13 Purification Rites to Eliminate Ritual PollutionIn a continued effort to put Paganism in its rightful place as just another of countless religions found throughout the world, no different and certainly not any more "special" or "unique" than any other religion, this piece examines a common component of many religions, citing examples from various religions, as well as Paganism, to not only give further explanation of that concept but to give further credence to the idea that religion is a choice, with no religion nor its members being above any other religion or its members, and certainly not above in depth examination and criticism.
It is also important to note that while Paganism is not itself specifically a religion, rather it is a term referring to numerous modern religions with seemingly little in common other than shared history and inspiration, for ease of communication this distinction will not be made within this article, however, it is frequently addressed in other areas, such as the previous articles What is Paganism? and Whitewashing Paganism. A common idea found in numerous religions is that of ritual pollution. This is the concept that there are certain activities, situations, actions, and biological functions that can leave one in a state of impurity, impacting one's ability to perform certain religious functions and rites. Often, there are certain prescriptions given to rectify this state, i.e. purification rites that must be performed or a certain time period that must pass for the state of ritual pollution to correct itself. The last of the herbs layed on the counter. I measured out some thread and quickly bundled them together. The pressure released their oils, and the mixed smell of Dill, Spearmint, Marjoram, and others only served to further instill in me the proper mindset. There was work to be done. The children ran lauging out to the car as I carried a backpack, loaded heavy with a cauldron, wine, incense, and the freshly made herb bundle, among other things. We drove out to my mom and stepdad's house: they would be watching the kids for us for a few hours. My husband and I drove away and further into the country side. Our first choice of location was full of people, despite the storm clouds to the North. We drove on, deeper into wildland. Sky filled with ominous clouds, deer and horseflies swarmed; the storm had them on edge. The cold wind sent shivers through me as we walked down the trail. It would only be a mile or so, but already my barefeet were scolding me: there was fresh gravel on the trail. We walked quickly. The wind picked up, not quite enough to deter the flies, but enough to give us chills. Though, now and then, I couldn't tell if the chills were truly from the cold wind or the power that was slowly building. This was going to be an amazing night. Tonight my youngest son Titus experienced an important Rite of Passage, this was not his first, nor will it be his last. The energy of the Full Moon is still felt strong and, having painted Herself in Harvest Orange, She bore witness to another witch officially in our midst.
The entire coven was present, plus one as Aurora, only two, crawled out of her bed and wandered out to the Circle. She nonchalantly walked in and asked, "What you doing?" Family Coven that we are, we included her, even if Tradition says she can't truly take part for another year and a half. Outside last night with Atticus and Aurora. I had rescued one of the kittens from Aurora, as she was loving him to strongly for his taste (and Aurora's arms bear proof of his opposition,) and stayed outside for a bit as it was finally cool enough to be outside comfortably (it had dropped to the 80's after being mid 90's all day.)
We decided to take a little walk about the yard, see what random lovelies were growing about (found a lovely Thistle plant that I'm going to be picking a bit from...) We had gotten to the far corner of the yard, in a secluded spot behind the shed. I was looking for Nettles when Atticus yells out, "Look, Mom! The Moon!" I turned, smiled, and blew our Lady a kiss. Aurora, at my feet, repeated the action, blowing a kiss and laughing. Yesterday's wedding went really well. The couple are both a lot of fun and surprising. I arrived about 45 minutes before the start of the ceremony, met the groom outside. He told me his fiance was inside and a nervous wreck! I went in and found her at that bar. She greeted me and explained how she had horrible butterflies and so she was having a beer to calm them. The groom came in then and we took a few quick photos.
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January 2023
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