If you can't summarize it in 3 decent sized paragraphs, then you don't know enough about the subject.

Ciao a tutti,

I've been stuck for blog topics.  Not because I don't have any. Because the ones that I do have seem to fit best with back-and-forth dialogue rather than the neat (sterile?) written word.  They're less about opinions and more about questions and trying to find answers.

For instance, here are some snippets of the types of conversations that I've had over the past week:

• Religion? Spiritual path? Umbrella term of related movements?
• Wicca, Neo-Wicca, Paganism - same or different? How so? Specific priesthood(s) of a religion? If so, which one?
• Paganism as an umbrella term - useful or confusing?
• If Paganism is a movement, what is the religion that Wicca and Neo-Wicca is a priesthood of?
• Initiatory Tradition vs Priesthood?
• Orthopraxy vs Orthodoxy? 
• When aspects of an entirely orthopraxic Path begin to run counter to values and ethics of modern practitioners (through cultural changes), what should be done? Anything?
•  Judaism (an orthopraxic faith) has the Torah* and the rabbinical commentaries to help modern day practitioners interpret the "correct practices". Does Wicca have something similar?

And the hardest one so far -

• There are many different religious movements within Judaism ranging from very orthopradix/conservative to very liberal and yet they all fall under the umbrella of "Judiasm". Wicca (Trad/BTW, Neo-, etc.) seems to not have a similar concept an instead insist on an "us versus them" perspective. Why?

Each time I try to address those questions in writing, I seem to get bogged down with going back to what I put a paragraph or two previously and changing what I wrote.  When discussing things over coffee, it's easy to circle around to further clarify what was said earlier but very difficult to put it in writing.

Someone once said to me that if you can't summarize it in 3 decent sized paragraphs, then you don't know enough about the subject.  Leaving aside the truth to that statement for the moment, I thought it might make a good exercise.  So, anyone want to take a crack at it? Pick one of the items above and write 3 paragraphs addressing it.  It's not as easy as it sounds.

Benedizioni,

---Vinnie

*The Torah consists of the foundational narrative of the Jewish people: their call into being by their God, their trials and tribulations, and their covenant with their God which involves following a way of life (halakha) embodied in a set of religious obligations and civil laws.

Eulogy for my Godfather - Uncle Phil

Euology for my Godfather

As many of you know, I've spent the last week in Connecticut for the funeral of my Godfather.  During the time there, I was able to revisit my old haunts and refamiliarize myself with where I grew up.

It really amazed me just how much changed and just how much was exactly the same.  I spent a lot of time taking pictures of places, sitting in quiet contemplation, and thinking about family.

I spent most of the time thinking about how Uncle Phil was always a part of my life and just what that meant to me on a personal level.

Uncle Phil (known as Uncle Joe to many) had 9 Godchildren and I was honored that I was asked to deliver the eulogy at his funeral mass.  

Normally, the purpose of a eulogy is supposed to be a celebration of the person's live and "sings their praises".  For me, it is/was also important to bring the attendees of the funeral closer to Uncle Phil and to know him as I knew him.  I needed to create a eulogy that not only praised the man but also comforted those of us left behind.

I wanted to do him justice in his eulogy but I was very conscious that it needed to be in such a way that it also honored his religious beliefs as a Roman Catholic, a 52 year active member of the Knights of Columbus, and a lay Marianist.

Below is the eulogy that I wrote.  As usual, I didn't stick entirely to what I had written but I was fairly close.  This will, hopefully, give you an idea who Uncle Phil was and what he meant to those of us who were friends and family.


Eulogy for Phil Nanfito

Philip J. Nanfito was both on September 26, 1929 to Filadelfio Nanfito and Rose(a) Mangiamello Nanfito. He was the grandson of Vincent and Dolores Nanfito of Lentini Sicily.

He came from a large family of 7 children - 3 brothers (Vincent, Sebastian, and Dominic) and 3 sisters (Grace, Nancy, and Mary).

In 1941, he move to Portland and graduated from Portland High School in 1949. Two short years later, Phil entered the U.S. Army and served from 1951 to 1953.  By the time of his discharge, he attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Friends know him as a Knight of Columbus, serving in that Order for 52 years.
He enjoyed boating, bowling, and golf.

Phil is survived by 21 nieces and nephews and 9 Godchildren.  These are all facts about him. But they're not him. He was much more than that.

As one of his Godchildren, I never knew a time when Uncle Phil wasn’t part of my life.  He was there for all the holidays.  He was there for all the birthdays.  He was there through the good times and the less good times. 

I think that I was about 12 when I realized that although Uncle Phil was my Godfather, he wasn’t my father’s brother – that realization didn’t make him any less family. As a matter of fact, it helped teach me what family was.

Growing up with Uncle Phil being a constant part of my life, I have a lot of memories of him.  Memories of the nights that he and my parents would take us out to the bowling league to watch them.  Memories of him coming over for family dinner and an evening of play cards.  Memories of him taking me to the marina to see the boats. 

What all my memories of Uncle Phil have in common is that they’re good memories.  That’s not a coincidence and it’s not just selective memory.  It’s because he was a good man.

Uncle Phil always tried to do his best and to do right by his family and friends.  Sometimes, that meant that he helped out financially. Sometimes, more than once.  Sometimes, that meant that he helped out with advice and a new perspective.  Sometimes his help was in the form taking time off to help with something that needed to be done.  I know that he did a lot of babysitting, perhaps more than anyone I’ve known.  There were times that, I’m sure, he did without in order to make sure that others were taken care of. 

In my senior year of High School, my family moved to Springfield. Uncle Phil let me move in with him so that I could finish school with my friends.  I’m certainly not the only one who he made room for in his house.  For that, I’ll be forever grateful.

Uncle Phil was important to so many people and made a difference in so many lives. He was an example of what a man can be, what a father can be, and what a friend can be.

Phil passed away late in the evening of Tuesday, January 29, 2013.  I’m going to miss him terribly as I’m sure you will, too.  And so we grieve.

But, I ask that you not grieve for him but instead rejoice for him and know that he lived a good life and was a good man and that he is with his Creator and surely has received his Heavenly rewards. Let him go and rejoice in having returned to God.

However, if like me, you must grieve, then grieve for those of us left behind who no longer have him in our lives.  Grieve for the hole in our lives that his passing has left and that we now feel. 

Although the hole left by his passing can’t ever be erased, we can fill it with something – with memories of his life, with memories the happiness that he brought, with memories of how he touched us and how we are who we are today all because he was a part of our lives.

There is a saying from the old country – That which is remembered, lives.  So, let him go to enjoy his new life in Heaven with all those who have gone on before.  And remember him in your heart and how he touched you. He is now enjoying his new life in Heaven, so let us now enjoy ours here, and the memories we have of him, until we are once again reunited.

Mental masturbation in the Pagan community...

Mental masturbation in the Pagan community...

"Between blind faith and critical thinking, I'll take critical thinking any day."

That's a quote that I've heard no less than 4 times this week and it's only Wednesday.  I happen to agree with it.

There was a time when (generally speaking) the Pagan community didn't do much critical thinking and we're happy to take any old story or myth as if it were proven fact. Many personal opinions, articles, blogs, etc. were (seemingly) entirely based on myths and urban legends.  Critical thinking was something that was for "scholars", not spiritual people.  (GROAN)

Over the past few years, I've (happily) seen a trend in the Pagan community to draw from more scholarly resources. People have been willing and even enthusiastic to re-examine their personal beliefs and commonly held myths or stories in a new, more scholarly, light and have actively been looking for verification or confirmation to deepen their understanding of their practice and the history of the Pagan community/movement.

I was overjoyed at that turn of events, I can tell you.  I am no scholar or academic but I see a strong benefit for turning to independent sources to confirm, especially when there is interaction with folks outside the Pagan community and critical thinking and analysis can go a long way to deepening our understanding of ourselves, where we came from, and where we're going.

However, can critical thinking be taken too far?  From what I've experienced on Pagan message boards in the past week, I'd have to say, yes.

It seems that there is a new trend on some of the boards that I frequent is to *over analyze* and critique every little thing down to the smallest detail. I've seen what were otherwise intelligent and practical discussions degenerate into nothing more than mental masturbation.  You know, where the purpose is to argue rather than discuss.  Where the predominant theme changes to "needing to define what is valid based on X, Y, or Z source" and then devolving further to analyzing "whether X, Y, or Z can even be considered valid sources".  I've seen that generate pages and pages of people arguing over which source should be the authoritative source with which to judge the original question... if the original question can even be remembered... and who can contribute based on what they are basing their *personal opinion* on.  That's the thing about personal opinions - they're personal.

It's one thing if the purpose is to have a scholarly discussion in order to resolve an issue. It's another to use the guise of scholarly research and critical thinking to AVOID doing the work that the discussion is regarding or (gasp!) using it as a strawman to uncharitably invalidate another person's point of view.

Sometime, you just have to get your ass out of that armchair and EXPERIENCE something BEFORE trying to analyze it. (Hint, that's where the Mystery comes into it.)

It's all well and good to discuss and analyze things like "who or what are the Gods", "is this practice historically accurate", "what if any practical benefits/changes does this accomplish", etc.  However, all the critical thinking in the world is a poor substitute when it is used *in place of* actually having an experience.

I still believe that "Between blind faith and critical thinking, I'll take critical thinking any day".  However, I prefer to experience things and suspend dis-belief *first*. Then tackle the experience afterwards with a critical eye to better understand it.

Remember, when working with magic, spirituality, and religion, there is a quality of the ineffable.
Ineffable - "incapable of being expressed in words : indescribable"

So, PLEASE make critical thinking a part of your practice without losing the sense of enchantment and magic and *PLEASE* get your ass out of that chair and EXPERIENCE.

Pfew, glad I got that off my chest!

Ciao e benedizioni a tutti,

---Vincenzo

Stregoneria and Hoodoo

Ciao a tutti,

I think that it's important to never stop learning.  That's one of the reasons that I've (lately) been looking into Hoodoo practices.

Wikipedia says:
"Hoodoo, also known as conjure, is a form of predominantly African-American traditional folk magic that developed from the syncretism of a number of separate cultures and magical traditions. It incorporates practices from African and Native American traditions, as well as some European magical practices and grimoires. While folk practices like hoodoo are trans-cultural phenomena, what is particularly innovative in this tradition is the "remarkably efficacious use of biblical figures" in its practices and in the lives of its practitioners."

When I started to look closely at the *structure* of the magical practices and operations of Hoodoo, I noticed a startling similarity to the structure and practices of Stregoneria (witchcraft as a system(s) of magical practice(s) derived from Italic cultures).  I suppose that it should have come as a surprise that there appear to be so many similarities.  Many of the American-Italic immigrant practices of folk-magic also use the saints and other cultural icons to add flavor and oomph to their magic.

Another quote regarding Hoodoo from Wikipedia is:
"The goal of hoodoo is to allow people access to supernatural forces to improve their daily lives by gaining power in many areas of life, including luck, money, love, divination, revenge, health, employment, and necromancy. As in many other religious, magical, and medical folk practices, extensive use is made of herbs, minerals, parts of animals' bodies, an individual's possessions, and bodily fluids, especially menstrual blood, urine and semen. Contact with ancestors or other spirits of the dead is an important practice within the conjure tradition, and the recitation of Psalms from the Bible is also considered magically effective in hoodoo. Due to hoodoo's great emphasis on an individual's magical power, its basic principles of working are generally felt to be easily adapted for use, based on one's desires, inclinations and habits."

I normally refer to Stregheria being the *Pagan, religious* practice of Witchcraft and magic derived from the Italic cultures while Stregoneria as witchcraft as a system(s) of magical practice(s) derived from Italic cultures.  In a way, Stregoneria can almost be seen as the "Hoodoo of the Mediterranean".

I'm no expert on Hoodoo but it seems that it is predominantly structured with a very heavy gloss of Christianity.  Stregoneria also shares this trait.  The closer I look at these practices, the easier it is to see the "Pagan view" just below the surface.  Many of these practices would seem effective no matter what gloss is overlaid on the magical procedure(s). Culturally, that has been Christianity - partially just because that's the way it is. Partially because the predominent cultural view in this country is some version of Christianity so "clients" are more at ease with magic and the supernatural when coated with glamour with which they are familiar.

I've met a number of Hoodoo practitioners for whom the "gloss" of Christianity is intregal to their worldview. I've also met some who feel that the gloss is just that and is primarily for the clients peace of mind while the practitioners themselves may have very different religious or spiritual outlooks that has nothing to do with Christianity. It's something that I hope to look closer into.

Do you have any personal experience or training in Hoodoo?  If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts.  I think that paths of Hoodoo and Stregoneria have some amazing similarities.

Ciao,

---Vincenzo

Welcome 2013!

Wow, I just realized that I haven't posted a blog in over a month.  Things have been busy here.  That's not an excuse, just an explanation.

Like everyone else, I have some goals for 2013.  My main goal is to work better, not work harder.  I'm going to consolidate my social media presence and start using programs like HootSuite. The idea is that I will consolidate announcements and only post in one place while having them go out to the various pages on the different sites.

I also hope to write more, both here on my blog as well as become more active in the social boards.

On a personal note, I plan on doing a lot more of "magical item creations" such as charm bags, spell candles, and such.  Doing the "crafty" things has always been a fond past time of mine.  Perhaps I'll even offer that as a service to clients - personally crafted magical items to help with goals and spell work.

Welcome 2013!

---Vincenzo