This striking figure in the diocesan museum at Klagenfurt in Austria is thought to have originated in the baptismal chapel of St. John and St. Mary Magdalene in the curch at Weitenfeld. Made c. 1160-70, St. Mary Magdalene carries a pot of ointment, her most usual attribute in medieval art.
Prepare your ritual space as you see fit. Darken the room. Light a match.
From dust I come. Light the first candle.
To dust I will return. Light the second candle.
From the ash, I am made anew. Light the last candle.
Pause after each candle and consider the implications of your words deeply.
From life to death to rebirth, from summer to winter to spring, from day to night to morning. Help me accept the dark and prepare for the return of light.
Allow the flames to burn through the night if you can do so safely, or preform the ritual backwards, snuffing out the candles instead of lighting.
Maybe misusing the name of God isn’t so much about saying the shallow words, “Oh my God,” as it is about using the name of God to justify discrimination, oppression, injustice, racism, slavery, xenophobia, poverty, sexism, islamophobia, ableism, homophobia, war, & the list can go on.
Amen
When I was a wee little Gaslight attending Catholic Sunday schools, and then later in college when I was taking a Bible as Literature class, both my stolid neighborhood deacon and my dapper Protestant professor said almost the exact same thing:
“Taking the Lord’s name in vain isn’t when someone says ‘God damn it.’ It’s when a mortal, fallible human being presumes to put words in God’s mouth and say ‘This is what God wants you to do.’“
Charles Freger photographed and travelled through 19 countries to collect this stunning collection of photos of European Pagan Rituals surviving to this day.
bennu rising 