Monthly Archives: June 2004

Deeper

From Jana Riess, author of What Would Buffy Do?, an examination of morals and ethics in the Buffyverse:

I was taken in by its clever, rapid-fire dialogue. I was surprised by the depth of the show, and then I thought, “I’m in graduate school! I’m supposed to be a scholar! How can I be loving something with the unlikely name of Buffy the Vampire Slayer?”

Right with you, Jana. Mea culpa as well.

The Joys of Language

I’ve just been doing a bit of impromptu teaching on the importance of rhythm and scansion in ritual, and I thought I’d bring it up here.

Rhythm in any kind of oral communication is important. The human ear likes to listen to rhythmic speech because we don’t have to fight against it. Scansion is also incredibly important in ritual. Lots of ritualists focus on what they want to say, and they get the guts of the idea out, which is terrific. In order to further facilitate the absorption of the idea, however, the form of the delivery of the idea is also important. Rhythm guides energy, and as such, a good ritualist understands that the rhythm of what they speak is a ritual tool. Generally you need words arranged in such a way that they roll off the tongue, flow liquidly and roll onwards, carrying the energy of the ritual along with them. Sometimes, yes, you want to create a ragged rhythm on purpose, in which case something smooth gets energy moving first, then guides it deliberately into a new motion that gradually turns ragged. Either way the ritualist must be aware of how rhythm is and how it is used.

I found two good basic web pages which address scansion and rhythm clearly. The Scansion page from St Edward’s University is a good introduction (and if you track backwards through the main menu etc, they have other good basic pages on language stuff). A writing teacher from Portland’s Riverdale Grade School has created a Rhythm, Meter, and Scansion Made Easy page which is also excellent introduction to the subject.

There is a lovely bat poem used as an exercise on the second web page. I wanted to post it because my parents have at least one bat as a houseguest each summer. Bat season is now upon us, and so I thought of them:

Bats have webby wings that fold up;
Bats from ceilings hang down rolled up;
Bats when flying undismayed are;
Bats are careful; bats use radar;
–Frank Jacobs, �The Bat�

A Long Time Ago, in a Galaxy Far, Far Away…

Kenobi must die.

Vader must rise.

It’s all about balance, baby. You may strike him down, but there will be others; the light will return. Nothing’s static; the galaxy is an ever-shifting mass of energy. If it ceases its eternal motion, then it’s game over, entropy, pssht! — gone.

t!‘s Summer Solstice ritual was The Best Solstice Ritual Ever. And I got to be the tech crew for it. I love being part of a good thing.

A blessed Solstice to everyone. Gather your St John’s Wort while ye may.

Coincidentally, what with Vader and all, it’s Father’s Day. How’s that for perfect? Father’s Day on the Solstice, the time of the Sun King being at the height of his powers. A happy one to all the dads out there. (And that includes dads of cats, reptiles, fish, and hamsters. You know who you are. I draw the line at dust kittens.)

Someone Shoot Me Now

I still have 12K to write in this book (did I mention I passed 67K yesterday? And that was after deleting three pages /about 1K of text), and already I’m thinking about the next one. I keep trying to firmly push the concepts to the back of my brain, but they stealthily snake out of the closets and steamer trunks and insinuate themselves again into my stream of consciousness.

Fine. I’ll pick up a pretty blank book when I’m out today and note down the basics. But only the basics. Like thoughts on an outline, a rough proposal in point form, chapter ideas, etc.

This is sad.

Witches Weekly Questions

Witches Weekly June 18, 2004: Your Spirituality

1. Do you feel that you are active in your spirituality?

Yes. I’m a teacher of comparative religion, an author of articles and now a book on various aspects of the Neo-Pagan path, an editor of a New Age series of books, the consultant and specialist for a New Age imprint, and a priestess. I’d have to say that my spirituality is a major part of my life. I facilitate other people’s spiritual journeys, and I am constantly seeking ways to evolve my own.

2. What do you consider to be the most tedious task in your path?

Erm. If I say teaching, will all of my readers who are also my students give me a moment to explain myself?

I love teaching. I love the dynamic dialogue that is created between student and teacher, and the discoveries made on both sides. I do not, however, enjoy the feeling of us-vs-them that often arises, or the frustration that comes from a class not having prepared what I’ve asked them to prepare, or not having paid attention to something I have repeated over and over. It’s particularly frustrating because I teach adults, who theoretically are old enough and responsible enough to act appropriately, some of whom have children and who ought to be even more aware of the problem.

I also hate teaching when students make me feel guilty for not teaching them what they think they should know. Other teachers probably understand this as well. My classes are set out in a particular way for certain reasons. I have a couple of students who always thank me for my time and my energy before they leave. It was odd at first, but I’ve come to appreciate it so much. Even if the class wasn’t necessarily on a topic which personally interests them, they still let me know that they appreciate the time I put in to researching and teaching it. I don’t enjoy being blamed for a student not hearing what they wanted to hear in a class. They learned something, after all. And in a spiritual or religious environment, the material and information usually has to sit and mature and ripen before it has any effect. I understand the impatience of a spiritual student – I’m still one myself, after all – but sometimes my temper gets a bit short. No, I can’t hand you the mysteries of the universe on a silver platter, because (a) possessing them isn’t the point, it’s learning them yourself; (b) this may come as a shock to you, but I don’t know them all; and (c) my mysteries are not your mysteries.

3. What is your most enjoyable part of your spirituality?

Easy: research. (Quick — to the Batcave!)

I love, love, love to read and think and work things out. I love seeing how other people perceive aspects of their spirituality. I like making connections between different religions. The more I research, the better I understand the concept of an individual expressing spirituality, thanks to the ever-increasing body of lore I build up.

I must say that very close to my love of research is my love of talking to the Divine, and being free to envision that Divine however I choose. But then, I also consider research and making connections talking to the Divine, where the Divine allows information to be passed on to me so that I may consider it and further reinforce/modify/develop my view of the world and of God/dess, so perhaps this ought to have been listed first…