Ah, the wheel continues to turn. I didn’t workout today or anything, I just enjoyed the day and lit a candle for the ancestors. I did make the chicken stew from this book:
And it’s one of my favorites to make. I haven’t had much motivation to make traditional recipes lately and it felt good to get back into it again. I also made a cake from a pumpkin mix that I forgot to take a picture of before the kid and I nibbled on it.
I hope everyone enjoyed their spooky day!
Despite not being Christian, making a big deal out of an Easter dinner is a tradition. I’ll take any excuse to make something cool.
I managed to save up enough for leg of lamb, rosemary, chives, and potatoes.
I also harvested some mint from my garden and made some chocolate chip mint ice cream for a treat while I “force” my kid into the annual tradition of watching The Ten Commandments with me. I love this movie and I have fond memories of watching with Ma every year.
Ah right in the feels…
But delicious food in the name of my ancestors no matter the mythology. I am happy to share a delicious meal anyway.
Please take into account I have not seen either of these movies because I outright refuse to encourage this nonsense by giving away my money.
And I’m sure plenty of people will say “Eh, she’s Pagan. She’s gonna be pissed off at anything biblical.” In that case, fuck off. I don’t have time for superficial bullshit.
Like many Pagans, I was raised Christian and some of the habits are engraved. My child is NOT allowed to blaspheme in my house, I watch The Ten Commandments on Easter Sunday every year without fail, and I have an OCD like reaction to saying (or someone not saying) ‘Bless You’ after a sneeze. It’s how I was raised and I have accepted it as part of who I am and I don’t fight it.
And that is part of the reason I cannot abide these movies.
Yes, I am judging these movies by the trailers. Get over it. And here’s why.
Until I was about 14-15 years old, I was a devout Christian. I’ve read huge chunks of the Bible, I prayed multiple times a day, I wore a cross with the Lord’s Prayer in it (and can STILL recite it from memory) so in my mind, Moses and Noah were miracle stories. Noah built an ark to save his family and the animals of the world. Moses saved a nation of people with the conviction of his faith and God on his side.
And the new movies turn them both in to warriors. And the little Sunday School girl inside me is so pissed off I cannot even properly express it.
But allow me to try.
The miracle of these stories is Noah and Moses didn’t have to fight. Moses showed up with a staff, God turned it into a snake to devour the Pharaoh’s magicians snakes. God brought plague upon plague upon Egypt and (er… We can forget the actual verses say God hardened Pharaoh’s heart on purpose to make these things keep happening, right?) with the regime weakened, Pharaoh releases the Jews. God parts the Red Sea, God sends the pillar of fire to delay Pharaoh’s troops so they can cross it, and God punishes them for their lack of faith when Moses is receiving the tablets, forcing them to wander until the entire generation of doubters was dead.
It was a miracle. A series of miracles. And the damn trailer turns Moses into Leonidas.
I guess this is part of a larger problem I have with the dogma of turning what is supposed to be Biblical pacifists who changed the world with the power of God into ‘You can skip this movie and just watch 300 and The Day After Tomorrow if you wanna watch warriors and a frickkin flood.’
I guess it shouldn’t upset me at all seeing as how this isn’t my belief system anymore. But I had to explain to my kid why my face twisted in disgust and I had to change the channel whenever I saw the trailers on TV. Cinema Sins summed it up in their assessment of Noah:
“Because battle is the only way Hollywood knows how to build tension, let’s shoehorn an evil army into the Noah story. Since a world-covering flood isn’t antagonist enough.”
“Man, Noah is a better fighter than Maximus. I bet if Hollywood made a Biblical epic about Zacchaeus, he’d be a kung-fu fighting expert slash tax collector.”
“-because a story about a man building a giant boat on God’s instructions, then loading a boat with 2 of every animal and his family, and then surviving a worldwide flood isn’t exciting enough material to make a movie out of on it’s own, apparently.”
This is not the Bible I grew up with. We were taught to turn the other cheek, love those who hate us, and revere and trust in the power of God. God brought fire from hail, turned water into blood, covered the entire Earth in water. Noah had a BOAT. Moses had a STAFF. That’s it. It’s as if you made Ghandi into Dhalsim. The message is ruined. If you want to preserve the Bible and spread its message through cinema, you’re gonna have to do better.
Or just grab a sword. Fuck it. Sells movie tickets.
I don’t think I’ve been happier for the new year to come. Day by day things are actually changing for the better! 😀
I tore through the house cleaning everything. I washed down the floors with lemongrass and High John the Conquerer oil and smudged every room in the house, the backyard, and my car. Laundry is going and soon my signature chicken and rice stew will be bubbling on the stove.
Man I love this holiday. May we all be blessed in the new year!
Yeeaahhh… I was left unattended in Barnes and Noble with a credit card… This is the result. Actually, this and a couple things for my kiddo for Easter/Ostara gifts, but still… Â >_< *smoke wafts off debit card*
I regret nothing. “Ghost” was I comic I read in high school and while it may seem silly to others, she was a huge role-model for me.  Rediscovering her at this time in my life has to be fate. 🙂 As for the special edition “Death?” It’s Neil Gaiman. I’d read the phone book if he wrote it. :p
The Tarot and Trace books just looked cool. I’ve always wanted to expand what I can do with my tarot cards and any sort of spiritual advancement I’ll take. :p
This is about IT for me in regards to book shopping. I did a big shop last week when I took the demon seed to get pictures with the Easter Bunny and still haven’t finished all THOSE comics. Looks like reading isn’t my anti-drug, it IS my drug. XD
I’ve always been reticent to really chat with other Pagans about what I believe and how I practice. This is usually because I’m very different from most practicing Pagans or Witches. Hell, even saying “Yes, I’m a witch” gets me funny looks from Pagans and comments like “You shouldn’t say that.”
You’d think a bunch a tree hugging dirt worshipers would be a little more open to how individuals practice. Every so often, you’ll see posts in major Pagan blogs about how Pagans need to be more understanding of one another and that trying to get a consensus of what we all believe is a kin to herding cats. While I believe there is strength in that lack of uniformity, but a little more understanding of that very lack of uniformity would go miles towards a greater sense of community despite all our differences. Then perhaps wouldn’t be so hesitant to talk to people who share my brand of faith.
Ahh, the unknowable element. The looming cloud of the incomprehensible. I know this may scare some people but to me, this can also mean potential. Anything undefined leaves space for definition, for discovery.
In a way I envy neopyites since they have so much to discover and to learn. In their search for definition, they will have epiphanies I have to search my tired old brain to remember.
I try to explain to friends and my kid that not knowing, being undefined, isn’t a bad thing; it’s an opportunity. It’s a clear path to discovery and it’s being laid out right before you. Don’t miss the chance and enjoy the journey.
I try and meditate every day for at least 20 minutes to clear my mind and be able to focus. It’s not every day that I have to perform a huge ritual or anything but each little meditation session is like running laps to train for a marathon. I’ve found it much easier to get in the right frame of mind for worship since I’ve started to train my mind to reach that state.
My eventual goal is to have 40 minutes to an hour of meditation time a night but yyeeaahhh… Maybe when I retire. =_= There are days where those 20 minutes are spent just calming myself down. But the benefits are more than worth it. It’s like an old muscle you stretch back into fighting form. I suppose all those years of martial arts paid off in the sense of giving me a trainer’s mind. I’m always training, striving, trying to be better and so better to improve.
“When the student is ready the teacher will appear” ~Buddhist proverb
There are few things would dare call absolute but the statement above is indeed an absolute. In my experience, this has been the most true thing I have ever heard. Whenever I have had need of a certain spiritual lesson, the person or persons who will give me this lesson are right there having come into my life at exactly the right time.
For good or ill, I am grateful for all these impromptu teachers. Not all the lessons have been easy or pleasant. Many involved a fair amount of tears and still hurt to this day. But what I have taken away from these lessons have made me the strong, capable person I am today. So, I look forward to the next teacher to come into my life. May they be lenient with their lessons. XD