tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13919887.post7610779644792944010..comments2023-06-01T08:13:34.393-07:00Comments on The Eye of the Storm: The F(a)eri(e) "Community" (and why I am against it)Storm Faerywolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14168678792107487150noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13919887.post-39843799379910811332010-09-27T18:13:16.000-07:002010-09-27T18:13:16.000-07:00What a wonderful surprise - to open to my friends ...What a wonderful surprise - to open to my friends page and see this refreshing (and careful) commentary on the latest rumblings. I've been turned off from too much reading in such places where talk is thick, but try to remain open to how important such matters are to others - in ways, like you, that I try to hold even while disagreeing - Sylvanmichaelsylvanhttp://michaelsylvan.livejournal.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13919887.post-79520551478050285342010-09-27T18:17:51.000-07:002010-09-27T18:17:51.000-07:00well put.well put.veedubhttp://veedub.livejournal.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13919887.post-29118390503274854742010-09-27T18:25:04.000-07:002010-09-27T18:25:04.000-07:00Secrecy is often, though not always, used as a shi...Secrecy is often, though not always, used as a shield for abusive personalities to hide behind. The occult community in general, not just Feri, has always had a lot of dysfunctional personalities operating within it. It comes with the territory. Nevertheless, I've never been particularly open to the dictates of people whose personal lives are such an utter wreck. I empathize with you.garan_duhttp://garan_du.livejournal.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13919887.post-23638233963369412502010-09-28T04:07:46.000-07:002010-09-28T04:07:46.000-07:00Thanks Storm, your words are helping me understand...Thanks Storm, your words are helping me understand some other challenges. The pattern is one that goes far beyond Feri and spirituality. Control of knowledge and imposition of mindsets is unfortunately embedded into politics and corporate culture to name a few. Lack of respect for the variation in perspectives and our ability to change between them often brings us into severe dysfunction. People who speak up are often attacked when they should be thanked.epinoidhttp://epinoid.livejournal.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13919887.post-14316700095164492502010-09-28T08:01:23.000-07:002010-09-28T08:01:23.000-07:00thank you.I understand mystery (as much as one can...thank you.<br>I understand mystery (as much as one can), I feel the Current, and I am not happy with fundamentalism.<br>I appreciate information being available to help newer people learn and understand in a good way. In some ways, it's similar to coming up in BDSM - if one doesn't have information, one is in a poor place to look at and judge how much of one's experiences are just part of doing BDSM, how much is doing BDSM with a particular person, and how much of it is just not OK. <br>I think that information being out there is especially important with the way Feri has become popular or cool lately - there's so much rumor and ooga booga nonsense out there, I often forget how blessed I've been to have access to Teachers and to straightforward truth.inflectionpointhttp://inflectionpoint.livejournal.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13919887.post-77802849727183823772010-09-28T10:24:37.000-07:002010-09-28T10:24:37.000-07:00The Community Maybe NotThe way I see it, there is ...The Community Maybe Not<br>The way I see it, there is NO good way to keep other people's secrets--and especially when their secrets may be common knowledge to the rest of the interested world. <br>Besides, if Faery counsels its practitioners "not to coddle weakness," what do we accomplish by even trying to keep somebody else's secrets? Isn't that coddling some sort of weakness? <br>More to the point, for me, is the understanding that the unveiling of very few secrets come anywhere near breaking the world or its living processes. (I'd say "none," but I don't know everything, after all.) If all this secret stuff were written across the sky in flames, I don't call that "armageddon." I figure most folks would never even notice. <br>But that's a different thing than all the DRAMA some practitioners gotta have around what they do or how they live...pitch313http://pitch313.livejournal.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13919887.post-59641340311427110332010-09-28T10:59:03.000-07:002010-09-28T10:59:03.000-07:00This article is made of awesome.This article is made of awesome.warjusticehttp://warjustice.livejournal.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13919887.post-53592654844758569352010-09-28T12:15:02.000-07:002010-09-28T12:15:02.000-07:00If (at least some) Feri material wasn't hadn&#...If (at least some) Feri material wasn't hadn't been available publicly, then people like me, who happen to live in far away corners of the world, would have been doomed to search, search, search for their spiritual anchor for years and years... without finding it.loreleyjacobhttp://loreleyjacob.livejournal.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13919887.post-34102224796830743382010-09-28T18:13:15.000-07:002010-09-28T18:13:15.000-07:00I am not in the Feri Tradition....I am one of Orio...I am not in the Feri Tradition....I am one of Orion's students...I find that in many other traditions this very argument always comes up! I agree about what Cora Anderson said that teachings were held secret for more practical reasons that don't apply (as much) anymore. I think as long as people are willing and able to do the work...then teach it to them! I think that sometimes people need to prove that they are ready for certain information but that is part of the process...and that is why initiates have mentors. I find that over the years I have become more tolerant and open and I think this also holds true for most of the known Elders in the craft community.....it is about sharing knowledge not keeping it from each other....I would love for you to post this on FB....like I said it is true wisdom for all traditions......faerygurlhttp://faerygurl.livejournal.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13919887.post-23381169654888209722010-09-28T22:59:25.000-07:002010-09-28T22:59:25.000-07:00My understanding as well. It's one that I stic...My understanding as well. It's one that I stick to a lot these days.happydoghttp://happydog.livejournal.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13919887.post-57850587743572050912010-09-29T19:02:32.000-07:002010-09-29T19:02:32.000-07:00In case I haven't told you in a while, I love ...In case I haven't told you in a while, I love you Storm. Thanks for this very clear, heartfelt and honest look at the issue(s).loveandpowerhttp://loveandpower.livejournal.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13919887.post-25032156404196256882010-09-29T20:17:07.000-07:002010-09-29T20:17:07.000-07:00"If that which you seek you find not within y..."If that which you seek you find not within yourself, you will never find it without - for behold I have been with you from the beginning.." -- The Charge of the Goddess.<br>"Grok that thou art God." -- Michael Valentine Smith (paraphrase).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13919887.post-73078494200213337342010-09-29T20:26:39.000-07:002010-09-29T20:26:39.000-07:00I'm not optimistic Bella.. After more than 10 ...I'm not optimistic Bella.. After more than 10 years in the stands the game is pretty boring to watch the Nth time around. There are much more important matters to be concerned with than fighting each other over trivialities. As it's stated so well in the Percy Jackson novels, the Wild needs us.. the Wild within us and the Wild all around us. It's like the Roman soldiers who squabbled and cast bets over the clothing of Jesus at his legendary crucifiction. They were in the presence of God and haggled over rags. We must cultivate our garden as Candide said.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13919887.post-27429863023630937542010-09-30T00:54:25.000-07:002010-09-30T00:54:25.000-07:00I came to Feri with this understanding already. Di...I came to Feri with this understanding already. Did not, and still do not need others to remind me of my own divinity. Alas, to me it wasn't enough. I needed other things as well. Other people, shared texts, a certain current of power, and a working framework that was unavailable to me alone, however godly I am.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13919887.post-60325641798441561862010-09-30T07:08:46.000-07:002010-09-30T07:08:46.000-07:00You would have found it. It would have found you, ...You would have found it. It would have found you, come creeping into your life like vines cracking stone, like water bubbling through the desert heat, like butterflies flying a thousand miles to meet their true mates.<br>You are *OURS*, however long it takes, whatever side-turns the path contains.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13919887.post-16832325928864823742010-10-01T07:39:43.000-07:002010-10-01T07:39:43.000-07:00Thanks man, since you described what happened (whi...Thanks man, since you described what happened (which I swore I didn't wanna know, but like a car accident, had to look) it makes more sense now. And control that isn't self control, secrecy that isn't privacy or respect, and craziness/insanity that seem to be peculiarly 'family style' are toxic. It's good to leave such and develop a culture and a body of work elsewhere. <br>I wondered what the problem was and then the 'vows' vs. 'no vows' thing kind of rang a bell ... Feri has indeed gotten big enough and been around long enough that not everyone's being initiated in precisely the same way or even taught the same things. I know Cora openly published some things that would freak some folks out if it was ME publishing them!! :)<br>I would love for us all to be a huge tribe, and I can feel that yearning in every one of us when we are all at big gatherings and eagerly reciting 'Holy Mother' in a full voice... the one tiny scrap that we all have in common, in the presence of the One who witnesses all this hoop-de-do and who knows that change is constant...<br>but co-religionists, as clinical as it is, is ok too! I can't say 'tribe' (singular) at this time. Maybe someday, the Tribes...rideout_dbzahttp://rideout_dbza.livejournal.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13919887.post-71144931346706483302010-10-01T07:42:31.000-07:002010-10-01T07:42:31.000-07:00Props to Faery from Feri!! *waves*Props to Faery from Feri!! *waves*rideout_dbzahttp://rideout_dbza.livejournal.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13919887.post-77763070070065684442010-10-03T16:26:46.000-07:002010-10-03T16:26:46.000-07:00On Disfunctional people in Modern PaganismJust a n...On Disfunctional people in Modern Paganism<br>Just a note;<br>Here's my thing. I believe in all sorts of things. Demons (per se), ghosts, spirits of all sorts and other not so tangible things. I believe magick is true and that there are forces all around us that can be used towards our benefit or harm, depending on how I choose to use them.<br>I mention this because we live in a world that, by and large, no longer believes in these things.<br>This has the effect of my being viewed by this mass-non-belief culture as crazy. This in turn, could (if I let it) make me feel crazy and not be able to seek support because anyone who would "support" me would advocate I let go of these beliefs and probably that I be put on psychoactive medication.<br>All this to say, yah, we do have more than our share of nutjobs in the community. Using the DSM (as illustration only) we can find a whole host of our brothers and sisters with literally every kind of so called mental illness; not to mention the many of us with social and sexual disfunctions that go far beyond the pale of your average Sunday morning crowd at Our Lady of The Perpetually Ridiculous.<br>However, that this isn't a phenomenon which is "treatable" in the traditional sense of the word. I'm suggesting that a goodly portion of the people might just snap right into the well-adjusted category if we can do a few things to help them.<br>1. Help them realize that part of what they're feeling is an unspoken isolation brought on by a decidedly monotheist world.<br>2. Magic will not make you cool.<br>3. There are pagan therapists who won't deride or try to medicate you for making offerings to the faeries on your back porch.<br>4. The pagan community does not need you to be a violent zealot.<br>5. Social skills have to be learned regardless of who or where you are. Being pagan will not change the fact that you feel uncomfortable in your own skin. <br>FW, This subject is something you may want to do some more expounding on as you have a large audience.<br>Thanks,<br>MalazAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13919887.post-69540215911141433312010-10-04T18:49:56.000-07:002010-10-04T18:49:56.000-07:00Re: On Disfunctional people in Modern PaganismFant...Re: On Disfunctional people in Modern Paganism<br>Fantastic response to a fantastic article.dietrichhttp://dietrich.livejournal.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13919887.post-63506066044562783492010-10-04T19:50:51.000-07:002010-10-04T19:50:51.000-07:00And, you are aware of my feelings concerning all o...And, you are aware of my feelings concerning all of this. Just to be clear, I love YOU, Storm, the person. And I apprecaite that you stand up for your thoughts and beliefs even if I disagree with you on some points.<br>I have thanked you for putting together a clear look at the issues which comes from YOUR heart.<br>This has been a public service announcement.loveandpowerhttp://loveandpower.livejournal.com/noreply@blogger.com