What is Rationalist Witchcraft? Essentially, RW is like every other sort of Neo-Pagan Witchcraft: we honor the God/dess, practice magick, believe strongly in complete freedom tempered by responsibility to self/others, believe that personal experience of self, spirituality, reality, etc. are more valid than antiquated dogma, that the body and sexuality are sacred, that our religion should remain flexible, viable, and de-centralized, and that the Earth and all Her creatures are sacred, availing we humans of a great responsibility to care for them.
However, I believe we differ in our philosophy/spirituality in several ways. For example, we explicitly acknowledge our understanding that much of Pagan symbolism, theology, and liturgy is metaphorical. We also strive to be wholly holistic in our approach to things. We tend to emphasize the "intellectual", practical, socio-political and theoretical aspect of our religion as much or more than the ritual/mystical aspect. We are iconoclastic toward our own worldview as well as those of "others". We see the "truth" and "falsity" in all things, and recognize that the validity of supposed "opposites" is not diminished by their apparent clash. We accept the Discordian tenet that some things are true in some sense, false in some sense, meaningless in some sense, true and false in some sense, true and meaningless in some sense, and false and meaningless in some sense.
What do RW's Believe?
We recognize that we are surrounded and fooled by our culture's linear, hierarchical, dualistic, separatist, power-over worldview, and work to find alternative epistemologies, psychologies, spirituality, politics, philosophies, and words that take this into account.
We recognize that Western Science does not have all the answers and thus, the Scientific Method must not be considered the only valid means of obtaining "knowledge". We recognize the roles of reason, intuition, cosmic logic ("psychic" or "extra sensory" experiences), and mysticism in expanding what we think to be "reality". Conversely, we understand that "subjective" ways of knowing in themselves are also inadequate for a complete system. We should always keep some healthy skepticism and remain open to evidence contradictory to our beliefs, and be flexible enough to adjust accordingly. Truth is not a static, immutable "Thing", but a motion - an activity. We maintain that we are theorists, nothing more, and thus, we consider ourselves spiritual/philosophical agnostics. In light of these and other of our beliefs, we have found singular labels for ourselves and our systems to be inadequate, stifling, and even dangerous attempts to "freeze" the motion of Be-ing. However, we understand that current human cognitive frameworks cannot process the whole of available information simultaneously with any accuracy, and thus still attempt to use our limited language to describe our Selves. We are atheists in that we do not believe in an anthropomorphic divine "person" with "supernatural" power with actual space/time "existance". We no more believe in literal Goddess than literal God -- we do not accept that there is a Cosmic Queen/King with human and "super"human characteristics creating and controlling the universe. However, with that understanding, we often use Deity names to signify that entirety of the energy that makes up everything in the universe for convenience sake. We see nothing wrong with this, as long as we do not make the common religious mistake of mistaking the metaphor for the "thing" it signifies. We see Deities as: Externalization and mythification of human traits, beliefs, and questions. Deities as Westerners understand them have no "existance" outside of that of their adherents. If there were no people, there would be no Gods. Metaphor for the entirety of the cosmos -- all potentiality, all Be-ing, all things that exist, have existed, or will exists -- a religious monism of sorts. Goddess is everything. If we believe modern physics, it is clear that the universe is not made up of finite, static "building blocks", but of relationship and motion. This dynamic motion-substance that is not substance which makes up those things in our sensory and extrasensory reality are Goddess, in Rationalist Witchcraft. (We are Religious Amateur Quantum Physicists!
) Role models, hero/ines, manifestations of and frames for human potential and evolution - Goddess is our own possibility, symbolically. Thus Her obvious importance for women as well as men -- she suggests new possibilities for Be-ing that we might not otherwise be able to imagine.
Mystical Psychology/Therapy - a sort of metaphor for therapy in a Jungian sense. People can gain better understanding of the joys and difficulties of being human through examining God/dess lore as archetypal stories of actual humanity. Keep in mind, however, that although we don't believe, from our experience, that God/dess is literal, we do not reject the possibility that we may eventually be proven wrong. The question then would be - whose God is True? We are curious to know, if divine literality comes to light! (A side note: We do not believe that Deity is personified "good". We accept and emphatically emphasize the prevalent Wiccan belief that good and evil are all part of the same possibilities and that one does not exist without the other. Censequently, we also do not believe or give credence to the "power" of personified "Evile", usually referred to as "Satan". We believe the concept of Satan to be a Judeo-Christian/Islamic creation used to understand unpleasant or horrific things and to strike fear of punishment into believers to "encourage" belief in "true religion". The unfortunate result of dualistic (God/Satan) Deity is a continued propagation of divided reality --and thus, people-- into good/bad, valuable/worthless, protected/oppressed categories, rather than encouraging judging by individual situations and circumstances. By striking fear of difference and the unknown into the heart of believers, institutionalized religion discourages free thought and questioning of church and secular authority.)
The jury is still out for us so far as magick (the art/science of bending reality to will) is concerned. We can't reject the possibility that it works outright, because we have seen it work. However, we are not yet certain HOW magick works, and why sometimes it doesn't. We consider a few possibilities: That magick works exactly the way it's definition says it does -- the practitioner actually/literally changes reality by sheer force of will and correct magickal workings (materials, incantations/chants, rituals, etc.) We aren't terribly fond of this theory due to its inherent dualism. It assumes that reality is something "out there", separate from the Witch that s/he then has to act on from the outside.
That magick is simply applied personal psychology -- the practitioner is changing their "inner" reality and thus coloring their perceptions of "outer" reality. Reality itself is not changed, the practitioner only sees it differently, or notices different things about it. (The dualism here is only semantic -- the "inside" and "outside" reality are really one, but perceived as different.)
That magick changes the attitude and actions of the practitioner, thus changing their effect upon their own Be-ing in the world. Again, belief is important, and becomes manifest in "outer" reality. The practitioner acts as if reality has changed, and thus, it has.
That the universe is made up of energy/motion, and magick somehow accesses the energy/motion Center of the Witch, which in turn effects the energy/motion of the universe. This takes advantage of what we believe to be the interconnection/interdependence (essential oneness) of the universe and everything "in" it. That magick is simply highly ritualized prayer to the "Powers that Be" (Deity, however we envision it) and as such make the practitioner feel better and more in control, but doesn't necessarily change the "outcome" of any situation beyond what is possible by chance. In other words, the practitioner feels better, but things turn out the way they would have anyway.
We practice magick without full understanding of its workings. We know it can change our lives for the better, and that is good enough for us. We look at it much like counseling or hypnosis (and of course, follow the Rede): IF IT HARMS NONE; DO AS YOU WILL.
We recognize the danger of spiritual "authority" -- we call it Guruism, and believe it encompasses all hierarchical religious leadership, from the Christian Priest/Pastorhood to the New Age Guru. We honor teachers and elders as guides and sources of wisdom, but believe ultimately, the only person who can decide what you believe/practice is YOU. To be an unquestioning "follower", to allow someone(s) to dogmatically define reality for you, is to invite real trouble. Once someone defines Truth for you, they have ultimate control of your life, and you are stuck with what they choose for you, whatever the consequences. We believe some Wiccan dogma is as stultifying as that of "traditional" religions, and refuse all equally in favor of reasoning/experiences for our Selves.
We believe wholeheartedly in compassionate iconoclasm. That is, we believe in questioning everything, including our own beliefs, with an eye toward the consequences for living Be-ings as a whole. We recognize that action is invariabley based on ideology, whether conscious or unconscious. We are responsible for the consequences of our actions, and thus must be cognizant of and responsible for the eventual consequences of our philosophy.. If we have a vision of how we want the world to be, we must create ideologies that encourage actions that work toward that vision. Iconoclasm is the intentional shattering of traditionally "sacred" (unquestionable) beliefs. We endeavor to practice iconoclasm of every level, from conceptions of "reality", to Self, to God/dess. One does not necessarily have to reject everything, but one should definately question and challenge everything -- nothing should be beyond question!
*Javen McDav'ier.*
THE WAY SOME CANCERS ARE:Ruled by the moon, the Crab has many moods. He/She loves to laugh and tell jokes. Because a Cancerean is usually quiet and subdued, this hidden sense of humor is all the more appreciated by others.
The crab can fluxuate from depressed, crabby, and down right meloncholy, quickly. A Cancerean will keep your secrets and is very sensitive to others. Compassionate, moody, sensitive, and witty are the traits that make up the lunar ruled Crab.
Friday, 17th March 2000
CANCER:
There is a domain over which you have total control. You deign to share this with others sometimes but they know (and you know) who really rules this world. Your environment matters greatly to you. If it is comfortable, you are strong. If it is tense, you are weak. Lately, perhaps through a reluctance to assert yourself as you should, a key part of your world has become overrun by other people. Now, you have to claim it back. This weekend, as the Moon grows full, you have your opportunity. And no option but to take it.
~*(Yello, some words from me; I am displaying this horoscope for my personal benifit. I will update this often...If you would like your horoscope posted, I will be more than happy to, email me or leave your dabbling in my guestbook.(My realm can be altered to your liking if asked.=)*~
If you wish to leave my lair of honesty and spirit, you may do so through here:
If you feel the need, Concentrate, focus, and email me.
