Sunday 9 September 2012

If It Harms None, Do What You Will

Why Did I Have To Explain My Blue Moon Ritual To A Friend?

The Blue Moon last month on 31st August, was special to me.  Firstly, I never knew what a Blue Moon was.  I used the phrase “once in a blue moon” often enough and realized the phrase was taken from the fact that the Blue Moon did occur once every few years when there were 2 full moons in a month.  Happy that I had learnt something new that week, I had decided to do a Blue Moon ritual of thanksgiving.  If you knew me, I always looked for any opportunity to celebrate and that was definitely an appropriate opportunity to celebrate.  So I lit a couple of candles that night, picked out my favorite crystals and tarot cards that depicted abundance for which I was thanking the universe, and did a thanksgiving prayer as well as a prayer with a special intention. 

I felt a-washed with peace after that ritual and proceeded to take a photo of the paraphernalia used at my Blue Moon ritual so that I could add the photo to my blog post about my Blue Moon ritual.  The following week, a friend texted me after reading my blog and after a cryptic chat that bordered on her intent to provide some cautionary advice, she asked “I understand you are doing magical spells, is that true?”  So I replied, “I don’t think you know what that means.  And it is an interesting thought but no, I don’t know how to cast a spell.  However, if you are referring to my blog post about my Blue Moon ritual, it is absolutely magical that I had an opportunity to give thanks to the universe for the abundance I have received on a special occasion like this.”   

She did apologize for having that misconception but it left me with a bad taste in my mouth because I realized there are so many people out there who needed to be educated about the co-existence of faiths and belief systems.  It saddened me to see that because some people governed their perceptions with a strict notion that no other religions, faiths, belief systems, cultures and ways of life should be tolerated, they would close their minds to understanding and accepting that these different systems should co-exist harmoniously within our society.

Why Couldn’t We All Just Co-Exist?

My spiritual awakening with my tarot cards had taken me on a journey of continuous reading, learning, and opened doors to so many wonderful friends from different walks of life, different countries, cultures, religions and belief systems.  I am so thankful for that diversity as it added color to my life and knowledge to my mind.  

I am a Roman Catholic, born and bred as one, and completely proud of it.  Being one doesn’t make me the same as the rest of my Roman Catholic friends apart from our belief in one God.  For one, I practice my faith differently and don’t attend mass.  As a divorcee, who went on to remarry, I wasn’t allowed to partake in Holy Communion with the rest of the community during mass.  So I had decided at that point, that my relationship was only between my God and me.  And that was okay.

I have got friends who are practicing Hindus, Christians, Taoists, Muslims, Pagans and more.  I love them for enriching my life by teaching me so many things about their respective faiths.  I don’t profess to understand the tenets of each faith but to have a faith that helps guide your life in itself is beautiful.  During the journey that I had walked with my tarot cards, I had met with a lot of skepticism which I realized was just purely fear and misunderstanding of the unknown.   Throughout that same journey, I also had met people who view the different faiths and belief systems with a narrow lens. 

You Don’t Have To Understand To Accept

That friend who texted me possibly thought I was practicing witchcraft.  I read a lot about Wicca but am not an expert in its teachings.  However, I am aware of the misconception and fears around the faith and I am quite annoyed that such myopic perceptions have exacerbated a culture of intolerance in our otherwise colorful communities of wonderful people.

So, to these people, I would like to ask a question.  Underlining the Wiccan Rede is this very important but simple intent – “If it harms none, do what thou will.”   What is so wrong with this phrase, and how bad or harmful can this intent be, that you would view the faith in such a negative light?

I hope with all my heart that even if one does not understand a specific belief system, whatever religion you adhere to, whatever way of life you choose to live, you would choose to live in perfect love and perfect trust of the universe’s grand plans for peace and harmony.

With that said, I am preparing for my Mabon ritual whereby I will thank the universe for holding my hand through the last few months of transformation that I had experienced during my journey with my tarot cards.  I am inviting you to join me to do the same.
About the writer:

The writer of this blog post is a marketeer by trade, and a tarot card reader by accident. She was awarded a Certified Professional Tarot Reader qualification from the Tarot Certification Board of America (TCBA) and was recently certified as a numerologist in Singapore. A member of the American Tarot Association (ATA) and the Tarot Association of the British Isles (TABI), she is also a reader for the Free Tarot Network and is a mentor for the ATA.

She can be contacted at www.facebook.com/SunGoddessTarot or www.sungoddesstarot.com

2 comments:

  1. I think its really sad that we all seems to have such difficults to accept what other people belives in or what they do with their religion. I try to find facts and talk to people that have diffrent religions and I have found out that in all religions there´s a big craft or energi or god or goddess( you may call it what you want)and then how we called upon it or how we thank them for beeing with us and guide us that doesn´t matter! We, people, are so afraid of everything we don´t understand. That´s my strong opinion and I have a feeling if all people start think so alot of war will end! Blessed Be

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    1. Agreed Jess. I have learnt to accept it takes all sorts to make this world. I can't change what they think, so I just continue with doing what's right for me.

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