Revision of History and Infringment of the First Amendment

I don’t usually delve into politics, but I pay attention.  When it comes to public education and infringement of First Amendment rights, that’s when I pay the most attention.  And look at that, this article includes both!  It caught my attention immediately.

In The Washington Post‘s “On Faith” section was this article, “Jesus prayer opens Texas textbook meeting.”  If you’ve paid attention to the news lately, this topic has been something of a hot-button issue.  The Texas school board (largely conservative, surprise surprise) was discussing changes to the social studies curriculum–changes that included ignoring Thomas Jefferson, de-emphasizing the separation of church and state or ignoring it completely, and instead emphasizing religious figures John Calvin or Thomas of Aquinas.

Everyone is entitled to their opinions and beliefs.  I’m a big supporter of religious freedoms, and if you want to believe in the Great Pumpkin as deity or in a monotheistic God, go right ahead.  But pushing a certain set of values into a public school system which includes a number of other religious and cultural beliefs, then that is a huge problem.

As for infringement of the First Amendment, a case could be made that the board’s actions are impeding the free exercise of religion of the children who attend those schools and their families’ rights to a good public education that does not endorse any one religion but respects individual beliefs.  Although it’s not exactly a law, the board’s decision to revise the curriculum in favor of Christian beliefs and principles, as well as their usage of Christian beliefs in a government setting probably falls under the “government shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”  Despite what the board may want to think, separation of church and state is alive and well, even for boards of education.

An excerpt from the article:

“‘I believe no one can read the history of our country without realizing that the Good Book and the Spirit of the Savior have from the beginning been our guiding geniuses,’ board member Cynthia Dunbar said.

“‘I believe the entire Bill of Rights came into being because of the knowledge our forefathers had of the Bible and their belief in it… I like to believe that we are living today in the spirit of the Christian religion and as long as we do so no great harm can come to our country.’”

Read the full article here.

In the News: Ancient Egyptian mummies discovered at Lahoun

Article about some mummies found at Lahoun.  Also includes some background information about the ancient religion and burial practices.  Cool pics!

Article.

Weekly Deity: Aeternitas

Aeternitas (pronounced “ai-turn-it-ahs”) is a Roman goddess and the personification of eternity.

Attributes

Aeternitas was symbolized by a phoenix or a worm/snake biting its own tale, forming a circle.  She was also shown in human female form wearing the usual long gown of a Roman woman and holding a torch, globe, or scepter, or holding the heads of the sun (Sol) and moon (Luna).

Mythology

Aeternitas doesn’t appear in any myths.  As the concept and personification of eternity, she was often used by the Emperors to emphasize the eternity of the Empire, their rule, and to emphasize stability.

Light and Dark Side

Because Aeternitas is mainly the personification of a concept and not actually a goddess who appears in myths, she probably doesn’t necessarily have a Light or Dark side.  On the upside, Aeternitas represents longevity, and suggests stability.  On the downside, eternity isn’t always a good thing.  A person doesn’t really want to live forever if they’re going to be alone and have to watch their loved ones die while they live on, for example.  Nor would eternity necessarily be a good thing if there is a despotic or terrorist regime in power over people (though the regimes probably think it would be great).

Tarot Card Series: Two of Pentacles

Two of Pentacles, Robin Wood deck

Two of Pentacles, Rider-Waite deck

Element: Earth

Number Importance: Two is the number of duality, of both opposition and balance.  Similar to the Asian concept of yin and yang.

Important Aspects of the Card: Off-balance person, though it doesn’t matter whether the figure is male or female.  The pentacles identify the suite and the element.  Ships in the background have some minor significance.

Interpretation: The Two of Pentacles is a card of instability and balance.  The figure on the card is unsteady and juggling too much, which is reflective of the subject’s real-world situation.  With Earth being the element of the card, rather than Water, the potential unsteadiness in the subject’s life generally comes not from emotions but from finances, career, hobbies, family dynamics, etc.  Earth is the element/suite that governs stability, prosperity, and material gains, among other things.  This manifests in the card in the form of the unsteady figure balancing on one foot or a tight-rope while attempting to juggle two large objects and obviously having trouble.  The ships in the background of the card are sailing over rocky and turbulent waters, but they are in the background–the figure isn’t on one of those rocking, unstable ships just yet.

However, the figure hasn’t fallen over or dropped the pentacles–yet.  The Two of Pents is a signal card warning of possible instability but with the implication that stability needs to be found before the person falls or drops everything, and trying to take on more projects or situations at the time of this card is inadvisable.  Balance must be maintained, so if something new should come along (as in, some opportunity that can’t be missed), something old may have to be sacrificed in order to maintain that balance.

*Please remember, my interpretation may not be the same interpretation you or another person will have for this card every time in every reading.  Interpretations can vary according to what the card means to you.*

Tattooing the “Temple”

Tattoos.  Body art has become so common now that it’s pretty much pointless to debate the acceptability of it all (unless you’re tattooed and debating the acceptability of displaying tats in the conventional workplace–that’s still debated).  However, I’m not going to talk about social acceptance of tattooing, but whether tattooing fits into the realm of paganism or not.

Please no flaming or upset comments of “You don’t know what you’re talking about since you don’t have tats.”  I try to play devil’s advocate and reflect both sides of an issue, to the best of my ability.  If you have a problem with my argument or find holes, please point them out so I can try to fix them, but I don’t put up with personal attacks or insults.

Now, back to the point.  Tattoos acceptable in pagan culture, yea or nay?  There are those who extend the “harm none” rule to apply to their own bodies.  Under this rule, tattooing would then become unacceptable, since the ink of the tattoo would be considered a foreign element in the body, plus you’re intentionally inflicting pain on the skin, etc.  Not to mention the emotional turmoil if it’s something you eventually want removed.  There are also those who consider the body to be sacred, a temple, as it were, and tattooing is therefore a desecration of the temple (though if I recall correctly this falls more under Buddhism belief than it does most traditions of paganism, but I see no reason why individual pagan beliefs couldn’t incorporate this belief without necessarily being Buddhist).

On the other side, there are those who see no harm in tattooing.  I know many people who have tattoos, ranging from a lotus blossom to a cat to a zodiac symbol.  There is nothing wrong with body art as long as it’s something you can live with.

There are, of course, the dangers inherent in irresponsible tattoo practices, so finding a respectable tattoo parlor is a must, but as long as a person doesn’t hold the belief that the body is a temple and therefore sacred and doesn’t mind having body art on display in a society that is only half-way accepting of tattoos, then what is there to stop a person from getting a tattoo?  If you don’t stretch “harm none” to apply in all instances, getting a tattoo is perfectly acceptable.

Personally, I do not have tattoos, not because I don’t find them acceptable, but because I’m afraid of needles and don’t have a very high pain threshold.  I wouldn’t be able to sit still while the artist engraved permanent ink into my flesh.  I don’t care if other people have them, and some designs are truly beautiful.  My ex had a whole back tattoo, from his nape to the base of his spine and from side to side, and I didn’t care.  I thought it was a pretty tattoo, actually.  It’s up to other people if they’re going to get ink permanently stuck to their skin, and I’m not going to stop them just because I don’t want a tattoo (exceptions made for children up to the age of 18, of course).

Does tattooing fit into paganism?  I see no reason why it couldn’t, as long as there are responsible practices and true thought is put into what the tattoo will be before the procedure is done.  As long as a pagan doesn’t apply “harm none” to apply to their own body, or doesn’t qualify tattooing as harm, there doesn’t appear to be a problem.