Review & Interview – Song of the Sea God / Chris Hill

REVIEW

I read this novel firstly with a varied pace. Then I read it a second time, unhurried and savouring the rich writing, wry language and insights, as well as literary references and nods that are entwined within the characters of this wild narrative. I will probably read it a third time.

Chris Hill has delivered a masterly first novel, one that is crafted and measured yet shining through with the intensity and passion that comes from deep inspiration. The story takes place on an isolated, depressed Island noted most for its use as a rubbish tip and its possession of an ugly statue by a lesser known sculpture. Into the stale but stoic lives of desperation, pub flirtations and surface emotions comes John Love, a charismatic shamanic medium washed up from the sea. The name, like many of the names in the novel, is significant.

Love’s presence is not simply a catalyst though – he is far more active than that and seeks to transform the dull community he finds, profiting along the way of course. The result is a high and feral ride that takes the reader into the depths of human experience, desperation and vulnerability. For this to be managed effectively, there needs to be authentic and crafted character development, and Hill produces this remarkably. Further though, Hill also develops and opens for display the character of the island community itself, its interactions, flirtations, group mind and herd-mob instincts. These are all on show, exposed and commented on by the narrator, a mute dwarf who is in many ways the silent eye of the storm developing upon Love’s arrival. In doing so, Hill reveals the underlying nature of many small towns’ heart and soul. It is for this reason much of the narrative takes place in pubs, where pain-dulled, surface actions merge with the liquor’s pull towards intimacy and need.

Hill’s writing is superb and moving, sardonic to the point of painful acceptance. His ability to use elements of the normal to open and lay bare the unnoticed and the real is astonishing. It shows the mark of a major writer indeed. Take this description by the narrator of how our youth and beauty fade:

You lose it though. It drifts. People swell like potatoes.

A few words, an anchoring to a reality and experience we all know. This is so very good, and the same crafting is used throughout. Some of the narration is nothing less than glorious in its rich and earthy embrace of the squalid lives we sometimes live:

All speed and flurry, going nowhere. That’s how we feel Barbara. Used and once was.

She has one of those careers which does for a life, thriving in the gap left by nothing better, like the peculiar scraps of existence which live on the deep ocean bed.

Yet this is not a depressing novel, not even a harsh expression of flash-light realism; it is novel full of magic. And even if the magic of the main character, John Love, is questionable, even if the energy of the town is that of the mob, the ultimate message and gift is one of transformation and revelation. The reader comes out of the book better off, more connected and deepened. One way Hill does this is through the inclusion of lines and paraphrasing of other great literary works. At one point John Love is rallying his people, drawing them close and finishes with lines from that greatest of poetic sequences, Eliot’s The Four Quartets:

The communication of the dead is tongued with fire beyond the language of the living.

Yet this is not simply about the character Love; another minor character also carries Eliot in paraphrase:

I don’t know much about gods,” said Glazier. “But I know the sea.”

Chris has done his research and crafting well, and all the magical and spiritual aspects of the novel ring true and accurate. There is much of interest here for the esoterically and magically inclined, particularly concerning the egregore or group  mind of a locale or a people. And there are also small, subtle inclusions such as this poem/chant about the narrator:

“BES’S CHORUS”

There’s the dwarf.

The little man…”

Bes is an ancient Egyptian god, often depicted as a dwarf and here Chris is stretching words and meanings with humour and skill as he does throughout the book.

Overall this is a wonderful novel and one I am very happy to have read. Its symbolism, crafted language and deep themes will stay with you long after the reading is done. It is highly recommended.

space

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Book Depository | Skylight Press

space

INTERVIEW

Chris Hill

MOTO: Chris, your novel is set on an Island. Why did you choose this setting? Does this choice have any personal significance for you, or deeper meaning?

Chris: Thanks for interviewing me Peregrin – and for such a kind review. I had a range of reasons for using the island I suppose. For one thing I was born and grew up on Walney Island off the coast of Cumbria in North West England – and that was the geographical template for the island in the book – its easier to write convincingly about a place you know I think.

On another level I suppose you could say the island was a metaphor in the book – for the individual human being say or for life and crossing the bridge to death. It was also very useful to have somewhere isolated and cut off for the action to take place – it made it more conceivable such things could happen in the modern world.

MOTO: Your novel explores the concepts of identity to a marked degree…as a magician I noticed particuarly your exploration of group identity and the group mind. What made you focus on this?

Chris: It was something I was drawn to when I was working through ideas for the book. When you start thinking about religion you obviously consider what people believe as a group. I did some research on magicians and the process of making people think a certain way – cold reading and so on. But it’s important for the book I think that it’s not entirely clear how much of what John Love does is magic tricks and how much might be deeper and harder to explain than that.

MOTO: Peppered throughout the novel are lines and references to other works of literature and poetry – as well as lines from indie rock groups – what function do these serve?

Chris: I value richness in things I read, and in things I write. I want the experience of reading my work to be rewarding and for there to be layers to explore. There would be individual reasons for using all the different references of course but overall I think that’s why I do it. There are also other things in there such as curious facts, most of which are true, but one or two of which I think I remember I just made up. I sometimes think of those student editions of Shakespeare where there are half a dozen lines of text from the play per page and the rest of the page crammed with notes about how each phrase or concept evolved – what it alluded to. In some ways one could do that with mine too.

MOTO: There’s a fair bit of overt and more subtle esoteric or spiritual themes in the novel, as well as a some direct references from one of the main characters. Did you do much research on these themes when writing the novel?

Chris: Yes I did some research on that. I’m certainly no expert on these themes but I read round the subject a little – books about ancient religion, myth and so on. A key text of course was The Golden Bough, which Love refers to throughout the book. As I’m sure you know that’s an anthropological collection of beliefs and myths from around the world. It struck me it could be read as a ‘how to become a god’ manual – which is what Love uses it for. One of the main themes of Golden Bough is the way different religions follow a similar trajectory and the ‘religion’ in my book follows a similar path.

MOTO: Finally, can you tell us a little about your future writing projects…Tip Island and Bes seem too good a locale and character to just leave…will they return in the future?

Chris: No – they’re preserved in amber in Sea God and they won’t be seen again. I look forward to writing other novels about other things. I have one done I’m happy with which is lighter – more of a comedy – so maybe that will come out next if I can find a suitable publisher whose list it will suit. And I’ll be starting a new book as soon as I can find an idea which interests me enough to want to do it.

Thanks so much for interviewing me – it’s been a real pleasure to answer such fascinating questions!

Read Full Post »

Pagan misunderstandings of Christianity (again) and a new WA Pagan Mag

It seems my especial fate or personal quirk that I often find myself explaining what Neo-Paganism is to Christians and what Christianity isn’t to Pagans (see here, here and here for example). Ho hum. Anyway, I’ve just had another shot at this in response to an article in a wonderful new Western Australian Pagan E-Magazine, Pagan Pens. Go and have a look at the first issue here. It contains some interesting articles, including ones by Gordon Strong and little old moi. Congrats to all the folk involved!

Anyway, here is a classic ‘letter to the editor’ I just sent in response to an article entitled ‘Where the Christians get it wrong’. Enjoy or not

space

Cover of the first issue

Thank you so much for the first edition of ‘Pagan Pens’.

It was a delight to see Gary Wilmot’s comments on the inadequacy of simply ‘flipping’ the Wheel of the Year (‘Where the Christians get it wrong’). This has been an abiding concern of ours for 20 years, and I really hope more Perth and WA groups take up Gary’s implication to think it through deeper.

The rest of his rather starkly entitled ‘Where the Christians get it wrong’ left me wondering a bit. Firstly, as I and many others have noted elsewhere, Christianity is so diverse – much more so than modern Paganism – we cannot actually talk about ‘it’ without making generalizations. Gary, as so many Pagan commentators do, seems to be responding to what he thinks Christianity is, rather than what it may actually be in 2012 CE. Nor does he take into account the actual diversity, multiplicity and subtly of the development of the Christian religions in the early centuries of the Common Era.

The ‘hijacking’ of Christianity by the establishment as Gary puts it, had its most obvious manifestation in 380 CE by the adoption of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire. However, we cannot say that the Roman Imperial apparatus was a new face of the ‘same old body’ of establishment that the Jesus Movements developed within almost immediately from the time of Christ’s death circa 35 CE. The ‘establishment’ then was very different, being mostly focused through the Jewish Sanhedrin.

The common Pagan understanding that Christianity ‘shaped its mythology around established practices and festivals’ is not an inviolable truth. The matter is actually far more subtle. Despite popular internet misconceptions of links between Horus and Christ, the core Christian doctrines of Incarnation, Resurrection and Ascension have no prior occurrences in Pagan mythology. This is not the place to go into this, but the essential difference is that Christ was and is seen as GOD and human; not one God of a Pantheon, but the One Being. He was also clearly not an incarnation of a God, nor an Incarnation of the One, but fully human at the same time. This theology was and is radically different from the Pagan and Jewish religions extant in this era.

Despite the many boring photos on Facebook declaring Christianity ‘stole’ Pagan festivals the actual reality is again far more complex. The date for the birth of Christ varied between different ancient Jesus movements and Churches. It may have been fixed to the 25 December several centuries BEFORE it was even celebrated. Therefore this did not involve an appeal to ‘the masses’ as Gary puts it, but a handful of earnest theologians arguing among themselves. And of course this means co-opting the Roman Saturnalia was not part of the motivation for this dating, as there was originally no celebration. See, for example, “Everything you know about Christmas is wrong”. (http://www.patheos.com/blogs/getreligion/2012/12/everything-you-know-about-christmas-is-wrong/)

Similarly with Easter; despite the popular myth that it all stems from Christian borrowings of the celebration of the Goddess Eostre, the reality is somewhat different. Firstly, the evidence for this belief is based mostly on a SINGLE source, the Venerable Bede. Secondly, the dating is all wrong. To quote from “Was Easter Borrowed from a Pagan Holiday?: The historical evidence contradicts this popular notion”:

(http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/bytopic/holidays/easterborrowedholiday.html):

The first question, therefore, is whether the actual Christian celebration of Easter is derived from a pagan festival. This is easily answered. The Nordic/Germanic peoples (including the Anglo-Saxons) were comparative latecomers to Christianity. Pope Gregory I sent a missionary enterprise led by Augustine of Canterbury to the Anglo-Saxons in 596/7. The forcible conversion of the Saxons in Europe began under Charlemagne in 772. Hence, if “Easter” (i.e. the Christian Passover festival) was celebrated prior to those dates, any supposed pagan Anglo-Saxon festival of “Eostre” can have no significance. And there is, in fact, clear evidence that Christians celebrated an Easter/Passover festival by the second century, if not earlier. It follows that the Christian Easter/Passover celebration, which originated in the Mediterranean basin, was not influenced by any Germanic pagan festival.

Nuff said?

Gary in his article goes on to write:

…the main problem, as I see it, is the fixed nature of the Christian mythology. Essentially we are dealing with a religion whose rituals, rules and beliefs were laid down more than 1000 years ago and more or less set in stone as, quite literally, “gospel truth”.

I am not sure what Christianity Gary is referring to in this extraordinary statement. It is certainly not any Catholic, Protestant or Orthodox Christianity, all of which have shown an incredible change over the last 1000 years, especially the last 100 years. It is hard to even know where to begin addressing such a bald, gross misunderstanding.

This view somehow ignores the whole Reformation from 1517 CE onwards which led to the creation of dozens of new Protestant churches, all of which created new and radical ways of practice, scriptural interpretation, theology and cosmology. It ignores the creation of the Anglican Church in 1534 CE, a Church which historically was the dominant Christian sect in Australia. And of course the impulse of reformation and reconstitution continues today:  new Protestant Churches are formed each day across the world with new theologies and scriptural work. The statement also ignores the Catholic Counter-Reformation from 1545 CE in response to the rise of Protestantism, let alone the amazing changes in the Catholic Church since Vatican II, 1962-65 CE.

The facts regarding Christianities are clear: the so called “rules, rituals and practices from those dim and distant times” as Gary puts it, simply do not exist. In the matter of Scriptural interpretation things have changed hugely in the last 1000 years. The classic example is that of Matthew 19:9:

And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

This is the ‘gospel truth’ Gary refers to. However, many Protestant churches now interpret this passage differently to how it was interpreted even 50 years ago, with good church folk divorcing each other regularly. So much for an invariable Christian truth from a thousand years ago continued today.

Exorcism…updated for today’s world

In the realm of practice, most of the liturgy within most Churches has been composed in the last 50 years. Heck, there was even a new Catholic Exorcism Rite in 1999 CE. Christian liturgies continue the themes and forms of the older churches but in newer vessels, like all developing religions, like Neo-Paganism. In the theological realm, Papal Infallibility was proclaimed less than 150 years ago in 1870 CE, and the Immaculate Conception was declared a dogma in 1854 CE. These are hardly small changes and show the unfolding development of all arms of Christianity. And today of course there are many more changes with women Bishops and Priests, meditation as a regular part of Christian life, and the composition of new forms of liturgy. I remember nearly ten years ago taking Communion to the strains of the Eurythmics’ ‘the Miracle of Love’ in a Mass that quoted the Upanishads, Starhawk and Walt Whitman among others.

While there are many problems with exoteric Christianity, many places the religions ‘get it wrong’, they are not the places indicated by Gary in his broad sweeping statements. And really, I cannot see why, even if it was accurate, there would be a need for this kind of article in a 2012 CE Pagan magazine. The readership is Pagan, all of us consciously have a Pagan path – why are we discussing the demerits of other religions, and why are we focused on Christianity? Thanks

Read Full Post »

A Survey of the Golden Dawn

Mike over at ‘Mike’s Prattle’ has post concerning a book he is researching about “how the Golden Dawn affects an initiate’s material/personal life.” This is a great idea, something very much needed indeed. And Mike is the person for the job, having deeply reflected on this very issue for a long time. Naturally though he cannot know all the answers, and this is where YOU come in – the book will be based on a survey of Golden Dawn practitioners the world over. So, scoot on over there and respond away…. now!

In classic Aussie fashion, Good on ya Mike!

http://mikesprattle.wordpress.com/2012/10/14/a-survey-of-the-golden-dawn/

Read Full Post »

Review – Paganism & Christianity – A Resource for Wiccans, Witches and Pagans by Gavin Andrew

This e-book is published under the auspices of the Pagan Awareness Network Incorporated (PAN) in Australia. Since I had just written about this exact subject, I was excited to find this publication and eagerly downloaded it.

Despite going against the grain of the reviews I have seen, I am not universally impressed with this short book. It has a wonderful amount of secondary research, and the author obviously has read widely and makes some very good connections. However, I feel there is still an implicit misunderstanding of the diversity and subtleties of Christianity that mars the author’s intentions. At times it seems covertly hostile to what the author thinks is Christianity.

I cannot help wondering what this book would have been like with Christian input or co-authoring; if Mr Andrew had sat down with Christians to discuss each of the topics raised. There are good examples of inter-faith dialogues, such as Beyond the Burning Times. See also the recent podcast with the Pagan Federation’s Mike Stygal and John W Morehead. Everyone should really access these resources

I am not sure however, that such open dialogue was the intention of this book. The subtitle clearly states its audience is Pagan. So it seems its aims of education and information are all implicitly meant to be Pagan views on Christianity and Pagan-Christian interaction. The book  achieves that aim in a limited sense and while it will mostly reinforce already existing Pagan views on Christianity, it will also provide new information and links. As an accurate reflection of the diversity of the Christian experience and its interconnections with Paganism, I do feel the book falls short.

As I read through the book I was delighted to discover some solid and deep reading, often linking through references to books and sources of high repute. Pagans and Christians will be enriched reading the references and links made by Mr Andrew.

Problems though are also apparent, starting with this definition of a Christian as someone who believes the following:

• That there is one god who is absolutely good and perfect
• That human beings are born flawed, sinful or evil, and are therefore incapable of having a direct, personal relationship with god
• That Jesus  of Nazareth died to pay the price of all human sin; that he arose from the dead; and that through belief in him a personal relationship with God becomes possible. (there is no pagination in any e-version I downloaded).

This is a succinct exoteric definition but fails to take into account the subtlety of progressive Christianity or depth of esoteric Christianity that Mr Andrew must have been exposed to in researching this book. Nor does it actually address the diversity of regular Christian thought in the real world. Eastern Orthodox theology has a different take on the myth of the Fall, the source of the second point, and therefore a much more nuanced view on human nature. When I quoted this definition on the Facebook page for the Evangelical Chapter of the Foundation for Religious Diplomacy, John W. Moorehead kindly pointed out that some evangelical Christians believe that humans can, from their own side, form a relationship with God. So the actual reality of Christian thought is far more complex than how Mr Andrew presents it. I did not know the latter fact, and John’s kind clarification of it is the sort of thing that happens when inter-religious conversations occur. In fact, it is well worth looking at this Facebook group for all sorts of things.

Mr Andrew’s discussion on the Trinity again displays a Pagan understanding of what Christians believe, a belief which he describes as “nominally” monotheistic on the account of the presence of three persons. The mystery of the Trinity as monotheism has been described so many times I find it hard to believe anyone of any reading would consider it only nominally monotheistic. From a hard polytheist perspective sure, but not from a Christian viewpoint. And this is where a lot of the problem with the book lies; Pagan interpretation on but a narrow slice of the Christian experience, rather than at attempt to let a diverse Christianity speak for itself.

The author’s intention to critique Christianity leads him to make a few errors. For example, he refers to views expressed in a personal interview with the Vatican exorcist as ‘established Catholic doctrine’ when of course they are simply views of one priest, not doctrinal statements. The fact that the interview concerns itself largely with how the exorcist is at odds with the Vatican over the new Rite of Exorcism, should be indication enough of the difference between an interview and official doctrine.

Mr Andrew spends a couple of pages early in the book recounting some truly awful actions and attitudes against Pagans by what Mr Andrew calls ‘hot temperature’ Christians; fundamentalists evangelicals and others. He does not however clearly spell out that these views and actions are not those of the majority of Christians, despite himself describing one of the Pastors involved as ‘controversial’.

Mr Andrew concludes this recount with the question, “What conclusions can be drawn from the evidence so far?” In his answer he states that ‘high-temperature’ Christians are “very likely to view pagans, especially Wiccans and witches, as spiritual enemies in a dangerously literal sense.” And maybe this is so, from the ‘evidence’ presented so far, but Mr Andrew goes on to opine that:

At the other end of the spectrum, Christians from more moderate denominations (Anglican/Episcopalian, Lutheran or Presbyterian, for example, and moderate elements within Catholicism) can be less overtly hostile, but still view pagan spirituality as flawed, lacking theological depth, or an imperfect reflection of what Christianity embodies. This assessment is often based upon false assumptions and a lack of awareness of the growing field of pagan academic scholarship.

This is despite not even once discussing these Christians from ‘moderate denominations’ or their organisational viewpoints. Clearly then this is assumption on behalf of Mr Andrew, not evidence. Now he may be accurate in his assumptions, or he may not, but badly declaring the views of several Christian denominations in such a way is hardly likely to endear a Christian reader to his viewpoint, or further inter-faith understanding.

Mr Andrew tackles John 14:6:  “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

He sees this passage as implying a belief in a strict-parent figure and asserts “Christians use this passage to state clearly and unequivocally that their religion is the only true religion; and that all others are false, or at the very least imperfect.” Now all of this is very true of some Christians, but Mr Andrew seems ignorant of both progressive Christianity and general-in-the-Church viewpoints.

Aslan’s Dad

My last blog post featured Marcus Borg speaking on this very topic. Have a look there or here on the video from 40 minutes onward. Clearly there is a lot of different understanding of John 14:6 within the Christian community.  And we are not talking about fringe or esoteric Christianity; Borg is a traditional Episcopalian theologian of impeccable background and credentials. Even the establishment Christian apologist C.S. Lewis, arguably the most influential Christian thinker of the 20^th century, had inclusive views on the subject.

…the truth is God has not told us what His arrangements about the other people [non Christians] are. We do know that no man can be saved except through Christ; we do not know that only those who know Him can be saved through Him.” Mere Christianity:

This is subtle, deep and complex and unless we think Christians view “God” as an old man in the sky, we become aware of a viewpoint where Christians can hold the tenants of John 14:6 and be open to other religions. Such a view opens a vista of possibilities for genuine inter-faith dialogue and understanding that could have been explored by Mr Andrew had he stepped beyond a narrow interpretation of scripture that few within the Christian community invest with any serious depth. Most Christian churches and those within the churches are concerned with their own faith, and are quite happy to leave the quality of the faith of others, or not, to God. The majority of Christians, like the majority of Pagans, are simply getting on with things.

Mr Andrew spends a chapter examining Christian scripture and what it has to say ‘about Pagans’ and concludes:

A cursory examination of the Bible reveals that Christian doctrine is fundamentally, completely and irrevocably opposed to paganism, Wicca or witchcraft in any form, and anyone who practices them. It is also important to note that Christians tend to view polytheism as a kind of spiritual adultery or prostitution – a concept which has its origin in a literary metaphor employed nearly three thousand years ago by a cuckolded Hebrew writer.

Once again, there are misunderstandings here. The Bible, let alone personal interpretation, is not Christian doctrine so this statement is incorrect. Doctrines vary from church to church, some are more Biblically based and some include extra-Biblical traditions. The final sentence I think would also not reflect many Christian’s views on polytheism, since many are trying hard to love first and foremost, including polytheists. Many Christians I know would find this view both inaccurate and offensive.

Mr Andrew often reproduces common views within the Pagan community concerning Christianity without unpacking or critiquing them. An example is the view that “early Christianity plagiarized ancient pagan spirituality.” I have heard this a lot, and it is really a very limited notion as plagiarism implies a conscious theft, imitation or appropriation. In terms of any religion’s development, they nearly always build upon and interact with the existing religious forms.

For plagiarism to occur ‘the early Christians’ would not only have to been a discreet, unified body, which they were not, but also a self-identified, self conscious religion already, who then chose to take from existing Pagan religions. They were not and did not . Christianity was formed within a cultural and religious environment that we now call Pagan and was influenced by this environment, though it is of course arguable it was more influenced by its Jewish parent. In any case, plagiarism does not come into it.

Mr Andrew’s review of both the early modern witch hunts and the history of modern Neo-Paganism is very good, and he has engaged well with modern research and academic views. He traces the history well, and there is little to fault here. The only issues I think are his wording, when he talks of “witchcraft indigenous to Europe and the Middle East”. There was no religious Witchcraft indigenous to Europe. There were a few surviving medieval Pagan remnants, the stereotypical image of the diabolical witch placed over fears of witchcraft (which exists worldwide) and folk magical practices, often called ‘cunning craft’.

We cannot retroactively combine these factors and place over them our conception of modern religious Neo-Pagan Witchcraft. Nor can we, as Mr Andrew seems to do, rely on the influence of cunning craft on contemporary Paganisms and the assumed ‘shamanic’ practices within records of a few witch trials to provide a solid lineage in anything other than folk and/or high magical practice.

As Professor Hutton as described, Wicca’s lineage is magical, not religious; the religious components being the truly modern and revolutionary aspects. He describes how modern Paganism came about by the ‘filtering out of non-Christian elements’ within ‘streams of heritage’ that had preserved or adopted Pagan elements. This included cunning craft where the practitioners often saw themselves in opposition to the evils of witchcraft and which was, according to Hutton, the least relevant of factors in the development of modern Witchcraft.

Mr Andrew’s misunderstanding of, if not antipathy towards Christianity comes out in these words:

The concern over the state of one’s relationship with God lies at the heart of the Christian faith. Despite the very many altruistic (and noble) statements about love, charity and forgiveness in the New Testament, Christianity would seem to be at its core a self centered religion: the point of faith, of repentance of one’s sins, of obedience to God’s sovereignty, is to achieve eternal life in the presence of God.

This ignores countless acts of selfless love, charity and dedication shown each day by thousands of Christians. It makes a mockery of an ex-colleague of mine, a nun, who for years risked her life helping the poor and oppressed in Latin America. It also shows a complete misunderstanding of the salvific action of Christ; once we are in relationship with him, saved by him, our only task is to maintain relationship with him. We do not have to ‘do’ anything else; we do not need to purify ourselves, transform ourselves, only be open to his love and direction.

In short, we are saved by faith not works. Christianity, and every single Christian I have spoken to, does not see a ‘big brownie counter’ in the sky, where our good actions are counted up against our bad ones. This is a childish view of Christianity and Mr Andrew’s words are a classic example of the ideas that prompted C.S. Lewis’ famous remark that people as an adult often criticise Christianity based on what they learnt of it as a child, not as an adult.

My friend the nun did not need to do any of her dangerous actions on behalf of others; she was already in deep relationship with Christ. She did them out of love. And it is love which motivates countless acts of Christian compassion daily. Mr Andrew does not seem to understand this, nor that it is love which motivates many Christians in their evangelical work towards members of other faiths, or no faith. Again, I discuss this in my previous post.

Mr Andrew’s work is sadly sometimes marred by unfortunate skills in either presentation or logic. Take for example this paragraph which comes after the previous one:

The desire for eternal life implicitly suggests a terror of death, of darkness, of the chthonic. Jesus Christ is worshipped as the one who has ‘overcome’, ‘conquered’, ‘gained victory over’ these realms. To many pagans, this desire to triumph over mortality also implies repugnance towards organic, sexual, mortal life. Such deep-seated aversions may explain the Christian fear of witchcraft in particular, and its ancient associations both with life and fertility on one hand and with the chthonic, otherworldly realm of the dead on the other. Many traditions of pagan spirituality are underpinned by an awareness of mortality.

Aside from missing the point of Christ’s victory, the structure of this paragraph is worth examining. First we have an implication of a what eternal life means for Christians, an implication from Mr Andrew himself, without reference to sources. Next we have a Pagan response to that implication which introduces more implications on what Christians think and believe, again not based on any sources. Finally, all these introduced implications are used as a possible explanation for the Christian fear of witchcraft and the realms of the dead, whereas the fear of (and persecution of alleged) witchcraft and the realms of the dead are near universal phenomena, not solely Christian.

Fortunately, Mr Andrew finishes the book on a positive note describing some of the common ground between Christians and Pagans. However, overall the book has too much misunderstanding for it to be a real asset in Christian-Pagan dialogue. As an information source for Pagans on the Christian religions it has some merit, but really is too narrow and too uncritical to be of any use besides reinforcing already held ideas.

Paganism & Christianity – A Resource for Wiccans, Witches and Pagans by Gavin Andrew - links to book page on Smashwords.

Read Full Post »

Interview with Golden Dawn Adept, Sr FSO

MOTO is very pleased to present an interview with Sr FSO, Golden Dawn adept and author of the Flight of Hermes blog (scoot on over, if you do not know the blog). There are a lot of interesting ideas and themes here, a wonderful mix of the magical and the personal. Thank you. Soror.

MOTO: Many of the readers here on MOTO will know you from your blog, Flight of Hermes but maybe they’ll know little else about you.  Can you give us a sense of your magical and spiritual background?

Sr FSO:  My background began when I was very small. From a young age I contemplated the nature of the soul, the universe, and the Divine.  I always had a deep feeling that everything was connected somehow and had a difficult time connecting with systems that perpetuated the belief that their religion or beliefs were the one  true way. I saw truth in so many traditions.

After I rejected my mixed Protestant and Catholic upbringing, I delved heavily into magic beginning with Wicca at age ten and expanding into Theurgy a few years later. I complemented my magical studies over the next ten years with Eastern techniques and teachings (Buddhism, Vedanta, Taoism , Yoga etc…).

As I started my Master’s in World Religious Studies I came in contact with a member of the Golden Dawn, and joined up with an Order. It was meant to complement my life’s work at that point, by exposing me to the Western Traditions for which I had little background in. However, a few weeks after my initiation I found that I had progressed spiritually much faster in just a few weeks of study and practice than in all my years previously (the power of initiation!). I devoured all I could about the Golden Dawn eventually becoming a teacher and Adept. Through my Adepthood I was able to understand the Christian Mysteries and become re-united with them from a more mature perspective. I continue now to practice exploring the unity within all traditions and perfecting my Great Work through the Golden Dawn system.

MOTO: You haven’t had the opportunity to post a lot over the last while because of your work and studies. Can you tell us about them?

Sr FSO: My work and studies consist of three areas; being a mother and wife, being an Adept of the Golden Dawn Collegium Spiritum Sancti, and being a graduate student in bio-medical engineering/biophysics specializing in energy relationships and fluid dynamics in the heart valves during stenosis.

MOTO: So you’re involved in a very hard science area. You’ve recently blogged about how there does not need to be a separation between science and mysticism. How does that view go down, firstly in the magical community and secondly, among your scientist colleagues? Do you keep your magical life strictly separate from your professional?

Sr FSO:  Well, I have certainly had more vivid discussions concerning magic, spirituality and science in the esoteric communities. The ability to speak freely does not tend to be hindered as much. On the other hand it is hindered a great deal in academia as one has to consider their level of professionalism in the hard-sciences. I have met very open-minded people in the scientific community and it seems that the younger they are the more open-minded they are. It is really the older physicists and mathematicians that seem to take a harder stance on mixing the two (never the twain shall meet, is the general stance).

I think this reflects the changing of society and consciousness that is naturally occurring. I also think that with the movement toward the investigation of more integrated sciences a more flexible and open mind is a natural bi-product and a necessity. In order to see the whole picture you must have a very open mind. This is allowing younger students who are a part of this transition in the sciences to  look at various areas for explanations of behaviours they are studying in the lab. Whereas in the past science was focused on isolation of cause and effect relationships, the future is focused on integration of sciences and their applications to humanity.

MOTO: You’re current studies involve bio-physics and quantum theory. Can you tell us a little about your studies and if they are enriching your magical and spiritual world view?

Sr FSO: First I have to note that I don’t believe my studies in these areas would have had such a great impact on me had I not had the spiritual training I did previous to studying the hard-sciences. For most people the study of mathematics and physics (which are the bulk of your studies in engineering and bio-physics) are very dry and factual. However, for someone like me who has seen and heard these concepts discussed via spiritual scriptures, various initiations, and personal experiences I was able to recognize that breadth of what these quantitative areas had to offer to a mystic.

I also believe that my various initiations in the Golden Dawn,  as well as my meditative and yogic practices “ripened” my consciousness  therefore allowing this more “scientific” material to open my consciousness continuously over time. The greatest impact however that I experienced was a direct affect on my magical development.  Primarily I have always worked very closely with Thoth who is the god of science, math, and alchemy. In order to work with Thoth I have found that one needs to develop the abstract part of their consciousness. I suppose it should have come to no surprise for me, but I was very surprised to find that after studying mathematics so intently it was having a direct affect on my magical abilities. They were increasing exponentially and so was my spiritual awareness…especially in the areas of experiencing Unity amongst all things. (I will note that intently means 6-8 hours of math approximately 6 days a week).

This of course led me to become a strong advocate for the melding of both science and spirituality as a benefit to humanity’s development spiritually and scientifically. Through my experience I have seen that even the study of material that tries to separate itself from spirituality as much as possible is still only an alternate way of experiencing and explaining the universe. With the right frame of mind any material can become spiritual scripture and open you to the Divine.

MOTO: Recently I have re-read the experiences of Dame Jocelyn Bell (the discoverer of pulsars) in the 60’s when she was the lone woman among dozens of men in her studies and had to endure wolf-whistles and cat-calls every time she entered the classroom.  Obviously, a lot has changed, but I am wondering how it has been for you personally as woman and mother being part of the hard sciences?

Sr FSO: Well so far so good. I haven’t been discriminated against for being a woman if that is what you mean. However, I think that a lot of women pressure themselves or feel pressured to choose family or career these days, and I don’t blame them. It is hard to do both, and a lot is expected of you when you are competeting to get into a good graduate program or have a successful career. Sometimes you may be left feeling as if you are not doing as well in one area or the other because you are over-extending yourself.

On top of that the United States has a very go-getter mentality i.e. if you want something you are expected to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and go get it…there are no excuses. I have had to wrestle with this as my spiritual beliefs tend more toward finding balance and internal peace and moving in life from that space rather than ignoring my internal self when it is telling me to slow down. It has been a hard lesson but a fruitful one, it is really teaching me to balance that sun and moon aspect within me…to become hermaphroditical, to flow perfectly in the moment.

MOTO: And what about the magical community – there are several examples of respected female leaders in our past and present, but do you think there are any traces remaining of ingrained sexism in the Golden Dawn or other ‘fraternities’?

The First Golden Dawn Woman

Sr FSO: Well I can only speak for myself.  I’ve been pretty impressed with the community’s views toward women and the respect that it has shown for those who try to be actively involved in the community. The only real problem that I see is that the Golden Dawn tends to be male dominated, at least from my experience. I was actually just having a discussion about this on the blog “Doing Magic”. My perspective is that the Theurgical arts have historically catered more to the spiritual needs of men. Whereas men (I’m not saying all here, just in general) tend to need physical representations of success (material to memorize, levels to attain, etc.) women are naturally very intuitive and want to “experience” their spirituality. This is why women tend to do so well in practices such as skrying, astral projection, divination.

Men on the other hand tend to be natural evokers, talisman makers, and alchemists. Many Theurgical systems are set up so that you are required to learn more external magic, and memorize facts first  and the more internal arts a little later.  Due to this I think that a lot of women get the wrong impression when they first joined a Theurgical Order. They may think the material is too dry. In the GD Collegium Spiritum Sancti we have evened this out by hosting Isis Invocations, and teaching meditations, healing rites, and divinations in most grades.

MOTO: One of my favourite posts on your blog is ‘Spiritual Parenting Part 1‘ – I’ve been waiting for Part 2! – My teacher emphasised that the most important thing we can teach our children is not, being stereotypical, that one day they ‘could become President’ or achieve whatever they want, but rather that they can become illuminated, enlightened, knowing themselves fully. You seem to have a similar approach – can you say more on Spiritual Parenting – and any new insights you’ve had in the last year?

Sr FSO:  Lately, I have been focusing on learning from my child. Children are so innocent and unbounded by fear, societal standards etc. There is a great saying… “Unless you turn and become like children you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven”. My son is so honest, so joyful, he’s almost impervious to having his feelings hurt, and sees the good in every situation. It blows my mind to observe him. When I watch him I think…I want him to know that he can stay like this,  that he doesn’t have to be hindered by insecurity, bias, intolerance, etc. and so I try to be more like him. I try to be more free, less likely to be offended, more willing to see the good in people, more innocent. I try to reflect back to him the qualities that are best about him. I think spiritual parenting is not about things being “My way or the high-way”, but about trying to be the best you can and sharing that with your child, by trying to learn as much as you teach.

MOTO: Within your magical life, you’ve not too long ago come through a tumultuous period of change in the Order you were with. Without going into the specifics of all that, two questions:

• One, can you tell us what you learnt about group organisation, dynamics and human nature ?

• And two, did these experiences spur you on to co-create ‘The Initiate’s Bill of Rights and Responsibilities‘ which is hosted on your blog.

Sr FSO: The most important thing that I learned is that humans under the guise of wanting to do what is right or good often allow themselves to be persuaded by strong personalities. This is  not just something I experienced in the previous Order I was involved with, but in a variety of group environments, churches, ashrams, meditation groups etc. The point of  being a member of these groups that people tend to forget is that you are there to learn how to listen and experience your True Self, your Divine Essence which is Truth Eternal. People want this very badly when they join a spiritual group and they think they only way to get their is to deify their mentors and hang on every word. Not only does one then forget to listen to their True Self, but they offer a terribly tempting situation to the mentor. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.  Surrender is an integral part of a spiritual path but it must be surrender to the Divine. Mentors are human and they are imperfect and it should be expected that at times we may witness behaviour that is unbecoming of a student or teacher of the Great Work.

Let me be clear, in this I am talking about things such as witnessing ill moods, anger, a lie, etc… anything that you may witness as a regular human emotion or fault. These are situations in which human compassion and understanding is necessary,  taking an extreme action over these types of situation is usually not necessary. The problem comes when we see situations of intense corruption or where these things mentioned above have become so common or so hurtful that they are negatively affecting the lives of the initiates and the Temple. Even in these latter situations however people will not only doubt their intuition, but will doubt their own common sense, allowing themselves to be manipulated into believing that following someone exhibiting this behaviour is o.k.  because they are a spiritual leader or it’s just easier than making the right choice.

It becomes especially complicated when vows are involved. But, it is not OK and it is never OK to allow yourself to be mentally, spiritually, financially or in any other way harmed by someone you have put your trust in. Not only are you doing yourself harm but you are allowing the perpetrator to harm others and continue to harm themselves.

Did these experiences spur me to create “The Initiates Bill of Rights and Responsibilities?” I would like to mention that this document was not created by me, but was heavily influenced by comments from the community placed on my blog and Facebook page as well as the contributions of many respected writers, Adepti, and mentors of the Golden Dawn community.

Therefore to say that it was spurred by events which occurred in my Order would not be completely accurate.  I have to admit it did influence me in that it was the impetus to help me round up the necessary contributors, but it was an idea that I had previously had. If you have read it you will know that it covers a great many topics of the rights and responsibilities not only of initiates but of teachers and Temples ranging from pre-initiation to choosing to leave an Order. It is a document that is meant to inspire common sense and communal respect for the various levels of involvement in a spiritual group. I believe it was a much needed document that found its proper time to come to fruition in the current Golden Dawn environment due to many reasons.

MOTO: Finally, it seems clear you are not someone to rest and vegetate at all – so what is next on the agenda?

Sr FSO: Well the next few years my agenda will be focused on getting my Ph.D. It’s always been a childhood dream of mine and it’s become part of my Great Work to complete this process. Of course my role as an Adept and growing our local Temple (Temple of Thoth-Hermes in Denver, CO) is always on my mind, as well as continuing to contribute to my blog and the Hermetic Virtues Magazine.

My son will be starting at a total immersion bi-lingual program in Chinese and English so I’ll be adding Mandarin to the agenda

It has also become a big deal to me lately to live as compassionately and as in balance with nature as possible. I would really like to start growing fresh foods in the garden and hydroponically and giving them to local shelters. It really breaks my heart that struggling families who need assistance are limited to such energy-lacking foods. They literally get what others don’t want, old canned foods from the cupboard, expired foods, powdered milk, they hardly ever get fruits or vegetables. Some places try to get supermarkets to donate healthier foods, but they usually donate the foods which are unsellable. Everyone deserves to have access to healthy food (and water) no matter what financial situation they are in. Being healthy and having good food is a human right. 

THANKS AGAIN, SR FSO

Read Full Post »