55 lines
2.6 KiB
Plaintext
55 lines
2.6 KiB
Plaintext
IV. NEOPAGAN SYMBOLISM
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Today's lecture has two purposes. First, we will deal with the
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legends, meta-legends, and conventions that form the basis for most
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Neopagan ritual. Then we will discuss the purposes behind a witchcraft
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initiation, and walk through the one that the graduates of this class
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will perform.
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A. Theology/Thealogy
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Theology and thealogy (the alpha-ending, Thea, being the Greek
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feminine ending) are outlined to show how Neopagans relate to
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their own and other people's choices of gods. The hook on which
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this will all be hung is that most of the Gods represent facets of
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human experience personified.
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1. Forms of the God
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Discuss the various types of masculine gods that appear in
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pagan and Neopagan myth: the Sun-child, the Horned Hunter,
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the Sensitive Artist, and the Lord of Death.
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2. Forms of the Goddess
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Discuss the image of the Three-Fold Goddess: the Maiden, the
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Mother, and the Crone.
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B. The Wheel of the Year
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Read aloud the story of the Wheel of the Year from THE SPIRAL
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DANCE, pages 28 and 29. Point out that this is the solar
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calendar, and relate it to the agricultural cycle. Then add the
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mystical component by telling the story of Persephone's descent
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into the underworld, showing how it relates to the Wheel.
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C. Initiation
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Tell the story of how Osiris was slain by his jealous brother,
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Set, and how his sister/wife Isis went down into the Underworld to
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gain the secret of resurrection from the dead (for reminders, use
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Wilson's account in COSMIC TRIGGER).
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Discuss how Isis's humiliation in the land of the dead compares to
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the psychology of initiation (with a brief aside into Paul's
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revelation of Eleusis: "Except a seed of grain fall into the Earth
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and die, it cannot rise again"). Use this and the discussion from
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Day One of how Craft Law arose to outline the dual purpose of a
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witchcraft initiation: to lead the initiate through humiliation
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and death into elevation and new life, and to bind the initiate to
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the laws necessary for the group experience of the Craft.
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Finally, if time permits, do a walk-through of the initiation to
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familiarize the candidates with it, then give them their scripts
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to memorize.
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