Yet another long overdue update...

So I'm having a real problem with updating regularly.... I suppose that's why I don't have too many visitors to the blog these days.... but oh well, it'll happen.... in time. So a lot has definitely happened since my last post; I'll try to sum it all up here in as short a post as possible.

So I suppose the first thing to talk about is my initiation into the first degree of the Pagan House way. It was very empowering; I felt amazing all throughout the ritual, and I found a very peaceful feeling during the call of the ancestors part. It was even cooler because they had us, the students, build the altar and cast the circle. Everything about it was just great, and I loved the rush that I got from it all. The whole thing ended with some devastating news, however, which I am not at liberty to discuss on here.... but it truly broke my heart while at the same time making me proud that such a great opportunity presented itself. So anyway, Morgan said that during the call of the ancestors, she saw that my ancestors were big islander looking folk, wearing long tan-brown papery looking skirts with black designs on them, and holding sticks that looked like they were used for paddling... The men were all tall and strong, while the women kind of kept quiet. Interesting, noh? Ever since then I've been trying to find a little bit of time every day to kind of do some research to see if I can find what kind of tribal people had that kind of outfit.... no luck yet though.

Secondly, I was supposed to lead a New Moon ritual a few weeks ago, but that ended up not happening because my schedule had been changed and I had to be at work at the time the ritual would have been going on. Everyone was really excited for me to be doing the ritual, and I was excited myself, however I did not feel that I was truly ready for such a daunting task just yet. So I suppose that worked out for me, even if everyone (including myself) was kinda bummed out about the sudden turn of events. My new schedule also prevented me from going to my year and a day classes, so that was a HUGE disappointment for me. However, My beloved High Priest and High Priestess at Pagan House did all that they could to see if they could work something out for me with my command or with the chaplain... And while they were not so successful on that front, my schedule suddenly changed, outta the blue, back to my normal day check hours... so it's interesting how things just work out for me lately...

I think the best part of this update is right here, however. Over the last couple of days, I have done three Full Moon Rituals; the first one being a skyclad one up in Carlsbad, the second one being a regular one in Mission Bay, and the third one being a smaller one at Balboa park. The reason this is important for me to mention is that in all three rituals, I played an integral part in the ritual. For the first two, I casted the circle. The first one was actually a surprise to me; I was told that I would be doing it at the second one, so that was the one I had prepared for. But my lovely teacher Morgan had the surprise planned out for me, I suppose. According to the people's feedback from that first night, I did great, so I'll take it as it is. The second one went much better; I received a lot more feedback, so I'm feeling a lot more confident about this. In the third one, I was asked to be the God for the night, so I accepted because at the time they had asked I was the only guy there. After that ritual, they had told me that I did wonderful for a first timer. lol. So anyway, I guess the point of this all is that I am growing more and more into my personal power and it excites me! Looking back on the past six months that I have been here in San Diego, it's just amazing to see how far I've come and how much I've grown on this path... Back then I definitely never would have thought that I would be casting circles at this point! And I have my wonderful teachers of my two classes: Aaron and Morgan Taggert of Pagan House and Carrie Hammond of Indigo Paths, to thank for that. I can't wait to see just what the rest of the year brings to me and how much more I grow!

Announcing a new Meetup Group: The San Diego County Warrior Circle!

So I posted the following message to a few of my Meetup groups announcing a new group that I have created for the military pagans in San DIego County. If this thing is successful and grows big enough, I might even have the Warrior Circle thing expand to other bases... it's part of the dream but a much later part, if you know what I mean. First I have to get this thing going.

"In light of the recent events that took place earlier this month at the US Air Force Academy, I have decided that now was the proper time for me to set my plans in motion and I created a new meetup group called San Diego County Warrior Circle. This is a pagan group for military servicemembers. Our goals are many, but the main one is to provide a stable community for pagan servicemembers. We are here to educate those new to the faith or those who are just curious about the things that we do. We are here to make sure that people know their rights when it comes to the military and religious practice and worship. If you are in the military, please join, and tell your other pagan or pagan-curious friends who are also serving. If you aren't in the military, but know someone who is, please invite them to check out this group. This is my dream and I would like to see it grow into something big, but I need your help to do it."

So there you have it, my latest update... Things are really starting to look up for me again, and I am so happy about that. I have Owls class tonight up at the Pagan House in Carlsbad, and every second spent up there is just an amazing time. I love being up there and basking in the energy of the place.

BIG update

So I haven't posted anything on here in a while, sorry but the mundane life took hold of me for a while.... There are a lot of things to talk about but I will try to keep it as brief as possible. First of all, I am now taking two year-and-a-day classes. The first one with Carrie Hammond of Indigo Paths up in Oceanside, and the second one with Aaron and Morgan Taggert of The Pagan House up in Carlsbad. I don't have a car, though, so transportation to and from classes is my biggest problem. Or so I thought. At first I thought that maybe I was overloading myself or that I should ease up on it a little bit, but then I looked at the situation and I realized that there was a HUGE sign that I was right were I was supposed to be, and that I really am on the right track with taking both of these classes right now. Somehow transportation isn't really as big of a problem as I thought it would be, because I always manage to find a ride to classes and then back to where ever it is that I need to be. If that ain't a sign, I don't know what is, lol. I also finally answered the call of Reiki. It's something that has been calling out to me for the past couple of years, but I have never really had any resources or teachers around to teach me. Now I'm down in San Diego county where there pagan community is just overflowing with Reiki practitioners and Reiki masters who are excellent teachers. I am learning Blue Fire Reiki with Carrie Hammond, again of Indigo Paths. These are all great people and I am just really excited about everything that I am learning about in all these classes. I'll be part of the priesthood in no time, lol.

Which brings me to my next topic of discussion, the pagan priesthood/pagan clergy life. That is definitely a goal of mine, not just so I cam walk around saying that I am a 21 year old high priest or whatever, but so that I can use my knowledge and title to help others in the military. I want to study anything written about rules and regulations for worship and religious activities, etc and be able to answer any questions about it when other military servicemembers come up to me with questions or complaints that they were not let off of work to go to rituals or whatever. Kind of like a Chaplain, I suppose. I want to unite the military pagan community, first here on base at MCAS Miramar, and then in the entire San Diego county. Because I know there are others out there who have questions and concerns related to issues at work that deal with their pagan path. There are chaplains available for these generally, however I'm sure there are many people out there who just aren't comfortable talking to chaplains because of the religious differences. The only reason I feel comfortable talking to chaplains when I need to is because I was raised in a Catholic environment, and I was once Catholic myself. So there you have it, my vision for the future of military paganism.

Another big deal that recently happened is that I recently finally built my altar in my barracks room. Shocker, ain't it. Who would've thought that it would ever be possible to set up a functional altar inside a military barracks room, where generally you cannot have anything burning in there? I had been holding back on building my altar for the longest time because of that reason in particular, however my teachers at The Pagan House made me realize that using the flameless electric powered candles isn't so bad. Basically, it's all about the intent and purpose so if you use those things intending for them to be representative of the actual flame and wax candles, then they will be as such. So I took all the extra effort to even wrap each candle in tissue paper to match the color correspondences of the elements. I was really excited to see the final results. In addition to the intent, though, my teachers also pointed out that technically speaking, electricity represents fire anyway so it would be alright.

So there you have it, my big update. I was going to write a lot more, but it's 0343 and I'm really sleepy so I will have to continue some other time.

My progress so far...

So I have made a lot of progress in the past couple of months.... I've attended a bunch of rituals, raised a bunch of energy, and am now able to focus inward a lot better during meditation..... lately though, like in the past week or so, I've been kinda getting a calling to do some kind of magickal work.... I don't really know what it is just yet, all I know is that it's calling out to me and I'm supposed to do something about it. I'm really excited about the direction that my life is going in now, and it can really only get better from here. I am opening myself up to the mysteries and wonders of the Universe and Life. I recently registered for classes under a formal teacher, Carrie of Indigo Paths. and I am really excited to get the ball rolling on this part of my life. Valera recommended her to me so I sought her out, and now I am a student in her Basic Witchcraft class which starts on the 17th and lasts for 14 weeks! I can't wait to learn everything that she has to teach.... I am REALLY, REALLY excited for this!!