It is important that we not lose track of our past while we adapt
to the present. There is an inclination to put aside that which
is simple and/or archaic, and then forget about it; much of value
can be lost thereby. Certainly we should strive for relevancy,
but we shouldn't overcompensate and become imbalanced in the
other direction. While *we* may not be farmers or hunters, there
still are such people; not all old technology is obsolete.
For example, I am not a techie, I am a musician, a poet, a writer
of fantasy fiction, all impractical things to be in this fast-
paced society of yuppies and other competetive types. Therefore
an entirely modern, tech/science/et al - oriented Neopagan system
would be as irrelevant to me as an agricultural system is to most
of us. What I do is a craft of past centuries, I am an artisan,
not a scientist or businesswoman. There are still a few of us
left!
In fact, all the members but one of my coven, Firestar, and its
affiliated study group are living alternate lifestyles -- besides
me we have a journalist, a graphic artist, and a professional
student (living off a large inheritance and getting a degree in
Magic as Religion from Cal). And as for our High Priestess and
Priest -- well, they are beyond classification! So we may find
such archaicisms more meaningful to us than "real-world" folks
(???).
By its very (???) a Pagan Student Group at a school like (???)
must have a greater preponderance of engineers and scientists --
this is no more the whole world than farming or hunting are
(although one might view the "corporate jungle" as a society of
hunter/gatherers...;->) -- but it creates a different sort of
working group.
So, in order to satisfy everyone, must we give up on any kind of
generalised system? This might not be unreasonable, as the
guilds of old had their especial rites (eg, the Masons). If so,
the question is: how do we build these systems from scratch?
If such seperateness seems divisive, a middle way might be to
have a somewhat general system with patron deities for the
occupations -- this would be no more divisive than the Catholic
system of patron saints. I, for one, certainly feel better in
pouring a libation for Odin and Bragi when I've made a sale, or
need to (!); whether one believes in deities or not, this is
still an affirmation, a cause whose effect may or may not become
apparent. There are certainly enough deities to go around!
Then what general system might we construct? While some
concepts, images, and archetypes may mean less to us today
(though they certainly remain in the collective unconscious),
there are yet those which are universal (male and female, and
their ages and abilities; earth, sky, natural forces such as
weather and tectonics; others?). These should be a part of any
such system as we invoke the divinity in ourselves (ya can't get
rid of the Goddess and God that easy!).
What tools should be used? Knives, swords, sickles, hold less
charge for us, as they are not so much part of our daily life
(tho many SCA folks will contradict me on the knife. I know, I
wear one too...). But cups and plates stay with us, as well as
pots, and hammers, gavels, even the conductor's baton. These are
such ordinary things, but when elevated to chalice,
paten/pentacle, cauldron, wand, become something special. So
should we cease to use the other tools and instead elevate other
ordinary objects to the level of ritual objects? On the other
hand, there is something truly awe-inspiring in a beautiful and
skillfully-handled sword. We takes our energy where we gets it,
yes?
What additions might we make? We would have to pay attention to
even the minor-seeming things. Would we change the elemental
system? I think not, for the elements as they currently stand
comprise, in one form or another, all aspects of existence. But
if we did, how would we do it, and still be serious (it's very
easy to make silly quarters!).
[A note on salt for those unhappy with "archaicisms": salt has
been a purifying agent for ages, and still is, in many diverse
systems -- British, Mediterranean, even Romany. And I think the
process of Koshering meat with salt is as much a matter of
purification as leeching out blood. So the symbology of salt has
less to do with an obsolete technology than with its basic
action, acknowledged by many peoples.]
Finally, as for the cycle of the year, whether we farm or hunt or
not, the seasons are a part of our lives; weather affects us, and
even though we buy food in supermarkets, seasonal changes in
price, quality and availability are reminders. Nothing says
"SUMMER AT LAST!" to me like a large, fragrant peach (arg! how I
miss and look forward to them!). When I was a student on the
quarter system at Cal, I was even more in touch with the cycle.
And if we cease to acknowledge the passing of the seasons, we
lose touch with the earth, which, if we are to keep her as she
should be kept, must not happen. I am not saying "Ah, for the
goode olde days before the nasty Industrial Revolution alienated
us from Mother Earth and promoted pollution and strip-mining and
other land-rape." I am saying that if we are to live "in beauty
upon the earth" as the Hopi say, we should at least acknowledge
some tie with her seasonally, if at no other time. The quarters
and cross-quarters are good times for this, because it is in
earth's changes that she is most beautiful. Besides which, the
feasts and festivals are now, as they have always bene, an
opportunity for a community to gather, share, and party.
But life is surer these days -- we no longer fear the endless
night of Winter Solstice, because we know we won't starve. We
are more comfortable in the physical world because it is known to
us now. Is there a point to ritual any more? Well, yes:
Ultimately, we must avoid mundanity. We must not become so
caught up in Relevance that we lose the specialness of what we
do, the sense of wonder, the knowledge that we can do marvels.
There is a special responsibility in being one's own priest, in
mastery of one's own powers. We must keep this in mind, with
pride. With apologies to O. Henry, we are the Magi.
