quarta-feira, 27 de junho de 2012

Fairies

The first book I studied on my research was "Fairies at Work and Play", by Geoffrey Hodson. This book consists of a summary of observations of Fairies and other elements of Nature. I will now present my notes and doubts on the texts I just read.

This picture is one of the famous Fox Sisters pictures in which they photographed interaction with elements of nature. More information can be found on this website.
 
Devas control the beauty of Nature in an intangible way for the human condition. They don't possess a solid body. When they materailize they imitate human shapes that they liked and their real world is at an astral level. Their autoconscience is based on intuiton.

Goblins and Elfs
  • Earth
  • Kind, groups 
Gnomes
  • Earth
  • Solitary 
  • Unpleasant
Mannikins
  • All the other male beings
  • Connected to plants
  • May be nice or not
  • Curious and brave 
Ondines and Spirits of the Sea
  • Water (always close to a water course)
  • Feminine shape
  • Representation of the three fundamental processes of Nature: Absorcion, Assimilation and Discharge 
  • Those of the sea more energic than those on Earth 
Fairies
  • Earth
  • Joy 
Sylph
  • Air
  • The elements evolve till they get to the shape of Sylph, almost an angel, that takes care of the animal world
  • Ferocious, agressive
Devas
  • Vegetal kingdom
  • Associated to the destruction of shape as a transformation
  • Vital side and agent of Nature
  • Expression of divine energy
  • Instability of shape 
They can participate in rituals and magic. They can also be created artificially.

And now....

Questions, doubts and other interrogations!

1. Ether: the fourth physical matter?
2. Can these "Spirits of Nature" be Xintoist gods or elements with another shape, definide by the culture that surrounds them?
3. Can they be seen in every point with nature? E$ach tree, each lake, each of them has one?
4. The described shapes intrigue me as they are so typical of European stories and not defined in other cultures. Are there only Spirits of Nature in England?
5. Do all of us have Elements of Nature organizing our energies?
6. Are there Elements of Nature for stones?
7. How can you create an artifical entity?

And the final question:

How should I go about observing them?
I'd like to go to my country house, in Santarém, and try to observe the Elements of Nature that probably roam the local. However there is a "creature" or "being" that inhabits the house (I'll make a post about "him" soon. We call "him" the Seventh Person) and I don't want to disturb "him" before I know better about "his" essence. Should I pick another place to observe the Elements of Nature?
What kind of exercises should I do to be able to observe them, even if it's just once?

I'm putting this post for discussion at The Agora Forums.

Please feel free to discuss this at Blog Comments as well! Let's all see a fairy today! :)

A Fairy seen differently from what described in this book. :) Personally, I prefer this interpretation!

quarta-feira, 20 de junho de 2012

A Small Prayer

New blog, new things! It's time for a presentation.

I'm known by a couple of names, it's not very important. Maybe I'll find my true name soon, maybe I already know it. Otherwise I'm known mainly for ladyxzeus, ladylouve or Carol Louve. I started this blog to talk about Paganism, with a different twist. So I think it is good to talk a little bit about myself beforehand. :)

I "became a Pagan" when I was 12 years old. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was in the Book Fair with my father and a book caught my eye. It was "Riding a Silver Broomstick", by Silver RavenWolf, mistakenly translated as "Magic for Teenagers". It was the time of Harry Potter (the books, the movies only came much later) and I was fascinated by it, so I immediatly tought... I'm going to learn magic! I'm going to have a wand and make things move and make colours in the air! How wrong I was. As misinformated as Silver RavenWolf may be, it was a first start. From then I bought other books from her and discovered a more advanced practicioner, Scott Cunningham. I bought the Llewellynn Almanacs and did all the rituals by the book. I made spells very often and for every situation. I believed in the Great Goddess, the Moon, and prayed to her every night. My pentagram was always with me and whenever I felt danger or unease I would touch it and know the Lady was with me.

I also had a great connection to Nature by the time. My father lives in the country and I used to go there every week, to perform rituals and spells. I'd go there every Solstice and Equinox to celebrate my rituals with Nature.

Meanwhile, I was a depressed teen. I had no friends, I had nothing on my way. My only safety was Her Ladyship. And Gackt. Gackt's music was yet another connection with the Gods. A different kind of connection, a connection that came through a being that - while superior to me in every aspect - was still kind of Godly. So much that till today I always refer to Him with a capital letter, lol. On any case, that was what saved me at the time.

As I entered university things changed. I made new friends, I got a new sister, my father got sick, my dog too. I abandoned spells and only did rituals when something really important was happening. The last one was during Samhain and for 12 days I made a ritual to beg the Gods to make my father live. He's still here. :)

And then something completely unexpected happened. Gackt came to Europe on tour. Finally I would have the chance to see the one that, for me, was the prophet of all that was beautiful and pure, my connection with Gods walking on Earth. I went to Barcelona with my friend. And on the concert I suddenly realized something: the one I loved, the one I worshipped, He was not a prophet. He was not a god. He was human just like me. A wonderful human being, an example for me, but still a human. Even had a surgery scar! But even being just a human being, I wanted to give Him all that I had. I wanted to give Him my all. But the only thing I had was my pentagram! So I gave it to Him (in a very confusing and traumatizing experience with staff members, haha)

From then on, it seemed like my faith disappeared. I stopped praying. I simply stopped believing. And then depression stroke again, I flipped in an injustified way and nothing ethereal could save me. It was like faith was controlling me and when it was gone I could not hold myself anymore.

But everything passes and now I think... I used to be so happy when I was in touch with the Goddess... When Gackt made me touch Her... I think I could go back! So I made a vow to dedicate 2 weekly hours to the study of Paganism, to try and rediscover my spirituality and what I believe in. Maybe I'll go back to being a Catholic. Maybe I'll realize there's nothing else left to believe. I don't know yet. But I'll try to discover. :)

I'll start by reading all my "Paganism Shelf" and taking notes of those books. Then I'll proceed to read my "Pagan Bookmarks". I will share these notes in this blog, as if it's some kind of Shadows Book. It's like a public Shadows Book, but kind of private at the same time because I'll not announce it everywhere. :p Anything that's more private I'll keep to my real Shadows Book, that I started building (a different story is the beggining and the end of my first one, stay tuned!) as a notebook. I tried a diary at first, but that's not meant to be.


I also belong to the International Pagan Federation and I'll restart going to their meetings. I'll also comment them here! :)

As for the rest, I'm passionate about Japanese pop culture. This blog is Chiisana Inori, which means A Small Prayer in Japanese. Have a wonderful day, that's my small prayer. :) That's how I try to live. I try to be more like a dog and learn from them. Have you ever noticed that they are always happy and always forgive? And they have a tail to wag! =D And I'll never stop loving Gackt anyway. But now I love Him more as a companion and less as a prophet. I know He loves me, as He loves all fans. He's like my secret friend, a friend that I've never met and that does not even know that I exist but that I can count on, always, with His music, with His art and with His words.

I hope this blog, more than a personal journey, can become a source of interesting information for all Pagans!


Thank you!