September 20, 2002--Happy Equinox! For those of you in the Northern Hemisphere, happy Mabon! For those of you in the Southern Hemisphere, happy Ostara! I hope you have a wonderful Sabbat!

I know mine is going to be pretty small...there wasn't much time to plan anything or even unpack the tools that I still have in various boxes and crates. I was gone this week for an Assistant Manager's conference at my company headquarters, and I had a wonderful time! HQ is in the mountains, and it was nice to get away from the heat and humidity for a few days and go to a different climate, albeit only about 4 hours away, and be in the cool and humidity for a change. One of the others at the conference said that the leaves are already beginning to turn in her area. Granted, she's in one of the cooler mountain resort areas that sees the seasons change a little sooner than the rest of us, but it was pretty impressive to ponder on the idea that no matter where you are around here, Fall is just around the corner. The Wheel keeps turning. In a few short weeks, we'll probably be lamenting about, "Where has the summer gone?" but right now I'm really looking forward to a change of pace and a change in weather.

I'll still miss the great summer thunderstorms, though....

September 11, 2002--Busy day... It's hard to imagine that the terrorist attacks occured only 1 year ago. It feels like forever, but at the same time, it feels like it was only yesterday. I remember that day so well...but right now I don't feel like going into it. I've had CNN on all day in the living room, so I guess right now all I can say is one thing...to the terrorists: "NYAH NYAH-NYAH NYAH-NYAH NYAH! THHHHBBBPPPTTTT!!!!!!" I think it was the public service announcements that did it for me....

Okay, back to maturity for everyone else's sake. I had the day off of work today, so I put the majority of it into working on the website. I put in a heck of a lot of work to finally complete the Group/Solitary Activities for each sabbat. I had three sabbats done prior to today...Yule, Imbolc, and Ostara were completed back in 1998/1999. I hadn't touched the others that much since then. So with two pages per holiday, that was 10 pages finished today. Why couldn't I do them before? Who knows...maybe lack of inspiration or something. But I'm working on yet another version of the site, so I'm not going to post them until I have the new version done. I think I have the majority of the tough part finished. Just the tedious part left to go. Converting all the pages? I did that a little over a year ago...it pains me to do it again, but necessity is necessity....

I updated the Book of the Month to add an August selection. I try to put the BOTM at the end of each month since it is based on what I am reading during that particular month. I admit, the August selection is a little late, plus I read it about two years ago, but it still seemed appropriate while I finish off some of the others I've started. With the move, August was a little busy for me to sit and enjoy some reading. :)

That's about it. 10 pages *finally* completed, plus some minor updates, and a couple loads of laundry done is quite a bit. Considering I spent a good portion of the day here in front of the computer, it's a wonder that any laundry got done at all! Now to unload those four crates of books....

September 9, 2002--I've been meaning to mention this... One of the best ways to help spread good PR about Paganism is to just be yourself...and don't be scared what other people think of you. You don't have to be pushy about your beliefs, just be simple and explain your point of view in a matter-of-fact tone. Now I always wear my pentacle in public...most of the time people have no clue what it is and simply comment on "what a pretty star pendant" I'm wearing. So usually, I just thank them and smile. Only rarely do people ask what it means.
Example: I had my annual exam at the doctor's (yay OB/Gyn annuals) in July. When I was leaving, two of the nurses commented on my pentacle as described above. I tend to use the method of not explaining about it unless asked...and this time they asked. One said that she thought it looked like a sheriff's badge, and asked if I had a family member who was a police officer and died. The other nurse said, "Oh, I thought you were Jewish." See? Nothing to be scared of! They then asked, "What does it mean?" so I was happy to reply: "I'm Pagan." Quizzical looks were their response, so I went a little further, "To be more technical, I'm Wiccan."
"Doesn't that mean you're a Witch?" one asked. I wouldn't say she had a look of fear on her face, but it was definitely a wide-eyed look.
The other quickly asked the question that was on both of their minds by saying, "Sooo...what do you believe?" Here we go....
"To be as basic as possible, it's a Nature-based religion. We believe in the cycles of life, and that those cycles are reflected in the earth, the seasons, and even in ourselves." Pause for a breath and to see how they were taking it.
"So do you believe in God?" asked the taller of the two.
"Oh yes, definitely!" (Please note that I then began changing the wording so I spoke only for myself.) "As a Wiccan, I believe that Deity exists, but instead of taking the form of one gender or even a Holy Neuter, Deity is both, God and Goddess."
Then I brought it to where it hit home for them: "I mean, you see it everyday where you work...Creation takes two. It's not just a matter of worship, but of celebration. We celebrate life!"
"Do you have anything like the Commandments?"
"Something like that...our main rule is to do as you wish, live your life as you please, but to harm none in the process. 'Harm none' includes ourselves, and it includes our thoughts, words, and deeds. It's harder than you'd think, and it's not an excuse to go out and take advantage of anyone. I believe you are rewarded and punished in this lifetime, so you have to be utterly responsible for everything you do."
They both softened a lot, and actually thanked me for telling me about something that was new to them. They obviously already had a bit of a bias at the word "Witch," but I was glad to let them know that it's not as evil and scary as they had previously thought.
It was actually great...and by mentioning where they work, they better understood why I said Deity has both genders. Of course, I could have gone further into the Great Neuter and Holy Hermaphrodite, but they really only wanted the basics. *grin* I felt so good leaving the office that day, though, because I felt like I really got a chance to reach out to a few people and dispel some myths.
I should also mention that they were at least in their mid-30's and I live in the Southern United States where religion can be a very scary topic to discuss. No one whipped out any matches or nooses or told me I'm going to Hell. I'm sure there are those who would give a fire-and-brimstone speech at the drop of a hat, but when they do, just smile at them. Kill them with kindness, and remember they won't change your ways or beliefs by attacking you. And maybe...hopefully, they'll reflect later about their actions and your reaction, and just maybe they'll realize how ineffective they are and that they should re-think their own ways and beliefs instead.
In the meantime, there might be a passer-by who is left a little more enlightened about our beliefs!

September 4, 2002--Got any advice? Being that "new school year" time again, I was recently reflecting on my own years in college. I had a thought about it, though...I wish there had been someone at the time to give me a little bit of advice about college life after I had been there a week or so. Sure, I heard lots of advice before I got to college, but it fell on deaf ears because I couldn't relate to it yet. When I was there too long, again, it fell on deaf ears because I think we all get to a point when all we think is, "Yeah yeah yeah...I've heard all this before." We become jaded to what actually amounts to gems of wisdom. But now...now would be a good time. If you're an upper-classman, what advice do you have for the freshmen? It doesn't necessarily have to be Paganism-related, though that would be quite helpful, too. If you're a freshman, what are your first impressions of college? What questions do you have regarding college life? Do you have any questions about being Pagan in college that may not be covered in this site?

I'd love to post some responses if you or impressions of being in college. I'm interested in making a new section to the site for your points of view, anecdotes, advice, or just plain old opinions that you might have.