Seriously, have we become so bored that the only thing we have to worry about is what kinds of symbols people put on their holiday wreaths? Is the peace sign really a bad thing? The last time I checked peace was a good concept. It's not just for hippies anymore. Wait. I want that written on a shirt. "Peace. It's Not Just For Hippies Anymore." Read the article that spawned that bit of genius here: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/10399793/detail.html Thanks to Wren at Witchvox for telling us all about it and the many other articles she tirelessly notifies the Pagan public of.

My other question today is: Does hearing the words "Merry Christmas" really offend anyone? I don't care if you're an atheist because let's face it, the religion has really gone out of the Holidays in this country. At least it has in my part of it. It's all about family, Santa, and spreading cheer. Oh, and don't forget the PEACE on Earth part. Overall I think these are pretty good things to focus on. Now, if we could just get the commercialism part to slow down.

Anyway, my point is when someone says "Merry Christmas" this season just go with it. There are people starving and dying all over the planet. This little bit of life is simply irrelevant. Spend some time thinking about how you can help the world as opposed to causing more strife within it. There's a time to stand by your principles and a time to just let it go. Let this one go.

These are my thoughts. What do you think?

note: Tee-shirt is a proto-type created after the first publication of this article. I just couldn't help myself.

Labels: Misc. News

I've been reading recently on a Hindu tradition known as Shaktism. Shaktism has been defined as "... a denomination of Hinduism that worships Shakti, or Devi Mata -- the Hindu name for the Great Divine Mother -- in all of her forms whilst not rejecting the importance of masculine and neuter divinity (which are however deemed to be inactive in the absence of the Shakti). In pure Shaktism, the Great Goddess, or Mahadevi, is worshiped as nothing less than the highest divinity, Supreme Brahman Itself, the 'one without a second,' with all other forms of Divinity, female or male, considered to be merely her diverse manifestations."
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaktism)

I've been wondering if perhaps Hinduism should not be something that is studied by all practitioners of Goddess religion. Could Hinduism with its ancient roots, being considered by some to be older than any other religion practiced today, be the closest thing that we can get to the original concept of Goddess worship?

Hinduism is certainly not without flaws and has obviously been touched by patriarchal ideas. Regardless of those facts, the practices and worship of the Great Mother in India should, in my opinion, be considered by anyone seeking the Goddess. This is to say, that we should go beyond studying the individual aspects of the Goddess in Hinduism and really become immersed (or at the very least study thoroughly) the religion itself.

I have also been thinking about visiting a Hindu temple in my area. I am concerned though that perhaps outsiders would not be welcomed. After scanning pictures on the site I noticed that all of the people within the images were of Indian descent. I wonder how they would feel about me showing up to services? Are there any Hindus out there who would like to chime in on this one?

image: http://shaktiwicca.tripod.com/ - and interesting site combining the concepts of Shaktism and Wicca.

Labels: Goddess

Yes, I'm back online and my computer is functioning better than it did before. Thank goodness my mother is geek enough, though I did help just a little bit. She has successfully re-formatted the entire system and she even managed to save all of my files. Yay!

I am currently working on a few things - articles, podcasts (eventually), and maybe even a domain name for the site. I am still getting used to being able to be online and will have to get my newsfeed and blog reading routine going again.

I just want to thank those of you that have stuck with me and added some comments during my little hiatus. It really meant a lot to me.

So, look forward to blogging as usual to begin back here at Panthea.

Labels: Site News

I am having severe computer problems which is the reason for the lack of posts. I will be back and running as soon as humanly possible. I am not sure just how I am going to do that yet, but I'm working on it. In the meantime, those of you who may have super powers with computers may have an answer for me. Here is the summed up issue: bad_pool_caller blue screen with Windows XP. Won't boot in safe mode, debugging mode, or last known configuration. Argh! I've even tried reinstalling the OS without success. I may have to bite the bullet and call the Geek Squad. Anyway, here's hoping my computer gets fixed soon. Thanks for your patience.

Labels: Site News