Due to a bizarre situation I found myself in at a Druidic Samhain rit. I feel this topic needs discussing. Animal sacrifice. Does it have a place in neo-pagan ritual?

During the ritual in question, raw meat was passed out to the rite participants to be thrown in the fire as a sacrifice to the Morrigan. This to me constitutes an animal sacrifice. Some people disagree, they feel that seeing as how the animal's throat was not cut by us, it doesn't count. I disagree. The sacrifice was flesh from an animal that was purchased as an offering for ritual purposes. Period.

Given that we live in a nervous society that already thinks the worst of Pagans as it is, do we need to put wood on the fire?? Do we need to give them ammunition?? In the 15 plus years that I've been Pagan, I've fielded numerous queries as to the nature of ritual sacrifice. I always answer that neo-pagans don't do that. Was I wrong?

Someone mentioned that perhaps the organizer was a reconstructionist that was trying to be true to the historical Celts. Let us please remember that Druids used to make human sacrifices as well. Should we do that to? Where does one draw the line?

I try to live in harmony with nature as much as possible. "Harm none" is not realistic, but I try as best I can. The notion of killing an animal in ritual sacrifice is appalling to me and I feel it has no place in any neo-pagan rites. Have we become so out of touch with nature that we don't realise the red meat in the Styrofoam package came from a once living breathing animal?

The only thing more horrifing than watching a group of people throwing animal flesh on a fire in sacrifice, is knowing that I was with them and I said nothing.  Not only did I not say anything, but in my quest to be accepted, I did it too.

The first High Holy Day of the year is Samhain. This will also be the first holiday covered for my Dedicant Program.

The feast of Samhain takes place on October 31st. It is the Celtic New Year and primarily a harvest festival. It is the beginning of the dark season. All crops would have been harvested by this time and the people would be readying for winter.

This is also a time to remember and commemorate the beloved dead. It is believed that the veil is thinnest at this time, so ideal for making petitions, boasts, and all variety of divination.

I'm a mother of three, so Samhain is a huge holiday at our house. Our traditions include trick or treating, pumpkin carving, diner with the dead, and a candle vigil. We set a place at the table for the deceased and welcome them to dine with us again. We serve food and drink that was favoured by the deceased. After diner, the food is left outside to be consumed by the animals. At sundown, we light candles of remembrance for our ancestors and we let them burn till sunrise. We do this to let them know that we will always leave a light on for them, they will not be forgotten. This is of course in addition to our Samhain ritual.

I initially felt that wisdom was the same as intelligence, but upon further examination of the virtue, I realise that they really are quite different. Intelligence speaks of someone's knowledge, whereas wisdom is better defined as good judgement. A knowledgeable person may know how to get from point A to point B, but it takes wisdom to know how to get there safely.

Wisdom is more than just good academics. It's having good sense as well. Not just a good sense of the "now", but a good sense of yesterday and tomorrow. It's understanding the mechanics of life. A wise woman will not simply harvest today, she will sew for tomorrow.

Piety has always meant religious devotion to me, in your head and on your sleeve. It is not enough to say that one is reverent to the Gods, one must show it. Not that one should have to stand in their front yard and scream praise to the Gods through a megaphone, but one should make some sort of outward gesture in a ritualistic fashion. A solitary ritual is just as compelling as a Grove of 20 Druids.

There are many people who think it is enough to carry on silent prayers with divinity and call themselves pious. I disagree. I feel that one should have to make a display of reverence to solidify the pact between themselves and their Gods. However, it is also not enough to participate in public rites and call oneself pious, as the act without divine relationship is simply a forgery of belief.

Alright Girlies, here it is, my ADF DP stuff, exposed for your pleasure ;) Actually, it's all stored in my hard drive at work, so you'll have to wait till tomorrow for me to upload the files. 

It's all about baby-steps right? Blog today, public poking at my thoughts tomorrow ;)

Jaime