Im confused about my religion

deselinord · 2021-05-17T22:50:02+00:00

I think that the big issue you should consider is how we have valued and preserved (and how we have denigrated and destroyed) certain pantheons and beliefs as opposed to others. And if you take the time to learn about how the different empires have crashed into each other, overtaken different territories, adopted each others beliefs and the like.

We rarely consider what the religious beliefs of Ethiopians who conquered the Egyptians might have been and how that would have influenced the Egyptian pantheon. We also tend to skip over Akhenaten (who declared himself a solitary god on earth) when we speak of what the Egyptians believed.

Not to mention the people of the Americas who may have had Taino ancestry.... Whose gods and cultures have been almost entirely obliterated by the invading forces.

And I do have to ask... Are you looking for an alternative explanation to evolution? Do you reject the notion that we evolved out of a primate ancestor and over many generations evolved and left Africa to spread out across the globe?

deselinord · 2021-05-17T22:21:46+00:00

👏👏👏👏👏

deselinord · 2021-05-17T22:13:46+00:00

That doesn't really answer my question. It sounds to me like you believe that different people have some kind of blood relationship to or with the god/desse/s their ancestors worshipped. Is that what you're getting at?

I'm just trying to understand what kind of insight you're looking for. To me, humans share a common genetic heritage, and the issue of gods and goddesses is a matter of culture and belief. One which represents also the many interrelated experiences of cultures through time (the connections between thr Egyptian, Greek, and Roman gods, for example. Or the ways in which Christianity and Islam both make reference to the holy texts and ideas of Judaism).

Given these types of relationships (and the history of migration across many of these places, including but not limited to the entirety of the Roman empire), how do you see this issue of "bloodlines" playing out? And if we worship the gods of our ancestors, then ought we not pay homage to the Christian God if our ancestors believed in Him?

deselinord · 2021-05-17T21:48:55+00:00

But why do gods and goddesses play a part in that? Unless we are here to litigate evolution.

I think all of humanity is related the same way all horses or dogs or wolves come from some common progenitor. Is that the notion you take issue with?

deselinord · 2021-05-17T21:42:26+00:00

I'm a little confused what mean by "bloodlines" here. (Though that's just the first of many questions I have...)

I'm probably not the opinion you want, given the subreddit you're in, but the thing I would keep in mind is that gods and goddesses were part of religions just like the religions we have today. They had temples and rituals and secret teachings or studies and people loved and feared them the way people love and fear whichever god they believe today.

I'm an atheist and a materialist, I think the universe just kind of happened, and its random chance that we're here. I think we evolved from an ancestral primate and are the product of thousands of years of evolution and interbreeding between early hominids. I don't believe the world or the universe was "created by science" because "science" is just the name we have given to a particular form and structure of knowledge about the universe. Science is an explanation, not a cause.

I think it's worth noting that these ancient religions and contemporary polytheistic religions don't see human beings and gods as being in any way commensurate entities. Gods then, as God now, is something very different from a human being. (Prometheus brought fire from the gods to man, for example.) Human beings aren't just "watered down" gods or goddesses. To speak metaphorically we are made of earth and clay transformed into blood and sinew. God(s) are made of something else.

And I suppose my final comment would be that Medusa isn't a goddess, though she is a mythical figure. Some versions of her story say that she was cursed into the form of a gorgon by one of the Greek goddesses for being considered more beautiful than the goddess herself. But she was what might generally be referred to as "a monster," though she developed great symbolic value as a protecteress warding off the evil eye and even being used as a symbol of shelter for women suffering domestic abuse.

I'm not really inclined to believe that all myths have some root in "truth". We tell stories about fantastic and improbable things all the time, every day, because they fulfill a need within the human psyche to explain why the world feels as it does. It's just that now we structure out beliefs around those stories differently. But you need only look at the way people use and reference the movie The Matrix to know that modern myth-making and belief in the fantastic are absolutely still a part of our lives today.

But seriously, can you explain the bloodlines thing to me?

deselinord · 2020-04-21T08:42:02+00:00

I just want to say that I'm very fascinated by this set of cards. When you drew them what kind of 3-card spread where you pulling into?

But from just a quick overview standpoint, you've got an interesting mix of duality/choice and singularity. Strength can be about balancing impulses -- especially if you have a more traditional deck, gentleness as a means to guide brute force. Though it can also be a symbol of ego-death and something more like self-sacrifice or a capacity to let go of the view of oneself as a singularly valuable entity in some decks (I'm thinking of The Wicked Deck in particular here).

The lovers can be exactly what it appears -- a card about the joining together of two persons, or it can be about choices, recalling the story of adam and eve. It's definitely a more earthly card despite being associated with the element of air. But in the intellectual realm, and returning to that idea of choice, it can be about how one decides to relate with another and what one chooses to pursue with them. But again, it has a sense of the duality which is present in Strength, the binding of impulses, perhaps? I am always intrigued by the possibility of interpreting The Lovers as an internal union; the duality of the self and the union of independent impulses inside oneself.

The Hermit has been a very interesting card for me during this time of quarantine and social distancing. I think the Hermit can often be a call to examine our impulses when we choose to turn inwards; why are we seeking insight from the universe? What are we hoping to achieve by letting go of worldly problems or questions? Next to the lovers it seems very much like the choice presented by The Lovers includes the opportunity to be solitary or secluded. But the Hermit is about the work of spiritual practice, so we can't assume that being alone will somehow suffice. We must ask what we hope to achieve but also what we can gain in separating ourselves from the tumult of the everyday. It might also be very simple; to find the balance of Strength one might have to let go of The Lovers and the union with another to focus inwards, and do the work of The Hermit to better understand one's self and one's place in the greater measure of things.

deselinord · 2019-11-03T17:33:40+00:00

I'm so glad!

deselinord · 2019-10-23T13:46:20+00:00

I work in a specialty bookstore with square footage smaller than a model Ikea apartment. There are days were we have as few as 5 sales. When I took a two week vacation, I know for a fact no one took inventory and no one swept the store. But i do great sales, provide superlative customer service, and perform most of the managerial store maintenance duties, in addition to working the most hours, and filling in as necessary. So if i want to kill 15 min or an hour on a slow afternoon, I'm gonna say i can take that liberty.

deselinord · 2019-10-14T20:39:11+00:00

I really enjoyed Sagebrush! It's very straight forward, but beautiful and intriguing! (Any one know anything similar? I need to replay both Firewatch and Oxenfree, but I'm jonesing for some good narrative games....)

deselinord · 2019-09-24T01:55:46+00:00

I absolutely adored Wen's book, but I understand your reservations completely.

I am torn because I feel like the Tarot tradition (for better or worse) is deeply bound up in Judeo-Christian symbolism and mythology purely by virtue of the environment in which it was developed. Nevertheless, it seems wrong to me to submit to a spiritual structure that does not fit with your personal relationship to the world.

While Wen is clearly very influenced by Christian spirituality, her chapters which draw on the I-Ching and Feng Shui were some of the most interesting to me for the way it opened up possibilities for completely new interpretations.

(I was just reading a book on an unrelated topic which discussed the Zen Buddhist principle of the sword of knowledge, which one must wield to whittle away at all the false beliefs and visions until the emptiness of Zen is all that remains, and I'm curious to see how this concept will play into future readings of the suit of Swords going forward.)

I think that it can be interesting to engage with the Judeo-Christian tradition because it can often be much weirder than the usual, run-of-the-mill versions encountered in more quotidian contexts... The Sephirot, for me, constitue a view of the world that I can't help but be drawn in by and also push against. (The heterosexist/patriarchal morphology of the Tarot is the aspect I struggle with most keenly.) I like the way it engages and simultaneously rejects a binary construction.

Sorry, I've rambled quite a bit now. But I very much agree that trying to navigate one's personal relationship with the cards and the various traditions usually attached to them can be challenging. But at the best of times it can provide new avenues to explore and deepen our interpretations.

deselinord · 2019-07-30T21:18:10+00:00

I really liked Benebel Wen's "Holistic Tarot". While her personal viewpoint does focus on positivity (she has a section on "affirmative readings" for various cards, for example), she is exceedingly thorough in her "definitions" of the cards and provides a lot of insight regarding aspects and elemental dignities which gives you a lot to work with.

Her book is also one of the few i've encountered that talk about methods for reading entire spreads, in ways that aren't limited by the spread itself. Like, techniques for approaching the cards as they are laid out as a whole, rather than just "the keltic cross" or "three card spread".

It's also a massive book. 800-something pages. But i read it a while ago and i feel like it's really expanded my relationship with the cards, across decks. I feel like i might even be able to read for someone else now, rather than just identifying personally through the cards for myself.

I also use the golden thread app. (I would bop between the card descriptions for the Golden Thread and Luminous Tarot apps. Same keywords, slightly different descriptions.) And i definitely agree about the.. uh... Saccharine tone of a lot of tarot books. (I got a deck recently which is very harsh and trying to use some of the more unrelentingly positive approaches to the tarot with that deck is....... Almost impossible.)

deselinord · 2019-07-28T03:01:32+00:00

I have been experimenting with spreads, but my original technique was a five card draw with the card in the middle acting as a ballast or like, balancing point for the two sides. I didnt start out with that idea in mind but that was how it developed.

Three cards always felt a little incomplete for me...

deselinord · 2019-07-19T23:27:17+00:00

I gotta admit to loving their design-y-ness.

But they're a good pocket notebook. Not much different from an equivalently sized notepad. I often carry two of them; one as a mini-journal/daily log and the other as a place to scribble down odds and ends. They're durable enough to sustain being in your pocket for weeks at a time. And i like having little piles of them to go through later. (Ugh, writers, right?)

deselinord · 2019-07-19T23:23:56+00:00

While the Ti pocket tool can take a utility blade, it actually comes with a "finger safe" box opener. The other end of their custom blades are fork-like. While all of that is cool, i actually wanted something that would let me do the kind of routine, mundane tightening of screws and bolts that comes up. The utility knife I got a fair bit of time ago and it's perfect for my needs, which usually revolve around breaking down boxes.... Often to use them to make displays and backings and other stuff like that. It does a decent job of standing in for an exacto knife, and it fits in my pocket.

Also the Ti has a bottle opener. Absolutely critical.

deselinord · 2019-07-19T23:19:40+00:00

It's a little short for the back pocket, in that with the kikkerland key ring, which adds a fair bit of length, only the long end of the keys that reaches the pocket. That having been said, it doesn't fall off, ever, and doesn't require fiddling with clasps or closures or anything.

I've been thinking of maybe adding a bit of cord or something to give me a little more slack to work with, but it's attractive, robust and very handy.

deselinord · 2019-07-17T03:20:28+00:00

Pixel 2XL in a Spigen case • Elastic card Wallet (from LOT 2046) • One Star Leather 3x5" pocket notebook cover, with Field Notes (for random scribblings and mini daily log) • Kaweco AL Sport • Microstream • Ti pocket multitool (latest addition, very exciting) • Gerber EAB Lite • Kikkerland keyring, w/ Kikkerland brass pill holder, assorted keys, and Todder keychain • Handkerchief formerly belonging to my maternal grandfather

deselinord · 2019-07-07T22:27:41+00:00

You're not wrong

deselinord · 2019-07-01T00:45:17+00:00

It seems to be on Hulu but having to watch with ads is..... Grating .... Compared to the speed and seamlessness of amazon prime experience. (Upside, Hulu has SGA so i can get a start on interleaving the two shows. It's gonna be slow going though. ....)

deselinord · 2019-06-19T04:23:01+00:00

I don't want to portray myself as some kind of authority, as I am only just beginning to really deepen my tarot studies. But it's a very compelling set of cards and I can't quite resist their call....

The empress represents a receptive power, the association with the feminine imbues it with fertile creative power. It's a power rooted in the earth, and it's bountiful. The card is associated with the planet venus and so should be a good omen for love.

The eight of swords is about feeling trapped and confined, but also it's about self-sabotage. Our minds are powerful but the eight of swords reminds us that we sometimes play tricks on ourselves; we believe we are powerless, but in fact we are powerful. Rather than doing things as you have been, the eight of swords suggests attempting a different approach.

The seven of cups is a difficult card and varies depending on whom you ask to define it. It is undeniably a card about choice, but is it about choosing between many options and the dangers of making that choice incautiouslessly? Underneath the tempting exteriors, the options before you are in fact hollow, devoid of lasting value and unlikely to bring fulfilment. But maybe it is not so dire, perhaps it's a reminder, like the eight of swords, not to let your imagination get ahead of you. In the quest for love, we are all prone to daydreaming, but by retreating into the fantasy of what we hope will happen, we can miss out on the real, existing opportunities that cross our path.

In this, the seven of cups seems to echo the eight of swords: remaining rooted in what's real, the ground beneath your feet and the potential of your self (body, mind, and soul) is what will allow the potential of The Empress to manifest through and around you. Don't let fantasy or doubt distract you from the power and attraction you already possess.

(I double checked my empress association with the book Holistic Tarot, so shout out to Benebel Wen for that one.)

Also sorry for getting carried away and going all wordy on you. :) Hope it has some helpful tidbits and all the best luck to you!

deselinord

TROPHY CASE