Treasa's Thoughts - Latest Comments

Re: Pagan Meme

Treasa — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 11:45:46 -0000

No, that's not so bad :)

I'm glad you like the photo. I dug the little tree out of some mulch at a playground (where it would have been pulled as a weed) and moved it into the woods. I couldn't resist snapping a few shots.

Re: Pagan Meme

Grey Catsidhe — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 11:26:37 -0000

"What is one of the greatest obstacles or struggles you have had to over come?
My greatest obstacle as a pagan? Learning to doubt my instincts enough to move beyond the basics."

I struggle with this from time to time as well. Marrying an agnostic didn't help, but he does keep me in touch with reality so it's not so bad. :)

Love the photo at the end!

Re: Agora

FLJustice — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 16:58:01 -0000

I was sorry this movie came and went so fast. I saw Agora when it first came out in NYC and loved Weisz' performance. Amenabar played a little fast and loose with the history and science, but that's what artists do. I go to movies for entertainment and look up what is suspect later. Have you read Maria Dzielska's biography Hypatia of Alexandria? It does a pretty good job of sorting through the myths and putting what few historical primary sources we have on Hypatia's life in context. I also have a series of posts on the history behind the events and characters in Agora on my blog--not a review, but more of a "reel vs. real" discussion.

Re: Summer Solstice

wcm — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 16:55:24 -0000

You too!

Re: Charter Oak Beltane and Trail Cleanup

Treasa — Mon, 10 May 2010 14:54:58 -0000

I've added you :)

Re: Charter Oak Beltane and Trail Cleanup

crookedways — Mon, 10 May 2010 11:53:18 -0000

I am currently beginning my Dedicants Path with ADF and would love to be friends on here...

Re: A request for ideas regarding altar statues/representations

Treasa — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 10:40:35 -0000

I found some on etsy that would work for me, but mostly I am interested in sculpting them myself. I'm not all that interested in the intent of the artist/factory where the pieces originate, since when I place a piece on my altar I do a ritual inviting the appropriate being to (partially) take residence in the object. My real reason for sculpting them myself (which it sounds like I am talking myself into) is to end up with the imagery I want (at a price I can afford).

I don't have a lot of experience with clay sculpture, but I have a feeling my experience with sculpting confections will carry over somewhat.

Re: A request for ideas regarding altar statues/representations

marcusmaris — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:06:00 -0000

I wrote a whole reply, but it didn't work :(

I'll try again: I am also a very tactile person so I understand where you're coming from. Would you be sculpting the pieces yourself? I think that's a great idea because it would allow you to represent your subject the way you see him/her, plus it would imbue the piece with your own personal energy, wouldn't it? I'd do it if I had the tiniest shred of artistic ability.

Re: A request for ideas regarding altar statues/representations

Treasa — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 22:46:50 -0000

Thanks for the idea. Using a picture is something that I have considered, but at the moment it isn't an option that I like much. Personally, I really want a three dimensional object/representation of the deities in question—for the most part I am a very tactile person. There are a few options I can use, including clay or wire sculpture or carving, which I would be happy with (all of these I am thinking of, especially since they give me the opportunity to work on exactly what I want).

I expect that this is going to take time.

Re: A request for ideas regarding altar statues/representations

marcusmaris — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 22:10:01 -0000

Have you thought about using pictures? I wanted to get Lares statues for my shrine but couldn't find a way to do it economically, so I just printed out a picture from an actual Roman lararium, framed it, and used that in lieu of statues.

Re: Magically Unstuck

Treasa — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:28:38 -0000

I don't really know why I am surprised about this. Changing perspectives changes experience. That's one of the key pieces of advice I give other people, but I seem to perennially forget it with respect to myself. I guess that's one more thing to keep in mind for the future.

Re: Magically Unstuck

seamus_mcnasty — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:18:52 -0000

yeah - sometimes it's amazing when you see something that was there all the time and it just took tilting the head a different way...I always see the path as a curved road that has really cool discoveries around the bend, it just takes those few extra steps to see clearly sometimes!

Re: Brigindona has arrived

Treasa — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 20:18:20 -0000

Yeah, she really is lovely.

Re: Brigindona has arrived

seamus_mcnasty — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:31:26 -0000

wow....just wow. I love this

Re: Neopagan Clergy

Treasa — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 12:21:11 -0000

I can't remember if I noticed the retreat agendas in October, but looking back at it, the agenda does reduce the amount of mystery surrounding 'what the heck are they doing?' That's a wonderful idea.

Re: Neopagan Clergy

chronarchy — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 11:19:09 -0000

Well, for one thing, you're definitely right that many of us simply couldn't make the change to forums: I feel the same way you do, and would find forums far too easy to ignore. Then there's the seemingly failed experiment of the ADF Ning, which has forums that no one bothers to use at all.

Part of the communication issue is that we don't have any single forum for providing information: not everyone is on the lists, about half our members have a subscription to Oak Leaves, a fraction goes to festivals, and there might be 100 total people who have ever been on an ADF chat.

So, what we're starting to do is post retreat agendas in advance of the retreats, and the AD should be reporting the results in his quarterly reports.

There's talk right now about adding blogs for the MG and the CC, both. . . but I don't know how long or what form they might take.

Re: Neopagan Clergy

Treasa — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 11:21:11 -0000

It's been a while since I wrote this piece, and it had faded a bit in my memory. Even so, I've been doing a lot of thinking about it. The two things that seem to stick out in my mind are:

The dichotomy between ancient and modern

Part of me wants there to be a definitive right way to worship, as there was in the ancient world. Of course, because I have modern sensibilities and a strong will, I do not want anyone else to tell me what that way is. I honestly have no idea how common this sort of thing is across the organization, but for me it is something I am examining.

Communication

I'm glad to hear that there is work going on on the communication front. I think that communication is going to continue to be the biggest challenge for ADF's clergy (and the rest of us have a huge part of this too, don't take what I am saying as in any way pointing fingers at the people who have stepped up to be clergy members).

I think a large portion of my concern has little to do with what is being said and more to do with how spread out the various methods of communication seem to be within the organization, especially on the lists. If there was a more searchable, more comprehensive forum it might be better, but there would still be large chunks of the organization that would not be interested in participating, and the creation of such a system might fragment the conversation further with people not choosing to switch over. Heck, I'm not even sure I would switch over. I'm comfortable with email lists, and never can remember to check forums enough to feel like I caught the whole conversation.

I'm sure that other people are thinking about (or have thought about) these things, though, and changes of the magnitude that I am hinting at should not be undertaken without careful planning. (I've been thinking more about this since Solstice, when my proto-grove met for the first time and one of the members asked why ADF uses 'outdated' email lists instead of 'normal' forum systems.)

Re: Neopagan Clergy

chronarchy — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 10:08:07 -0000

You know, I've had this post open on my browser for about three months, just waiting for a chance to get back to it.

I think that you have a good feel for what it is that a priest will be and/or do. I think it's pretty close to what the ADF Clergy Council expects of our priests, too. I do hope to see more communication going forward, though. We're already working on a lot of that.