Hey, JMG, hope you're well and thanks for hosting this space as always. For a while now I've been wondering about how ceremonial magic and polytheist religion feed into each other when you're trying to practice both, which is a bit of a challenge for this "recovering atheist". I especially wanted to ask after some discussion with fellow reader Jeff Russell about his excellent Heathen Rosary project and whether it would be advisable to recite those prayers inside an open Heathen GD Temple/Ve.
Or to put it in more general terms: am I on the right track in thinking that it can be worthwhile to do more structured religious rituals, like reciting a Rosary or offering sacrifices, after establishing a sacred space with ceremonial magic first? If I understand it right, that's basically what you suggest with many of the rituals in Merlin's Wheel and the Druidry Handbook. Is it easier to connect with the Gods in space that's already attuned to the higher than mundane?
Or a bit further down the line for me, how about using GD ceremonies to consecrate primarily religious tools like prayer beads or God statues? Instinctively, those kinds of ritual objects feel like they might be better left to religion alone to me, but I'd be interested to hear your view.
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branchandroot
The boundaries between religion and magic
Date: 2024-11-11 11:12 pm (UTC)Or to put it in more general terms: am I on the right track in thinking that it can be worthwhile to do more structured religious rituals, like reciting a Rosary or offering sacrifices, after establishing a sacred space with ceremonial magic first? If I understand it right, that's basically what you suggest with many of the rituals in Merlin's Wheel and the Druidry Handbook. Is it easier to connect with the Gods in space that's already attuned to the higher than mundane?
Or a bit further down the line for me, how about using GD ceremonies to consecrate primarily religious tools like prayer beads or God statues? Instinctively, those kinds of ritual objects feel like they might be better left to religion alone to me, but I'd be interested to hear your view.