
The flora and fauna wild,
She found a wailing creature,
Inconsolable child.

She looked upon the infant
And held it in her hand,
And searched out its potential
As the Norns would understand.

The child’s aura glowed
A healing verdant green,
Meant to grow in Midgard
To create as no other being.

But something there was missing,
A key, important part.
This child could do nothing
Without its missing heart.

Yggdrasil called out
To each wild and noble creature.
She sent all out to seek
The infant’s unknown feature.

Every plant and monster
And animal of the Tree
Searched through all nine worlds,
For what they could not see.

Each being came back at last
With nothing there to show.
The World Tree simply waited,
For what, she did not know.

A great quartet of stags,
With antlers branching high,
Approached the Mother Tree,
And with a bellowed cry

They begged of Her forgiveness
For failure they did find.
But Yggdrasil just smiled
And reached for their antler tines.

Caught in the bony points
Of the stags’ tangled crown
An essence never seen
Was weaving all around.

The Great Tree pulled the wisp
Out from the antlered maze
And, upon the first soul,
Did all creation gaze.

The Tree of Worlds then took it
And placed it in the child.
It filled in what was missing
And Yggdrasil then smiled.

The verdant child grew older
And passed its soul on down
To every human being,
To be our mortal crown.

The soul lets us see as gods do,
To create and live and grow,
And channel through us wisdom,
Troth, and Honor show.

The Tree gave to the stags
A place of honor true.
She placed them on her own head
Their antlers branching through.

The antlers and the branches
Catch souls and spirits all,
Condensing them as raindrops
Into the Well they fall.

Thus Yggdrasil holds lofty
Four stags with branched prongs.
The reason long forgotten,
Their purpose never gone.

Books for Pagan Children: Teens (T-Y)

It can be difficult to find books for your Pagan children to read. You want books that teach them your values, and maybe something close to your beliefs and traditions.

I have compiled a list of good books by great authors. Many are outright Pagan. Some are Pagan in flavor or Pagan-friendly. I am noting when the author is Pagan to encourage support of Pagan authors and artists.

Previous

• Teen Witch: Wicca for a New Generation by Silver RavenWolf (Non-Fiction) *PAGAN*
  What Teen Witch will show you is that how you live, how you deal with others, and how you incorporate Wiccan laws into your life determines whether or not you are a true Witch. This handbook presents everything from the Wiccan principles of belief, traditions, symbols, holidays and rituals, to spells for homework and dating.

• Witch Among Wolves, A by Rebecca Buchanan (Fiction) *PAGAN*
  The Pagans of the contemporary world, in addition to rediscovering the Gods and heroes of old, are also writing for those Gods and heroes. "Alexander's Heart" is a science fiction tale set in a distant future ruled by the descendants of Cleopatra and Marc Antony. "Devourer" finds the Egyptian Goddess Bast in modern-day Louisiana, while "The Flower in the Dark" addresses political oppression and liberty. "Footprints" follows the Olympian Queen of the Gods to contemporary Florida, while "Orion: An EcoFable" explores the nature of environmental responsibility and the consequences of human arrogance. Finally, "A Witch Among Wolves" centers around a Lithuanian ragana, a devotee of the Horned Lord of the Underworld.

• Yule: A Celebration of Light and Warmth by Dorothy Morrison (Non-Fiction) *PAGAN*
  In the pages of Yule, Dorothy Morrison presents a wonderful potpourri of holiday lore from around the world and throughout history, along with fun crafts, delicious recipe seven a calendar of celebrations for every day in December.

Books for Pagan Children: Teens (M-S)

It can be difficult to find books for your Pagan children to read. You want books that teach them your values, and maybe something close to your beliefs and traditions.

I have compiled a list of good books by great authors. Many are outright Pagan. Some are Pagan in flavor or Pagan-friendly. I am noting when the author is Pagan to encourage support of Pagan authors and artists.

Previous

• Mabon: Celebrating the Autumn Equinox by Kristin Madden (Non-Fiction)
  This book explores the history, legends, and traditions of the season that is honored from the Far East to the Celtic Lands, and from Scandinavia to South America. Create your own Mabon tradition with the help of the book's many recipes, magical workings, equinox rituals, and crafts for all ages.

• Mi's Search for Beauty by Kyrja (Fantasy) *PAGAN*
  In a time and land when death is regarded as the “Realms Beyond,” where surviving children are expected to offer their prayers and services so their ancestors may reach the “Golden Realm of Light,” spirits are known to cause havoc for their own means. Sooshay and Keylei, both disdainful of the stifling moors of their traditional culture have forgotten this lesson, so are caught painfully unaware when their sixth daughter, Mi, is born. Five daughters were foretold; no more and no less, with no sons. The terrifying changes this sixth daughter unwittingly brings with her touches each member of her family. Ignorant of his own role in the chaos that follows, Sooshay seeks the advice of a mysterious old family friend, placing Mi and all of her sisters in danger.

• Midsummer: Magical Celebrations of the Summer Solstice by Anna Franklin (Non-Fiction)
  Midsummer is one of the most ancient, widespread, and joyful Pagan festivals. The sun rises to the height of its power on the summer solstice, and Midsummer Eve is filled with fairy mischief and magic. Anna Franklin reveals the origins and customs of this enchanting holiday.

• Ostara: Customs, Spells & Rituals for the Rites of Spring by Edain McCoy (Non-Fiction) *PAGAN*
  Embrace Ostara as a point of balance in your life, a moment in time where both dark and light and night and day are in harmony before the light is victorious and carries us on to the bounty of summer pleasures. Ostara is packed with rituals, spells, recipes, crafts, and customs to celebrate the awakening earth.

• Price of Beauty, The by Kyrja (Fantasy) *PAGAN*
  Majo had been the Gatekeeper for more than 700 years, guiding souls into the Realms Beyond and keeping the demons from the land of the living, before tricking the young Mi into taking her place. Eager to earn entry into the Golden Realm of Light, five spirits of Mi’s long-dead ancestors had aided Majo in manipulating each of her sisters in turning her into a freak. Majo’s plan went awry, though, when the sisters used the terrible gifts of their ancestors’ power to transform Mi, but left her with a narrow way in which she might redeem herself.

• Sending of Dragons,A (Pit Dragon Chronicles) by Jane Yolen (Fantasy)
  Jakkin and his girlfriend, Akki, discover a primitive cult that sacrifices dragons.

• Serpent in the Throat, and Other Pagan Tales, The by Rebecca Buchanan (Fiction) *PAGAN*
  This anthology - the second following A Witch Among Wolves, and Other Pagan Tales - continues the tradition of Pagan authors writing Pagan tales for a Pagan audience. "Black Leopard" is a contemporary magical realism tale centering on Dionysus, while "Crossroads" finds a young girl voicing a heartfelt prayer to Hekate. "Hysthaany" follows a small community of Sekhmet devotees into outer space on a mission of mercy, while "Mr. West" finds Osiris paying a visit to a modern-day mortician. "Seeds" is set in a dystopian future of environmental degradation, while the title story, "The Serpent in the Throat," is an adventure-horror tale set in ancient Canaan.

• Sister Light, Sister Dark by Jane Yolen (Fantasy)
  Legend foretold the child named Jenna, who was three-times orphaned before she could crawl, a fate that would leave her in the hands of women who worshipped the benevolent goddess Great Alta. In this world without men, Jenna comes of age, learning quickly the skills of close combat. But her most powerful gift lies elsewhere: a mirror sister who emerges only in the darkness—a twin named Skada—and shares the soul of the young, white-haired warrior who might well be the goddess reborn. But if Jenna is, in truth, the one whose coming is awaited, there is cause for great alarm among those who rule the Dales, for the prophecy speaks of upheaval and change, and a devastating end of all things.

• SpellCraft for Teens: A Magickal Guide to Writing & Casting Spells by Gwinevere Rain (Non-Fiction)
  Empower, bewitch, and enchant. Written by a teen witch with her own popular website, SpellCraft for Teens contains fifty-five chants and incantations. In addition, it provides a twelve-step guide to casting a magick circle, an in-depth look at the moon phases, and the magical properties of colors, herbs, and charms. From finding a craft name to performing the three types of love spells, SpellCraft for Teensaddresses issues specific to young adults, including telling parents about their interest in Wicca and dealing with gossiping classmates.

Continued