Going Inward

This post was inspired by an article on The Wild Hunt asking for people to post/blog/tweet their personal spiritual belief in an effort to help in a 101 course-type experience.  When I was just starting out on the Pagan path I assumed that I had to be pigeon-holed into a preconceived spirituality.  As time went on, with reading and experience, I learned to create my own spirituality, one that I am completely at home with.

I believe Universe is energy with masculine and feminine polarity; and everything contains both just to a more or lesser degree.  All deities are characteristic manifestations of this energy.  Almost as if they were separate personalities of the energy.  It is possible for a one manifestation to be stronger than another due to a person's energy feeding them (worshiping them).  A deity can also claim a person for their own and act as a patron to that person.  I have had this happen with two Goddesses -- Athena and Brigid -- but no Gods as yet.

Unless I am making offerings to my patrons, I think of the deities in general terms of Mother and Father.  This makes things earsier in terms of praying and devotion, as well as teaching my daughter.  I have trouble thinking of the Goddess and God in terms of Maiden/Mother/Crone and Youth/Father/Sage through the Wheel of the Year, so I have a loose belief in some of the Sabbats.  I will TRY to list them below:

Samhain: A time to honor our ancestors, last harvest
Yule: rebirth of the sun, longest night
Imbolc: celebration of Brigid
Ostara: celebration of Spring and Persian New Year (Hubby is pure Persian.  Ain't I a lucky girl????)
Beltane: celebration of love, not just romantic love either, and the way the divine becomes one in each of us.
Litha: celebration of the fae, longest day
Lughnasadh: First Harvest
Mabon: Second Harvest

Not your typical Wiccan Wheel of the Year, but not much about me is typical. 

My "afterlife" beliefs are more Karmic in bent.  I believe we are reincarnated into each life with a lesson to learn.  If we do not learn that lesson to the Universe's satisfaction we will be born again to learn it.  If we have racked up any Karmic points (either for good or ill) they will be worked off in that next life.  If we have learned our lesson, then we are reincarnated to learn a new lesson, but will still work off our Karmic points.  Each time we learn our lesson, our energy reaches a higher frequency and eventually when we have learned all our lessons our frequency will match that of the Universe/Deity Energy and we will merge with it.

So, that is me belief in a "nutshell" after almost 18 years of searching and learning.  I believe I am still at the 101 stage because I am always learning there is so much more to learn.  To me there is no such thing as a Master, or if there is we are all one because we each are all Masters of ourselves and bring different experiences to the table.  Alright, I am just rambling now.  Comments are more than welcome, I love a good discussion!!!