Glorious
Lantern of
the Sky
Glorious
Lantern of
the Sky, gone
from dusk to
dawn, Father
teach me how
I can die and
be reborn
-Alan
Windreader
Lantern of
the Sky
Glorious
Lantern of
the Sky, gone
from dusk to
dawn, Father
teach me how
I can die and
be reborn
-Alan
Windreader
“An ye harm none” on a Global Scale
Last night I was brought to my
emotional knees by a story on 60
minutes. I rarely watch this show but
they had a piece on the Silver-Back
Gorilla families in an area of the Congo
and Rwanda. These Gorilla families are
protected by law and because of
conservation efforts are tame enough
that they will appear to humans when
called. They are considered mostly
harmless and mainly eat plants. It is
estimated that there are no more than
700 on these Gorillas in the world.
Human interaction is limited because
they are susceptible to our diseases
(think of Westerners bringing small
pox to Native Americans). They live in
small family units and have been
known to come to one another’s rescue.
Genetically they are very closely related
to humans. A family of 20 of them
where recently killed because they
inhabit a space that also has coal. They
were all shot to death. I'm sure they
made pretty easy targets. Like shooting
your companion dog that trustingly
runs to you when called. The Rangers
(who are completely out gunned in this
area of the world and are targets
themselves) and the tribe that lives in
this area found them, marched their
bodies from the place of their deaths into
the village and gave them burials that
were fit for royalty and warriors. This
was not a small task as the adult male
leader of this Gorilla Clan weighed
about 450 lbs. When the story was over
I looked at my partner and asked him,
"do you sometimes feel that we are a
species that is beyond redemption?"
As I write this, the sad images of these
dead beings return to me. I take a step
back and I understand that this is a
place in the world where all life is in
danger. Human, plant and animal. I
understand that without coal these
people have no way to cook or boil water.
Life is very hard in this place of
continual tribal war and genocide.
What happened to these Gorillas is
something that happens all the time in
this place. Families killed off by
neighbors they thought they could
trust, their bodies left where they were
slain. I also know that we (those of us
in the US and other developed
countries) often require the poorest of
this planet to live with and somehow
protect many of the world’s endangered
species with little in the way of
financial support or manpower. Some,
like the Gorillas, are fairly easy to live
with; others have a tendency to attack
humans and domestic animals. That we
ask this of people who rarely have safe
drinking water defies reason. We are
supposed to be a species capable of
reason and rational behavior but these
gifts seem to be difficult to find in
these situations. Why is this? As I
reflect on this, I realize that what hurts
the most is that I know, thousands of
miles away, the culture I live in
somehow had a hand in this and that by
association, I am too have played a
small part in the creation of this
situation.
"An ye harm none" is specific to Wicca
however; most Pagan/Heathen
traditions have something similar. The
concept is to make thoughtful choices
that take into account the possible
consequences that our personal
decisions have, not just on ourselves,
but on those around us. In other words,
actively choose your choices and do so
in a manner that includes the lives and
feelings of others. The understanding
that a person is a part of a larger
community and that individual
decisions have an impact on others is
implicit in the Wiccan Rede. Often
times people miss this point because it is
not explicitly stated however; it is
implied by other aspects of the Wiccan
worldview.
While we have always been a part of a
global community, there has never been
a time when one culture has had the
ability to have such a sudden and
immediate impact on another. What we
buy, how we live, how much we consume
in this country has a huge impact on
what is considered valuable in other
parts of the world. So now the "harm"
that our choices may create can kill off
an endangered species thousands of
miles away, cause the cutting down of
wild forested areas or the flooding of
small remote villages and create a
plastic trash vortex the size of Texas
that floats around the ocean killing
wildlife as it moves from place to place.
We are outraged when see these things
on television but do we ever really
consider that we are the driving force
behind such devastation? As members
of a prosperous culture, we are the last to
feel the effects that our choices have on
the planet and its inhabitants. We live
happily in our well protected, warm
castle and rarely consider the price the
rest of the world pays for our comfort. I
fear that the harm we have collectively
created may truly be beyond repair.
There is a concept of collective
redemption. That if an entire culture is
responsible for inflicting great damage
to a broad enough geography and
populous that the every individual of
that culture (regardless of intent or
agreement) is held responsible for
bringing things back in to balance and
for redeeming itself. In this case
redemption is not used in the manner
in which Christians use it (forgiveness
in order to avoid spending eternity in
Hell) but more the way that the
Egyptians experienced Maat (Balance)
or the way many modern Pagans view
Karma. The individual choices we make
and our own attempts to bring balance
back into the world contribute to the
bigger cultural act of redemption, of
bringing things back into balance or
restoring and repairing that which has
been harmed-regardless of intent. As
most of us benefit from this culture,
then each of us also shares in the
damage our culture has inflicted on the
world.
As we move through our lives making
decisions both big and small, as we
decide what we will purchase for loved
ones during this festive season of
consumerism (I'm as guilty as anyone
else of consumerism) how do we keep
from inadvertently harming beings
who live on the other side of the world
when often times we cannot trace an
item through its full production cycle?
How do we live up to the intent and
spirit of "an ye harm none" in a global
economy? What issues do we want the
current list of candidates for President
to address regardless of party or
personal religious affiliation? What do
we change in our lives that will not put
others out of a job, place too much
pressure on our environment and on
those who are already living at the edge?
Have we as a culture done so much
damage, are we so corrupt and spoiled
that we have moved ourselves into a
place where we are beyond redemption?
If not, what steps do we take as
individuals and as a culture, to repair
the damage we have created? As Pagans
(one who dwells close to the Earth)
should we not be the first to make
changes in our own lives-have you seen
the way the land is left after some (not
all) large “Pagan” gatherings? Should
ours not be the loudest voices?
I am no expert and I have no answers
here but I wanted to share these thoughts
with the broader community.
Warm Blessings,
Godiva le Fey
Last night I was brought to my
emotional knees by a story on 60
minutes. I rarely watch this show but
they had a piece on the Silver-Back
Gorilla families in an area of the Congo
and Rwanda. These Gorilla families are
protected by law and because of
conservation efforts are tame enough
that they will appear to humans when
called. They are considered mostly
harmless and mainly eat plants. It is
estimated that there are no more than
700 on these Gorillas in the world.
Human interaction is limited because
they are susceptible to our diseases
(think of Westerners bringing small
pox to Native Americans). They live in
small family units and have been
known to come to one another’s rescue.
Genetically they are very closely related
to humans. A family of 20 of them
where recently killed because they
inhabit a space that also has coal. They
were all shot to death. I'm sure they
made pretty easy targets. Like shooting
your companion dog that trustingly
runs to you when called. The Rangers
(who are completely out gunned in this
area of the world and are targets
themselves) and the tribe that lives in
this area found them, marched their
bodies from the place of their deaths into
the village and gave them burials that
were fit for royalty and warriors. This
was not a small task as the adult male
leader of this Gorilla Clan weighed
about 450 lbs. When the story was over
I looked at my partner and asked him,
"do you sometimes feel that we are a
species that is beyond redemption?"
As I write this, the sad images of these
dead beings return to me. I take a step
back and I understand that this is a
place in the world where all life is in
danger. Human, plant and animal. I
understand that without coal these
people have no way to cook or boil water.
Life is very hard in this place of
continual tribal war and genocide.
What happened to these Gorillas is
something that happens all the time in
this place. Families killed off by
neighbors they thought they could
trust, their bodies left where they were
slain. I also know that we (those of us
in the US and other developed
countries) often require the poorest of
this planet to live with and somehow
protect many of the world’s endangered
species with little in the way of
financial support or manpower. Some,
like the Gorillas, are fairly easy to live
with; others have a tendency to attack
humans and domestic animals. That we
ask this of people who rarely have safe
drinking water defies reason. We are
supposed to be a species capable of
reason and rational behavior but these
gifts seem to be difficult to find in
these situations. Why is this? As I
reflect on this, I realize that what hurts
the most is that I know, thousands of
miles away, the culture I live in
somehow had a hand in this and that by
association, I am too have played a
small part in the creation of this
situation.
"An ye harm none" is specific to Wicca
however; most Pagan/Heathen
traditions have something similar. The
concept is to make thoughtful choices
that take into account the possible
consequences that our personal
decisions have, not just on ourselves,
but on those around us. In other words,
actively choose your choices and do so
in a manner that includes the lives and
feelings of others. The understanding
that a person is a part of a larger
community and that individual
decisions have an impact on others is
implicit in the Wiccan Rede. Often
times people miss this point because it is
not explicitly stated however; it is
implied by other aspects of the Wiccan
worldview.
While we have always been a part of a
global community, there has never been
a time when one culture has had the
ability to have such a sudden and
immediate impact on another. What we
buy, how we live, how much we consume
in this country has a huge impact on
what is considered valuable in other
parts of the world. So now the "harm"
that our choices may create can kill off
an endangered species thousands of
miles away, cause the cutting down of
wild forested areas or the flooding of
small remote villages and create a
plastic trash vortex the size of Texas
that floats around the ocean killing
wildlife as it moves from place to place.
We are outraged when see these things
on television but do we ever really
consider that we are the driving force
behind such devastation? As members
of a prosperous culture, we are the last to
feel the effects that our choices have on
the planet and its inhabitants. We live
happily in our well protected, warm
castle and rarely consider the price the
rest of the world pays for our comfort. I
fear that the harm we have collectively
created may truly be beyond repair.
There is a concept of collective
redemption. That if an entire culture is
responsible for inflicting great damage
to a broad enough geography and
populous that the every individual of
that culture (regardless of intent or
agreement) is held responsible for
bringing things back in to balance and
for redeeming itself. In this case
redemption is not used in the manner
in which Christians use it (forgiveness
in order to avoid spending eternity in
Hell) but more the way that the
Egyptians experienced Maat (Balance)
or the way many modern Pagans view
Karma. The individual choices we make
and our own attempts to bring balance
back into the world contribute to the
bigger cultural act of redemption, of
bringing things back into balance or
restoring and repairing that which has
been harmed-regardless of intent. As
most of us benefit from this culture,
then each of us also shares in the
damage our culture has inflicted on the
world.
As we move through our lives making
decisions both big and small, as we
decide what we will purchase for loved
ones during this festive season of
consumerism (I'm as guilty as anyone
else of consumerism) how do we keep
from inadvertently harming beings
who live on the other side of the world
when often times we cannot trace an
item through its full production cycle?
How do we live up to the intent and
spirit of "an ye harm none" in a global
economy? What issues do we want the
current list of candidates for President
to address regardless of party or
personal religious affiliation? What do
we change in our lives that will not put
others out of a job, place too much
pressure on our environment and on
those who are already living at the edge?
Have we as a culture done so much
damage, are we so corrupt and spoiled
that we have moved ourselves into a
place where we are beyond redemption?
If not, what steps do we take as
individuals and as a culture, to repair
the damage we have created? As Pagans
(one who dwells close to the Earth)
should we not be the first to make
changes in our own lives-have you seen
the way the land is left after some (not
all) large “Pagan” gatherings? Should
ours not be the loudest voices?
I am no expert and I have no answers
here but I wanted to share these thoughts
with the broader community.
Warm Blessings,
Godiva le Fey
Home
Classes for 2010
DeMyth-afing
the Wiccan Coven
"An ye harm none" on a global
scale
Recommended Books
Basic Definitions
Eulogy
Rituals for Litha 2005
Meditations
About Me
Chants
Clan of the Healing Wells
Classes for 2010
DeMyth-afing
the Wiccan Coven
"An ye harm none" on a global
scale
Recommended Books
Basic Definitions
Eulogy
Rituals for Litha 2005
Meditations
About Me
Chants
Clan of the Healing Wells
Music: "Earth Mother" by Kiva