Pagan/Witchcraft practicing Merfolk? Anyone?

[BlueCorvidae]

JFC that drama is spilling everywhere, isn't it? Lmao.

[Ransom]

JFC that drama is spilling everywhere, isn't it? Lmao.

Let's leave it here, please. I'm sure we can agree that fighting on hallowed ground isn't wise.

[BlueCorvidae]

Let's leave it here, please. I'm sure we can agree that fighting on hallowed ground isn't wise.

No, I agree with you. It's not wise to fight in public anywhere, or even at all if it can be avoided.

[PearlieMae]

Ah. I've known a few witches that would object to the pagans worship through nature definition, since they don't really acknowledge nature, they worship a specific god. (I believe the ones I've talked to specifically were worshipers of Odin and Yemaja, respectively.) They didn't worship nature, or even claim to like all of nature. After all, cockroaches and mold on their showers still disgusted them, nature or not.

I might be getting things wrong though. I'm not pagan, I'm Christian. But I prefer discussing spirituality with self-identified pagans and witches. I get a lot less "you suffer because it's God's plan" or "have you been sinning a lot lately?" that way. (That and it's a lot more interesting to watch than a church service. Hope you guys don't mind.)

Well, Odin, for the Nordic traditions and Yemeya from the Youruban/Santeria traditions do have specific gods and goddesses associated with them, however, they do recognize the male/female dichotomies of spiritual nature - and if you dig deep enough, both traditions are rooted in Earth-based beliefs. Judeo-Christian beliefs hold themselves separate from those energies.

The 'I'm right, you're wrong and you're going to suffer for it because my book says so' mentality is exhausting.

[Mermaid Kane]

Judeo-Christian beliefs hold themselves separate from those energies..

Indeed, its in the book; the desires of your flesh are 'evil', and Capital 'G' Man is the only was to 'fix' it... like our bodies are somehow special from the rest of the matter in the universe. I mean, c'mon... everything eats (organic or energy and loose matter), shits (whether is dead organic material, or gamma rays/light/energy), and then dies (or collapses/explodes).

The 'I'm right, you're wrong and you're going to suffer for it because my book says so' mentality is exhausting.

I had a book that told me Santa was real, too... He must be, then!

[BlueCorvidae]

Well, Odin, for the Nordic traditions and Yemeya from the Youruban/Santeria traditions do have specific gods and goddesses associated with them, however, they do recognize the male/female dichotomies of spiritual nature - and if you dig deep enough, both traditions are rooted in Earth-based beliefs. Judeo-Christian beliefs hold themselves separate from those energies.

The 'I'm right, you're wrong and you're going to suffer for it because my book says so' mentality is exhausting.

I'm sorry if I came across that way. I like discussing and learning new things, I didn't mean to imply that anyone was wrong.

[PearlieMae]

No worries, Blue! I didn't mean to imply YOU personally were exhausting, I meant the stereotypical Christian attitude of intolerance.

And Kane, Santa did exist, but he was a Druidic shaman!

[Merman Dan]

You can’t run a damn convention right. Leave polytheism alone, Dan

Everyone's a critic. I outgrew monotheism by the time I was twelve.
As for the future of NC Mer-Mania, I'll address that elsewhere, since drama seems to run heavy on MN.
In a nutshell, the venue could no longer accommodate our needs. I was perhaps too patient in waiting for additional dates that never came. And now we'll be moving to a new timeframe.
Meanwhile, though I have now completed an Event Manager course and have commissioned a local artist for new artwork, I will be sticking to local events. I never expected the event to draw more that 50 people anyway. So here we go again.
So yeah, watch for news on FB and the website but most likely not here.

[PearlieMae]

Everyone's a critic. I outgrew monotheism by the time I was twelve.
As for the future of NC Mer-Mania, I'll address that elsewhere, since drama seems to run heavy on MN.
In a nutshell, the venue could no longer accommodate our needs. I was perhaps too patient in waiting for additional dates that never came. And now we'll be moving to a new timeframe.
Meanwhile, though I have now completed an Event Manager course and have commissioned a local artist for new artwork, I will be sticking to local events. I never expected the event to draw more that 50 people anyway. So here we go again.
So yeah, watch for news on FB and the website but most likely not here.

Don't you have a series of apologies you should be writing?

[BlueCorvidae]

Oh, we talking about Christmas history and folklore? This is my jam!

Funfact; Santa Claus is actually a mix of various people, some real and some mythological! (I love this topic.) First you have St. Nicholas, who was a Catholic Bishop in ancient Rome, which is modern-day Turkey. He was an interesting man because despite his habits of leaving money in the shoes of the poor people, he actually had quite the temper and was prone to getting into fist fights! This was not only recorded about him, but we found evidence of it when his skull was found with a nose that was once broken and healed in a strange angle. This is probably my favorite version of Santa, because I love the idea of a man in a toga punching people while having a soft side and doing charitable deeds. (May utilize this for D&D one day.)

You've also got Joulupukki, who has the whole red suit with white trim going on, and I believe he has a habit of delivering food and turning into a goat. He's from Finnish tradition, but I can't really find a lot of information on him since he isn't widely known and these days I guess the Finnish just like to go, "eh, he's Santa now." He liked to take part in the Wild Hunt though. Speaking of that...

The third figure is Odin, who has a habit of entering people's homes through the chimney, and took part in a wild hunt in the sky, which involved a procession of deer and horses. Not to mention his glorious beard. I don't think I need to tell you guys about how awesome Odin is, but I think you'll all get a tickle out of how Germanic Yule traditions let him slip into our modern portrayal of Santa. Mainly through my third figure;

The English Father Christmas! Who is really just from English folk in the 1400's saying "We want some of that hot Odin action but without making the church mad" so I guess he doesn't really count. They kind of repurposed him though and went, "This is less about the wild hunt and more about feasting and drinking and staying warm and having fun!"

Then you've got the Roman Sol Invictus festival, which from what I understand is a big festival to several of the gods in the Roman pantheon, during a time of year where trying to flatter the sun itself would have been very appropriate. While I guess this doesn't tie into Santa (or maybe it does and I just haven't learned how yet) it does tie into the Hogfather, which is a Santa-like figure in Discworld, aka the best book series ever. In short, it talks about how belief in things like Santa and pantheons full of gods are what make us human in the first place, and able to comprehend all of our abstract ideas like justice, mercy and beauty.

Red from Overly Sarcastic Productions has an entire video about this, and she perfectly captures why I love Christmas/Yule/Saturnalia so much.


Merry February, everyone! Yuletime cheer is only 325 days away! (How do you guys celebrate Christmas?)

[PearlieMae]

That's so awesome!

I don't celebrate Christmas, I celebrate the Winter Solstice!

[Echidna]

I don't celebrate Christmas, I celebrate the Winter Solstice!

this.

And since you're talking about german christmas traditions;
Christmas is called "Holynight(s)" in German.
They simply took the "pagan" previous holiday, called "Smokynight(s)", and replaced smoky with holy.

Would probably have been too much work to rename all the pagan holidays.
Like Easter is still called after Eostre/Astarte, and so on.

[PearlieMae]

It wasn't that it was too difficult to rename holidays, it was easier to convert Pagans to the new religions if they were made to seem like the old ways. It's no coincidence that the 'birth of the son of God' coordinates with the 'birth of the Sun God', when early texts of the Christian bible claim that Jesus (aka Joshua Ben Joseph) was born in the spring when the olive trees were in bloom.

When western European pre-Christian religions were honoring the Goddess, the new Christians would decorate the doors of their churches with carvings of the Goddess of Willendorf and Sheila Na Gig...images the countryfolk were familiar with. Remember, not a lot of people could read back then and depended on the familiar and traditions of their ancestors. Tweak them just a bit, add a little novelty, and you've got a brand new bunch of converts. At one point in early Christian history, forevery church dedicated to Jesus, there were 500 dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. If that's not trying to convert goddess worshippers, I don't know what is.

Catholic Mass is based on the basic Pagan circle ritual, it's just held in rows.

Why? You may ask...then, the Church wielded all the political power. Not like today where it's the rich who are all powerful.

[Echidna]

ye, it's pretty obvious Mary is a replacement for whatever goddess the folk were worshipping previously. In many cases, the goddess idol figure (mostly small, carved statues) were not even replaced

If you ever delved a bit deeper into the story of Bernadette Soubirous (the girl famous for her visions that discovered the "Holy Spring" of Lourdes), it's a great example of how rural ancient traditions which are still rife in the Pyrenaes (worship of small fairy damsels connected to caves & springs) were painted in a christian light by the officials, despite Bernadette herself denying that the deity she saw was "Mary", she always called it "aquero" ("that thing") and described it as a pretty little damsel not taller than a ten year old girl.

Greatest irony; the Basques worshipped a female goddess named Mari (who, very familiarly, was married to a flying serpent God).
Wonderful how it's always again the same story, just the names change.

[Myah]

Hi, new here...

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[PearlieMae]

Bright blessings, Myah!

[Cerúleo Marez]

Hi everyone! I consider myself a pantheistic Norse heathen. My mersona is ruled by Æge and Rån. I'm a new budding merling, nice to meet you all!

[MidsummerMermaid]

I'm a weird mix: I'm a Trinitarian Wiccan, or Christian Witch. I see God as a combo of all the gods of the world, and I'm a devotee of Brighid. Been experimenting with different forms of magic and now I'm seeing if I can work with mermaid spirits. I never have time to do so, but it's on my list of things I want to try with oceanic magic.

[Kidiu]

I am a witch. I am spiritual, but religiously ambiguous. I often claim to be Agnostic or even simply Pagan, but to those extremely close to me, I admit I am a devout Luciferian.
I study all forms of the occult, from alchemy and sciences to mythologies and even Lovecraft’s work. Intense stuff, LoL.


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[PearlieMae]

I am a witch. I am spiritual, but religiously ambiguous. I often claim to be Agnostic or even simply Pagan, but to those extremely close to me, I admit I am a devout Luciferian.
I study all forms of the occult, from alchemy and sciences to mythologies and even Lovecraft’s work. Intense stuff, LoL.


Sent from my iPhone using MerNetwork mobile app

In Utah? That's double tough!