Tag Archives: paganism

February 19, 2020 · 1:06 pm

MAGICK OF REIKI

by Christopher Penczak

This is not a traditional book on Reiki. It’s an intriguing and empowering book unifying the concepts of Reiki and magick from a practitioner’s point of view. The book compares and contrasts the two disciplines and encourages areas of crossover. Although many shy away from the word magick because it evokes negative associations, most of us are comfortable with the use of language involving the power of intention. The conscious use of intention can manifest inwardly or outwardly, both affecting our reality. This is magick. Most of us recognize magickal practices including spells, rain dances, healing songs, and protection blessings. But magical practices also include affirmations, prayer, creative visualization, positive thinking, and the biggest buzz word of all— co-creating. Shockingly simple and… unifying.

Although the author points out that the roots of Western magick and Eastern Reiki may seem like a wide gulf to bridge, they are really two disciplines providing paths up the same mountain. Both use symbols, initiation (called attunement in Reiki), spiritual lineage, energy work, and the mystical path of personal experience. Magick does differ from Reiki in how it creates change. Magick releases a well-considered intention into the world whereas Reiki practice does not focus on outcome. Reiki energy is understood to be intelligent and works for the higher good. The energy flows where it is needed.

The book includes a brief history of what we know about the history of Reiki. Many of us realize there is a lot of misinformation floating around. Stories and legends about the founders proliferate. A really good history of Reiki can be found in Penelope Quest’s, Reiki for Life. The three levels of Reiki are outlined in subsequent chapters of Penczak’s book. Most fascinating was the description of the entire ritual for attunement found in Chapter 5. The author is a firm believer that once you have your first attunement, the door to Reiki is open. Use of symbols and even doing attunements is possible.

The remaining chapters of the book explore healing with symbols, working with Reiki spirit guides, using crystals, and plant magick. There is also a chapter on some of the new lineages and practices emerging post-Usui. Overall, a creative, empowering and helpful book.

REIKI DISTANCE HEALING TREATMENTS: I’d like to offer my services to readers of the blog. Anyone interested in receiving Reiki distance treatment can contact me at: ellisnelson@gmx.com. I will provide additional information via email. To honor the exchange practice of Reiki, you will be asked to make a $25 donation to your favorite charity.

Follow the link below to find my books.

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Tagged as attunement, balance, chakras, chi, Christopher Penczak, co-creator, crystals, earth based religion, Ellis Nelson, energy fields, energy healing, energy medicine, Magick, magickal practice, meditation, Mikao Usui, New Age, paganism, pagans, plant magick, prana, psychic development, Reiki, Reiki degrees, Reiki distance treatments, Reiki lineages, Reiki practice, Reiki symbols, shamanic practice, spirit guides, universal life force, Wicca, witchcraft

September 21, 2017 · 3:07 am

OWL KILLERS by Karen Maitland

Owl Killers

During the Middle Ages, a lay group of women dedicated to a life of prayer, hard work, and community service thrived in the Low Countries. Known as the Beguines, Karen Maitland imagines what it might have been like for a group of these women to have struck out on their own to settle in an unwelcoming English town. The atmosphere is tense as the women are seen as outsiders, not part of Mother Church and not part of the resident pagan tradition either. The women bring their ideas of Christian charity to the townsfolk who regard them with suspicion and sometimes open hostility. As the village suffers through a series of disasters, the power of the Church is threatened, dark forces from earlier times reawaken, and the beguines must decide to make a stand or return to the safety of their continental shores.

Karen Maitland novel is well-researched and executed. The story is told from the various viewpoints of the characters in the town of Ulewic. In this way, we learn each of the beguine’s has her own history and her own reasons for joining the group. We understand the struggles of the local priest as he fits into a system that leaves him little room for personal choice. A nobleman’s daughter helps us feel the restrictions of living as a young woman in Medieval society. An array of townsfolk completes the cast. The Owl Killers are a group of masked men who harken back to a day before law and order. They are definitely flesh and blood and do their share of evil, but Maitland has, at times, blurred the line. Although most of the story feels firmly planted in third dimensional reality, there are a few places where things take on an otherworldly creepiness. Man’s ability for cruelty can be disturbing and this book certainly has those moments. The ending may leave you wanting more or maybe something else entirely.

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Tagged as Beguines, Beguines in Bruges, Beguines in England, Belgium, Bruges, Catholic Church, Catholic Church & power, Catholic Church v. paganism, Christianity, divine feminine, Ellis Nelson, English history, historical fantasy, historical fiction, Karen Maitland, lay Christian life, Low Countries, Medieval history, Middle Ages, Middle Ages in England, pagan, paganism, the burnings, The Owl Killers

February 22, 2017 · 8:45 am

Visionary Fiction Writer Margaret Duarte

Duarte’s new book is based on her research in “… paganism, holistic theory, quantum mechanics, and transpersonal psychology, which takes readers deep into the depths of consciousness to the unified field underlying physical existence, where separateness is an illusion.” Definitely my kind of thing and maybe yours too.

JUST BELOW THE SURFACE

While in Vancouver, I stumbled on a little book called A Brief Guide to Secret Religions: A Complete Guide to Hermetic, Pagan, and Esoteric Beliefs by David Barrett. Barrett has a PhD in the Sociology of Religion from the London School of Economics. On several nights, after an exhausting day of sightseeing, I’d settle down to read Barrett’s work. I know I’m weird, but I found this to be a fun, little history book. For years I’ve skirted the edges of the New Age movement, am happily surrounded by pagans, and lately I’ve been taking classes on Hermetical beliefs so the book interests me on several levels.

Barrett divides the book into three parts (the New Age: Hermetic, Occult, High Magic: and Neo-Paganism), but he freely admits that when examining the interrelationship of these groups, the lines blur quickly. So he imposed this structure knowing it’s arbitrary. Interspersed throughout the book are interview responses from different followers of these groups which illuminate their thoughts on various key issues, expressing commonalities and differences. It’s a fascinating read and you begin to understand that these alternative paths have a rich history and a dynamic future. In a culture where we are fast becoming a people who identify as “spiritual, but not religious,” understanding the depth of the roots of New Age (don’t think for a second that Hippies started this), Hermetics, and Paganism become more important. Many of the ideas of these groups are moving mainstream led by new scientific theories, continued interest in environmentalism, and an era supporting individual spirituality. Barrett’s writing reflects that he is a scholar, open-minded and even-handed. Highly recommended!

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Tagged as A Brief Guide to Secret Religions, David Barrett, Ellis Nelson, esoteric, Golden Dawn, Hermetic, High Magic, magic, Neo-Paganism, New Age, occult, pagan, paganism, secret teachings, spirituality, theosophy, Wicca, YA