The Pagan Heretic's Book Of Shadows (BoS)

Monday, December 23, 2013

Origins of Santa, Santa Claus who is he? and where did he come from?

Another "Winter holiday" article originally written for gather.com a few years back.

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Santa Claus! Who is he? Where did he come From? (A Brief History)
December 10, 2008 05:58 AM EST (Updated: December 30, 2008 03:01 PM EST)
views: 151 | comments: 12

So, I've been thinking a lot lately, and doing alot of writing about Christmas and the Winter Holidays in general...its become a motif of late for me....and I came upon pondering about Santa Claus.
and I think the images of Santa (while Christians say come from the Catholic St. Nicolas) and to a certain degree I can see that...

but I also think that a lot of the imagry comes from the Norse/Germanic Culture.

In the Bleak Mid-Winters of Northern Europe, it is said that the Chieftian God Odin would fly around in a sleigh pulled by magical reindeer...checking on the people of the land.

since it was cold outside, very cold, people were encouraged to stay indoors where it was warm. and away from the eyes of Odin watching you from the sky, that way if you were doing something you shouldn't be doing he wouldn't catch you.

in the ancient world there was no real "police force" and so this was an attempt to scare people into not doing anything the culture deemed wrong.

so these folktales were created.

"Oh, if you go out in the bleak midwinter and go steal some meade or barley from a neighboring household Odin and his Wild hunt will come and get you."

so I think the ideas of a Jolly guy being nice to everyone and giving them presents might come from St. Nicholas.

But the Reindeer, night time sleigh ride, red suit white fur and long beard idea comes from Odin and his Wild hunt. and also the idea of "punishing bad children" with coal, bags of switches etc.
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Here are some follow up links about Santa:

Christmas: The Many Faces Of Santa.

History.com - History Of Christmas - The Evolution of Santa Claus.
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So yeah just some pondering and musings.
(Another thing stole from the European Pagans!!!! ...Lol J/k)
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Anyone have anything else to add? feel free....

For those "War on Christmas" Types.

This was originally wtitten 5 years ago as an aside/extra to my "Christmas, Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice." Series of essays on the website gather.com. somebody on that site had wrote something about why people take Christ out of CHRISTmas/Christmas and this was my response to that person.

Winter holiday after winter holiday, year after year I find my response to still be relevant:

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Open Letter To The People Who Presume There Is A "War" On Christmas.....
December 06, 2008 04:39 PM EST (Updated: December 18, 2008 10:08 AM EST)
views: 232 | comments: 34
I saw this posted up else where;

"Why do people take Chist out of Christmas anyways? think 2 of the reasons are (1)there scared they will affend people but dont realize that you are affending Christians and (2) they dont know how to respond to Jesus Christ. I just want to c what u guys think"

And I responded Thus;

3. There are more holiday's out there than just Christmas.

and in fact Christmas is a New Invention, the earliest known celebrations of Christmas according to the Catholic Encyclopedia was in the 6th century C.E. And the feast Day was moved to December 25th by one of the early Popes and an Roman Emperor, in attempt to fill a void and get the population to convert to Christianity because there was already Pagan Festivals celebrated at this time the Roman Saturnalia, and later on the Feast to Sol Invictus - The Unconquered Sun. December 25th was also said to be the Birth date of Mithra a Persian God, worshipped by Soldiers and Statesmen and upper class business people.

according to the website ChristianAnswers.net - The bible does not specifically mention when Christ was born, but it is suggessted it was sometime in late spring or Autumn, as the Shepards were in the fields watching thier flocks - and in December the fields in that time period and geographical area would be unproductive.

and Up until the 6th century, Early Christians celebrated the birth of Christ, at various points in time, some celebrated it in January as part of Epiphany.

Also, besides the Pagan Festivals to the gods, December 21st-25th is also the Winter Solstice when the sun is as its lowest point, and around December 25th was when the early people were able to tell the different position of the sun.

(Oh, and let's not forget the Influence of the Northern European/Nordic Festivities of Yule on our Modern Christmas Season---though that is neither here nor there.)

So Maybe, people don't celebrate Jesus' birth at Christmas/Yule/Saturnalia/Winter Solstice time because they realize Jesus wasnt born in December...and the date was only moved to December in attempt to Christianize the Soslstice Festivities centuries after Christ was said to have existed.

Just a Thought maybe.

But, Still if you want to stick to your traditions and celebrate Jesus' birthday on not his birthday...that is certainly your right and im not gonna stop you. in fact I'll do you one better - Merry Christmas!

I just hope that you extend the same courtesy to me, and not presume that I celebrate Christmas in the same way you do, and respect my right to honor this season for the original intended purpose and not the later invention of the birth of the Christ Child, Thank you.

----------So, Was my response diplomatic, and respectful? do you think it will be recieved well? or am I a raging liberal Bah humbugger?You decide, comment and weigh in with your own thoughts.

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia What's the deal? Part 7 - VII

Today The Sun is Born! - Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice; What's the deal? (Part 7 - VII)
December 21, 2008 07:23 AM EST (Updated: December 21, 2008 09:50 PM EST)
views: 150 | comments: 6
So We'll make this a part 7 of my Winter holiday series:

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I posted up information earlier on in the series (link.) about the Northern European/Germanic YULE celebration, It was celebrated on the Winter solstice. Well, Today my friends IS the Winter Solstice!

In ancient times, at least in European customs, this was a time to stay in doors, light your Yule logs (Because not only did it keep you warm the fire also kept the darkness outside from creeping into your home.) If you went outside, you could get frost bite, hypothermia, or worse: be taken away by Odin/Wodin and his "Wild Hunt" and never be heard from again. Tonight, the Winter Solstice is the longest night of the year, the Sun is at it's lowest point. This is a time to stay in doors and to contemplate about the upcoming year.

A lot of the "Christmas" traditions such as the hanging of the greens and erecting a evergreen tree and decorating it; among other traditions started at the European Yule. This was a way to make the houses look festive and to remind those dwelling within that though it may be bleak and dreary outside that the warmer months would soon be here.

The Europeans tried to make the most out of the situation, attempting to turn this time of being stuck in their homes into a holiday, they feasted on pork and beef...anything that could be cured and stored for use in the Winter time. They celebrated and made merriment in attempt to try to be happy and to forget what was going on outside, and to basically keep the occupants of the houses from going stir crazy.

In Rome: The Saturnalia festivities would be in full swing, this was a time to party it up, to live big, to feast, to dance, to sing, to even have sex if you wanted to. It was a carnival time atmosphere where the rules of law were temporarily suspended and the culture would flip upside down only for the festivities and it was only meant to be all in fun. Slaves would now be the slave owners. Workers would now be the Shop Owners, The Servants would now be the manor owners, and the Citizenry would now be the elected officials.Â For more information, see my article on the Saturnalia here: Clickity Link.

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In modern times, the Solstice celebrations among most Neo-Pagans (From my own personal experience and interactions) are based more so off of the Northern European/Germanic YULE celebrations. Though they put a modern spin on it.

While this is a time to stay in doors out of the cold and to reflect on this longest night of the year, in Modern times The Winter Solstice is seen as a time to honor the "re-birth" of the Sun. In Wiccan Tradition, The God is seen as an embodiment of the Sun, the Sun being a symbol representing him. (Likewise the moon is a symbol said to represent the goddess.) At this time in Wiccan lore it is said that the eternal Goddess is heavy with child, and she births both son/ and sun. That the newborn god will wax stronger as the days goes on, and so too does the sun, the days will get longer and longer until the Summer Solstice on June 21st. (The longest day and shortestÂ night of the year)

Though, this may not be observed by the naked eye for a few weeks when it becomes apparent that the days are getting longer each day. If you have an Almanac or access to any source that lists the days weather as well as the time of sunrise and sunset...you can see that after today the days start to get longer by a few minutes each day.

Today is the day to honor any god associated with the Sun. Mithra, Saturn, Thor I believe could qualify, and of course Jesus among other deities. (Though the Christians choose to celebrate on December 25th, and call it "Christmas"....and that is a topic for another time, which I've also wrote in my past writings Link. )

Wiccans and other Neo-Pagans tend to have a feast dinner. (like us, we're having a pork roast, Baked Potatoes, green beans, dinner roll, Salad, and dessert.)

They get with their friends and sing "Solstice" related carols, usually carols adapted from previously composed traditional "Christmas Carols".

I'd like to post a few of them up, however I don't know how that would work with copyright law, I try my best to only post original work. I've seen these Pagan/Wiccan "solstice" carols posted up on various websites all over the net - so I don't know if there is a free use agreement or not. At the very least I can provide URL's to where these Pagan Themed carols are located. However since I can find these all over the internet by doing a search for my favorite carol. I think it might be okay to share at least one here and provide links.

My favorite one is "God Rest Ye Merry Pagan Folk" (To The Tune of God Rest ye Merry Gentlemen)
Which can be found on the web:
Here.

Here.

Here - Among other Solstice Carols.

And Finally here - Among other solstice carols.

The Version I am using comes from the first link:

Gods rest ye merry pagan folk Let none of you dismay.
Remember that the Sun returns Upon this Solstice Day

The growing dark is ended now And spring is on its way

Oh tidings of comfort and Joy

Comfort and Joy

Oh tidings of comfort and Joy

The winter's worst still lies ahead

Fierce Tempest Snow and Rain

Beneath the blanket on the ground The Spark of life remains

The Sun's warm rays caress the seeds To raise Life's song again

Oh tidings of comfort and Joy

Comfort and Joy

Oh tidings of comfort and Joy

Within the blessed apple lies The promise of the Queen

Far from this pentacle shall rise The orchards fresh and green

The Earth shall blossom once again The air be sweet and clean

Oh tidings of comfort and Joy

Comfort and Joy

Oh tidings of comfort and Joy

For More Wiccan/Neo-Pagan themed "Solstice" carols check out the links I provided. As Well as These other links: Yule Carols., More Yule/Pagan Carols and Chants., Even More Yule Songs.
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And they also may hold rituals to celebrate this time. And if you ever wondered just what a Wiccan or Neo-Pagan Winter Solstice/Yule Festival might include; well look no farther becuase I'm going to share that with you today.
If you are a good little Wiccan or Pagan, you'd probably have your solstice ritual already wrote up and parts assigned for your group. Somebody to call in each element. One person for Earth, One for Air, One For Fire, and Finally one for Water. Also, depending on your tradition a Person to call in the element of Spirit. However, since the God and Goddess are the embodiment of such, you would not have to do that because THEY are spirit.

You'd have the person or persons leading the ritual to call in the god and goddess or god or goddess or whatever deity of your choice would be.

You'd have people to help you with any special parts of the ritual you'd wish to include etc.

Of course Heather and I, we're lazy and procrastinators....so guess what? We havent even started on writing a ritual! (If we even decide to do one, I'd like to but yeah.) And We don't really like the people in our local pagan community, we're also Anti-social! So it'll just be me and her, maybe her sister, sisters boyfriend, and Heather's brother...who knows...depending on if they have plans today or not.
So anyway, If I or We do write up a ritual I'll gladly add it to my article and share it.

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Until then prefab Yule Solstice rituals found on the internet will have to do, to give the reader and Non-Pagan some example of what a Yule Ritual might include.
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Here Be Links! To Example Yule Rituals found off the internet. (usually it's better to write them yourself, or at the very least customize and personalize them to suit you....Don't be a lazy Pagan...of if you be a Lazy Pagan you should be darn good at it.)

Example of a Yule Ritual.
More Examples.
More Example!
Another Example site - from a reputable organization THE ADF! Ãr nDraÃocht FÃ©in - Isaac Bonewits Druid Organization.
One More and Last Link - another ADF YULE Link.
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HAVE A WARM SOLSTICE! AND A BLESSED YULE EVERONE!

Oh, AND IO SATURNALIA!

For more information on Yule Lore go here: Yule Lore.
Here are the links to the rest of the articles in this series:

Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice; What's the deal? (Part 1 - I) - The Introduction.

Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice; What's the deal? (Part 2 - II ) - YULE.

Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice; What's the deal? (Part 3 - III) - The Saturnalia and Feast of Sol Invictus.

Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice; What's the deal? (Part 4 - IV)- The Feast Of The Nativity and The Birth Of Jesus.

Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice; What's The Deal? - (Part 5 - V) - NO CHRISTMAS FOR YOU! (The Pilgrims outlaw Christmas.)

Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice; What's The Deal? - (Part 6 - VI) - Christmas becomes a modern nineteenth century (1800s)invention up to present day.

And here is a few more related articles I wrote:

Santa Claus! Who is he? Where did he come From? (A Brief History)
Open Letter To The People Who Presume There Is A "War" On Christmas.....

AGAIN, HAVE A VERY BLESSED YULE THIS DAY! EVEN TO ALL THE NON-PAGANS OUT THERE HAVE A WONDERFUL SOLSTICE TIME!

Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, What's the deal? (Part 6-VI)

by Paul R.
Member since:
July 30, 2007
Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice; What's The Deal? - (Part 6 - VI)
December 16, 2008 08:12 AM EST (Updated: December 18, 2008 10:10 AM EST)
views: 210 | comments: 10
CHRISTMAS BECOMES AMERICANIZED! AND SANTA CLAUS IS BORN!

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(Okay so I'm posting this one up a wee bit early, but I finished it and was so excited that I couldn't wait to share it with you all.)

Another Essay in my Winter Holiday Series of essays. Take a look at past entries here:

Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice; What's the deal? (Part 1 - I)

Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice; What's the deal? - YULE -(Part 2 - II )

Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice; What's the deal? (Part 3 - III)

The Feast Of The Nativity and The Birth Of Jesus. - Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice; What's the deal? (Part 4 - IV)

Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice; What's The Deal? - NO CHRISTMAS FOR YOU! - (Part 5 - V)

Also, don't forget to check out these articles of intrest:

Santa Claus! Who is he? Where did he come From? (A Brief History)

And; Open Letter To The People Who Presume There Is A "War" On Christmas.....

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The Early nineteenth century in America was a very rough time, Unemployment was at an all time high during the early part of the 1800s. There was tensions between the States about slavery that ultimately lead to the Civil War. The States even saw Christmas in a different light. In the Northern States NorthernerÂ’s saw sin in the celebrations of Christmas and thought that Thanksgiving was a more appropriate holiday. Meanwhile those in the Southern States saw Christmas as an important part of the Social structure and seasonal festivals, itÂ’s not surprising that Christmas was made a recognized holiday in several of these southern states long before it was made a federal holiday in the 1870s.

However, lets back track about thirty or forty years or so to around 1819 and a man named Washington Irving. Washington Irving wrote several short stories which was featured in his book Â“The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon.Â” In the book Irving wrote a series of stories about the celebration of Christmas in an English manor house. The sketches feature a squire who invited the peasants into his home for the holiday. In contrast to the problems faced in American society, the two groups mingled effortlessly. In Irving's mind, Christmas should be a peaceful, warm-hearted holiday bringing groups together across lines of wealth or social status. Irving's fictitious celebrants enjoyed "ancient customs," including the crowning of a Lord of Misrule. Irving's stories depicted harmonious warm-hearted holiday traditions he claimed to have observed in England. Although some argue that Irving invented the traditions he describes, they were widely imitated by his American readers.

IrvingÂ’s publications were a huge boost in revitalizing the image of Christmas in America. Also, a key part of making Christmas more enjoyable in America and at the same time introduced a widely popular Christmas time figure that has reached icon status and is still honored today Â– is a poem titled Â“Twas The Night before ChristmasÂ” -- that was written by a Episcopal minister, Clement Clarke Moore in 1822. The Poem was originally titled Â“An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas.Â” Santa Claus was a figure that pre-dated the 1822 poem and the history and origin of The Santa Claus is deserving of an essay all on its own. However, Clement Moore is responsible for making the imagery associated with this figure as popular as it is today, also, without MooreÂ’s poem Santa probably would not have became so popular.

MooreÂ’s poem also helped to popularize Christmas Eve Â– Santa Claus waiting for the children to get to sleep the now-familiar idea of a Santa Claus who flew from house to house on Christmas Eve Â– in "a miniature sleigh" led by eight flying reindeer, whom he also named Â– leaving presents for deserving children. "An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas," created a new and immediately popular American icon. In 1881, political cartoonist Thomas Nast drew on Moore's poem to create the first likeness that matches our modern image of Santa Claus. His cartoon, which appeared in Harper's Weekly, depicted Santa as a rotund, cheerful man with a full, white beard, holding a sack laden with toys for lucky children. It is Nast who gave Santa his bright red suit trimmed with white fur, North Pole workshop, elves, and his wife, Mrs. Claus. But again, this is a topic deserving of its own Essay.

While Christmas in America was transforming, across the pond in jolly OleÂ’ England, people were helping Christmas transform as well. On December 19th 1843 a novel was published that would soon propel the Author into the history books and revitalize his career. The Novel was called Â“A Christmas CarolÂ” the author? You guessed it, none other than Charles Dickens. Dickens story emphasized the importance of charity and good will towards all humankind. This struck a powerful chord in the United States and England and showed members of Victorian society the benefits of celebrating the holiday.

The family was also becoming less disciplined and more sensitive to the emotional needs of children during the early 1800s. Christmas provided families with a day when they could lavish attention-and gifts-on their children without appearing to "spoil" them.

As Americans and Europeans began to embrace Christmas as a perfect family holiday (thanks to people like Irving, Moore, and Dickens), old customs were unearthed. People looked toward recent immigrants and Catholic and Episcopalian churches to see how the day should be celebrated. By the last quarter of the nineteenth century, America eagerly decorated trees, caroled, baked, sent holiday cards, gave gifts and shopped for the Christmas season.

Although most families quickly bought into the idea that they were celebrating Christmas how it had been done for centuries, Americans had really re-invented a holiday ( that was pieced together customs from many different countries) to fill the cultural needs of a growing nation. Over the last 165 years materialism, media, advertising, and mass marketing has made Christmas what it is today.

Sources: History Channel - History of Christmas - Irving Reinvents Christmas.

History Channel - History Of Christmas - Evolution of Santa "Twas The Night Before Christmas"

History Of Christmas *dot* Com.

Wikipedia - Christmas.

Wikipedia - Charles Dickens

History Channel - History of Christmas - A Christmas Carol and Charles Dickens

Wikipedia - Christmas Carol

Thanks for reading, take a look at the past articles in the series, and possibly look forward to a last article in which we discuss how a modern day Family may choose to observe Christmas and how modern Neo-Pagans may conduct a Yule/Winter Solstice celebration/ritual.

Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia what's the deal? Parts 4-IV & 5-V

The Feast Of The Nativity and The Birth Of Jesus.
December 04, 2008 02:34 PM EST (Updated: December 30, 2008 03:02 PM EST)
views: 341 | comments: 18
The following is a continuation of my Winter Holiday Essay Series: "Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice; What's the deal?"

For earlier Posts here is the links:

Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice; What's the deal?

Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice; What's the deal? (Part 2 - II )

Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice; What's the deal? (Part 3 - III)

Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice; What's The Deal? (Part 4 - IV) The Feast Of The Nativity and The Birth of Jesus.

The birth of Jesus of Nazareth is probably one of the widest known birthday accounts in the modern era. What presumably happened in this account is a Woman named Mary and Her husband named Joseph were said to be expecting a child, except it wasnÂ’t their actual child. Mary had never known a man in the bounds of sexual desire. She was still a Virgin, instead Mary was visited by Angels and told she would be having the Son of God the Messiah that had been prophesied to come for centuries. The bible states that on the night of the birth, three magi or wise men followed a star in the east to a little town called Bethlehem and to the manger where Jesus was. AngelÂ’s appeared in the fields where SheppardÂ’s were watching their flocks by night. Everyone should know the story by now. No matter if it is a literal account of true events or a fictional narrative told to people to convey some sort of message --- this story has stuck with us and has became the foundation for all of Modern Christianity.

Today millions of people around the world celebrate December 25th as the day Jesus was born. ItÂ’s a day of giving, rejoicing, merriment, and thankfulness. Of course there might be a problem with this date, Jesus might not have been born in December at all. One of the most widely used reasons for this, is the bible passage talking about SheppardÂ’s being in their fields by night. By December the fields would have been barren and unproductive.

Â“The normal practice was to keep the flocks in the fields from Spring to Autumn. Also, winter would likely be an especially difficult time for pregnant Mary to travel the long distance from Nazareth to Bethlehem (70 miles).

"A more probable time would be late September, the time of the annual Feast of Tabernacles, when such travel was commonly accepted. Thus, it is rather commonly believed (though not certain) that Jesus' birth was around the last of September. The conception of Christ, however, may have taken place in late December of the previous year. Our Christmas celebration may well be recognized as an honored observation of the incarnation of 'the Word made flesh' (John 1:14).

Â…The probability is that this mighty angel, leading the heavenly host in their praises, was Michael the archangel; this occasion was later commemorated by the early church as Michaelmas ('Michael sent'), on September 29, the same as the date of the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles. It would have at least been appropriate for Christ to have been born on such a date, for it was at His birth that 'the Word was made flesh and dwelt (literally tabernacled) among us' (John 1:14).

This would mean, then, that His conception took place in late December. Thus, it might well be that when we today celebrate Christ's birth at what we call Christmas (i.e., 'Christ sent'), we are actually celebrating His miraculous conception, the time when the Father sent the Son into the world, in the virgin's womb. This darkest time of the year--the time of the pagan Saturnalia, and the time when the sun (the physical 'light of the world') is at its greatest distance from the Holy Land--would surely be an appropriate time for God to send the spiritual 'light of the world' into the world as the 'Savior, which is Christ the Lord' (Luke 2:11)" [Dr. Henry M. Morris, The Defender's Study Bible (notes for Luke 2:8,13)].Â” (Source: ChristianAnswers.Net. )

Also, the earliest account we have of Christmas time being celebrated by Christians didnÂ’t happen until around the 6th century C.E. according to the Catholic encyclopedia.

Early Christians celebrated the birth of Jesus as Part of Epiphany (Jan. 6th) although this feast focused on the baptism of Jesus. Christmas was promoted in the Christian East as part of the revival of Catholicism following the death of the pro-Arian Emperor Valens at the Battle of Adrianople in 378. The feast was introduced to Constantinople in 379, and to Antioch in about 380. The feast disappeared after Gregory of Nazianzus resigned as bishop in 381, although it was reintroduced by John Chrysostom in about 400.

The Twelve Days of Christmas end on January 5. December 26 is St. Stephen's Day and January 6 is Feast of Epiphany This period encompasses the major feasts surrounding the birth of Christ. In the Latin Rite, one week after Christmas Day, January 1, has traditionally been the celebration the Feast of the Naming and Circumcision of Christ, but since Vatican II, this feast has been celebrated as the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. (Wikipedia)

Pope Julius I finally chose December 25th to host the feast day of the Nativity, in attempt to make the holy day universal. Up until then different groups celebrated the birth at different times and this was an attempt to unify the early Christians. It has been speculated as well that this date was chose so that the new Holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus would be used to replace earlier Roman Pagan Feast days. (see previous posts:here andhere)

Â“The original significance of December 25 is that it was a well-known festival day celebrating the annual return of the sun. December 21 is the winter solstice (shortest day of the year and thus a key date on the calendar), and December 25 is the first day that ancients could clearly note that the days were definitely getting longer and the sunlight was returning.

So, why was December 25 chosen to remember Jesus Christ's birth with a mass (or Communion supper)? Since no one knows the day of his birth, the Roman Catholic Church felt free to chose this date. The Church wished to replace the pagan festival with a Christian holy day (holiday). The psychology was that is easier to take away an unholy (but traditional) festival from the population, when you can replace it with a good one. Otherwise, the Church would have left a void where there was a long-standing tradition, and risked producing a discontented population and a rapid return to the old ways.Â” (Source: ChristianAnswers.Net.)

Look for future articles in this Winter holiday Series from now until the new year. IÂ’m thinking about doing one on why the early Puritans did not celebrate Christmas at all because of the Pagan iconography and symbolism inherent in the holiday. And also one about the Winter holidayÂ’s in Modern times. How People observe Christmas and Yule today.

For more information on the Nativity try out these links:

ChristianAnswers.Net

TruthOrTradition.com

GotQuestions.org

Bible.org

Wikipedia Nativity of Jesus

NewAdvent.Org - Catholic Encyclopedia

Wikipedia Christmas

Also, for more information on Christmas, check your local Listings for the history Channel: for the Special Â“Christmas Unwrapped: The History Of ChristmasÂ” Link.

Thank you.

____________________________________________

by Paul R
Member since:
July 30, 2007
Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice; What's The Deal? - (Part 5 - V)
December 15, 2008 02:49 PM EST (Updated: December 30, 2008 03:01 PM EST)
views: 170 | comments: 11
Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice; What's the deal? - (Part 5 - V)

NO CHRISTMAS FOR YOU!

This is part five in my Winter holiday essay series, part six if you count my brief article on some of the Origins of Santa Claus.

Here Are Links To My Previous Entries:

Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice; What's the deal?

Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice; What's the deal? (Part 2 - II )

Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice; What's the deal? (Part 3 - III)

The Feast Of The Nativity and The Birth Of Jesus. - Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice; What's the deal? (Part 4 - IV)

Here are some other articles that readers who enjoy this series may find interesting as well:

Santa Claus! Who is he? Where did he come From? (A Brief History)

Open Letter To The People Who Presume There Is A "War" On Christmas....

In the last official essay in this series we discussed the birth of Jesus and the feast of the Nativity. We discussed that The Roman Catholic Church and a Roman Emperor moved the celebrations to December 25th in attempt to overshadow previous Pagan festivities that took place this time of year. This went on without a hitch for many centuries, around twelve centuries until the 1600s and the Puritan era.

Can you believe there was a time in our Modern History that after there was a day rededicated for the birth of Christ, that that day was actually looked down upon and even outlawed? You CanÂ’t? Well there was. There was about a 200 year span of time when no one hardly celebrated ChristmasÂ…and it was by choice.

In an effort to stamp out the influences of the Catholic and Anglican Churches, when Oliver Cromwell and his band of Puritan reformers saw the Pagan influences of the holiday and they also wished to end the old traditions of the Catholic and Anglican Churches. Cromwell wishes to rid England of the excess and the decadence and part of their efforts was to get Christmas in England canceled. (1)

Meanwhile in America the Pilgrims were even more orthodox than their Puritan brethren still in England, and they not only simply chose not to celebrate Christmas but it was actually outlawed, and anyone found to have celebrated the holiday would be fined.

Â“The Puritans who immigrated to Massachusetts to build a new life had several reason for disliking Christmas. First of all, it reminded them of the Church of England and the old-world customs, which they were trying to escape. Second, they didn't consider the holiday a truly religious day. December 25th wasn't selected as the birth date of Christ until several centuries after his death. Third, the holiday celebration usually included drinking, feasting, and playing games - all things which the Puritans frowned upon. One such tradition, "wassailing" occasionally turned violent.

The older custom entailed people of a lower economic class visiting wealthier community members and begging, or demanding, food and drink in return for toasts to their hosts' health. If a host refused, there was the threat of retribution. Although rare, there were cases of wassailing in early New England. Fourth, the British had been applying pressure on the Puritans for a while to conform to English customs. The ban was probably as much a political choice as it was a religious one for many.Â” (2) Â– As Quoted From: Source.

After the American Revolution, English customs fell out of favor all together, this of course included Christmas. (1) It wasnÂ’t until the Victorian Era that the traditions of Christmas became popular again in America, It started to become celebrated in England again when Charles II was restored to the throne, and the AmericanÂ’s ( Some of whom grew up in the Colonies and the new fledgling country Â– and never knew a Christmas celebration) became curious about these celebrations that were occurring across the Â“pond.Â” Christmas did not become a federally recognized holiday in America until the 1870s. (1)

Sources Â– References: (1) Â– The history ChannelÂ’s History Of Christmas Mini site.

(2) - Once upon a Time when Christmas Was Banned. From The Massachusetts Travel Journal.

Here are some other links to check out: Colonial Christmas - Women.About.Com

History Of Christmas *dot* com.

Also, if you are interested check out the History ChannelÂ’s Special Â“Christmas: UnwrappedÂ” the first showing of the season should be on tonight on the History Channel at 11PM Eastern Time. Check your local listings for times in your area and also for encore.

Christmas:Yule, Saturnalia Whats the deal? Essay Series.

Hey all. These are a series of articles I wrote about the Christmas/Yule Winter holidays for a site called gather.com a little over 5 years ago. I really enjoyed writing and researching for these articles. And I took the time to refind them and re save them to post here to save for future years and I hope to continue to get positive feedback on them. So I hope people continur to enjoy and read them. Thanks. -Paul.

"CHRISTMAS: YULE, SATURNALIA WHATS THE DEAL? (PARTS I-1, II-2, AND III-3)"

by Paul R
Member since:
July 30, 2007
Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice; What's the deal?
November 18, 2008 11:11 AM EST (Updated: December 18, 2008 10:06 AM EST)
views: 973 | comments: 9

The Following is the first installment of my Christmastime/ Winter Holiday essay. I am focusing on Christmas with an emphasis on the Neo-Pagan observance of The Winter Solsitice and the Old European customs of Yule and of the Ancient Roman Feast of Saturnalia and what they have in common with the Feast Day of the Nativity and Christmas time.

Well we’re in mid-November, and though we have a somewhat major holiday coming up in a little under two weeks (Thanksgiving) it is generally downplayed for an even bigger Winter Holiday, Christmas. There are other Holiday’s around this time of year, Hanukah, and Kwanzaa come to mind. But it seem none so important to American Culture as Christmas. When we think of Christmas we think of presents and evergreen trees. Decorations, and lights, candy, and great food, Santa and his reindeer. We think of good times, jolly times, and playful times with our family. We think of singing carols and attending our children’s Christmas programs at school. There is also religious significance, Christians go to church and celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus who will one day become the savior for Christians and mankind.

However, where do we get these ideas, and customs? Surely they are not original to Christianity? Anyone who has done any studying knows that Jesus was not born on December 25th. The Catholic Church moved the feast day of the nativity to that day to coincide with the Roman Feast and celebrations of Saturnalia, and the Northern European festivals of Yule. They moved it to that day to help convert those nasty Heathens to the new religion of Christianity all those centuries ago.

The customs of Christmas are borrowed from these earlier holidays. And, the original holidays are celebrated today by those people who identify themselves as Neo-Pagan, people who attempt to revive the old gods, and the old customs and traditions and religions of the pre-Christian era. Not all Neo-Pagans attempt to reconstruct these old religions; some use the old religions as a model but upon which to build modern modes of worshipping the old gods. Wicca is one such modern religion, that while based upon myth and stories from these old Pre-Christian religions, are also based on modern lore from Witchcraft, Gerald Gardner, went public with this religion in the late 1950’s when the last of Britain’s anti-Witchcraft laws were repealed. There is much debate on if Gardner invented the whole Wiccan religion or simply brought it to light. Such debate rages like a five-alarm inferno in the Wiccan and Neo-Pagan Community to this very day. Of course this essay is not about the merits or history of Wicca, it is about Yule and other Early Pagan Festivals that took place around the Winter Solstice that coincides with the modern Christmas. So let’s get on with the show.

The Modern Yule usually takes place on the Winter Solstice (DEC. 20-22nd) It is not a fixed holiday, as it comes about based on the season and planetary and astrological alignment. Yule in Modern Wicca/Neo-Pagan lore is seen as the longest night of the year. The cold depths of Winter is setting in. This is a time to reflect. However, there is the promise that imbolc will be here in February, and that spring time will soon be here. Though this is the longest night of the year, from this point on the days will start to get longer. It will be subtle to those unaware, but the day gets longer from this point until around June 21st or the Summer Solstice when the sun is at its very peak. Traditionally this is a time when Yule logs are to be burned to help give energy and strength to the Sun. This is also said to be the time when the newborn god, the bright child of promise is said to be born from the eternal mother goddess. Some Neo-Pagans take part in a ritual known as “Birthing the Sun/Son” it is a ritualistic way of aiding the Goddess into delivering the god child, and in aiding the natural world in delivering the mighty Sun out of it’s winter slumber and giving it strength to help bring about the warmer months of the year.

“Sun Gods: Apollo, Mithras, and Jesus”

“Without the sun there would be no life. Without the sun there would be no plants, and without plants, there would be no oxygen. Without oxygen, there would be no animals or human beings!

Like many pre-Christian customs and beliefs, the old feast commemorating the yearly return of the sun was rededicated to the birth of Christ. In the year 274CE, the Roman emperor Aurelianus established the cult of “The God Of The Invincible Sun” which was celebrated on December 25th, even though the actual day of the winter solstice is the twenty-first or twenty-second day of the month. Why? Perhaps this was the first day on which the people could actually discern the elevated position of the sun, and see that it truly was coming back from the depths of darkness. The feast associated with the event was called the “rebirth of the sun.” At the same time the Romans rededicated the rebirth of the sun to the birth of Christ, they also took over the cult of the Persian sun god Mithras, whose birthday was also celebrated on December 25th. “The [Mithraic] mystery started with his initiation into a heavenly soul voyage.” ( Giebel 1990, 200).

Many of the gods of the past were associated with the sun: Ra and Osiris, the Egyptian sun and vegetation gods; Helios and Apollo, Greek gods of the sun and light; and the Germanic Wotan, who searches for the sun in the time of darkness with his wild army, to name just a few. The power of each of these important gods was attributed to the reigning emperor or king of the day. The sun was the giver of life for plants and thus also for human beings. Therefore, the first day of the week –Sunday- was named after the day once dedicated to Helios, the sun god.

In the context of this cosmological and mythological background, the idea that Jesus was a descendent of the former sun gods was only logical, and it is easy to see why his followers associated the rebirth of the sun with his birth. But there remains a significant difference. According to Christian belief, the sun itself is not divine, but is “a mere creation that God has given special duties. … The Pagan belief remained centered on the divine beauty of His work, and worshipped it, in their adoration of God, instead of only comprehending the Creator” ( Forstner 1986, 96).

This is why the Church was so keen to point out that the Pagan admiration of the sun really amounted to adoration of the “glowing light from the heights.” (Luke 1:78, quoted in Forstner 1986, 97).

From: - “Pagan Christmas: The Plants, Spirits, and rituals at the Origins of Yuletide; Christian Ratsch and Claudia Muller-Ebeling 2006 inner traditions publishing (originally published in German by AT Verlag 2003), Pg. 149-150

Look for the next installment of this eassy where I focus on The Customs, myths, and stories of the Northern European Yule and of the Ancient Roman Festival of Saturnalia (As I compile the information)

And look for an installment about the Feast of the Nativity and the Christian celebrations of this Winter holiday.

____________________________________________

by Paul R
Member since:
July 30, 2007
Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice; What's the deal? (Part 2 - II )
November 18, 2008 01:53 PM EST (Updated: December 18, 2008 10:06 AM EST)
views: 541 | comments: 7
This is the second part installment of my series on the history, rituals, customs, and myths surrounding the Winter Holiday Season, more specifically The Winter Solstice and the Ancient and Modern day Pagan Observances of it and how the Christian Celebration of Christmas is factored in and influenced by these earlier celebrations.

Part 1 - I can be found here: Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice; What's the deal?

YULE:

Yule is a winter festival identified with Christmas in modern times. The pagan Germanic peoples celebrated Yule from late December to early January on a date determined by the lunar Germanic calendar. When the Julian calendar was adopted in northern Europe, Yule was placed on December 25 to correspond with the date of Christmas.

The word "Yule" come from the same root as the word "jolly." Modern Yule traditions include decorating a fir or spruce tree, burning a Yule log, hanging mistletoe and holly branches, giving gifts, and general celebration and merriment. Yule celebrations at the winter solstice predate Christianity. Yule is a feast celebrated by sacrifice on mid winter night 12 January, according to Norwegian historian Olav BÃ¸.

There are many references to Yule in the Icelandic sagas but few accounts of how Yule was celebrated beyond the fact it was a time for feasting. According to Adam of Bremen, Swedish kings sacrificed male slaves every ninth year during the Yule sacrifices at the Temple at Uppsala. 'Yule-Joy' with dancing continued through the Middle Ages in Iceland but was frowned upon after the Reformation. The ritual of slaughtering a boar on Yule survives in the modern tradition of the Christmas ham and the Boar's Head Carol.

On Yule Eve the best boar in the herd was brought into the hall where the assembled company laid their hands upon the animal and made their unbreakable oaths. Heard by the boar these oaths were thought to go straight to the ears of Freyr himself. Once the oaths had been sworn the boar was sacrificed in the name of Freyr and the feast of boar flesh began. The most commonly recognized remnant of the sacred boar traditions once common at Yule has to be the serving of the boar's head at later Christmas feasts.[8]

According to the medieval English writer the Venerable Bede, Christian missionaries sent to proselytize among the Germanic peoples of northern Europe were instructed to superimpose Christian themes upon existing local pagan holidays, to ease the conversion of the people to Christianity by allowing them to retain their traditional celebrations. Thus, Christmas was created by associating stories of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, the central figure of Christianity, with the existing pagan Yule celebrations, similar to the formation of Halloween and All Saint's Day via Christianization of existing pagan traditions.

The confraternities of artisans of the ninth century, which developed into the medieval guilds, were denounced by Catholic clergy for their "conjurations" when they swore to support one another in coming adversity and in business ventures. The occasions were annual banquets on December 26,

"feast day of the pagan god Jul, when it was possible to couple with the spirits of the dead and with demons that returned to the surface of the earth... Many clerics denounced these conjurations as being not only a threat to public order but also, more serious in their eyes, satanic and immoral. Hincmar, in 858, sought in vain to Christianize them."[9]

Many symbols and motifs associated with the modern holiday of Christmas derive from traditional pagan northern European Yule celebrations. The burning of the Yule log, the decorating of Christmas trees, the eating of ham, the hanging of boughs, holly, mistletoe and others are all historically practices associated with Yule.

When the Christianization of the Germanic peoples began, missionaries found it convenient to provide a Christian reinterpretation of popular pagan holidays such as Yule and allow the celebrations themselves to go on largely unchanged, versus trying to confront and suppress them. The Scandinavian tradition of slaughtering a pig at Christmas is probably salient evidence of this. The tradition is thought to be derived from the sacrifice of boars to the god Freyr at the Yule celebrations. Halloween and aspects of Easter celebrations are likewise assimilated from northern European pagan festivals.

English historian Bede's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum contains a letter from Pope Gregory I to Saint Mellitus, who was on his way to England to conduct missionary work among the pagan Anglo-Saxons. Pope Gregory suggested that converting heathens would go easier if they were allowed to retain the outward forms of their traditional pagan practices and traditions, while recasting those traditions spiritually towards the Christian God instead of to their pagan "devils": "to the end that, whilst some gratifications are outwardly permitted them, they may the more easily consent to the inward consolations of the grace of God". [10]

_____________________ From: Wikipedia

The ceremonial Yule log was the highlight of the Yule time festivities. In accordance to tradition, the log must either have been harvested from the householder's land, or given as a gift... it must never have been bought. Once dragged into the house and placed in the fireplace it was decorated in seasonal greenery, doused with cider or ale, and dusted with flour before set ablaze be a piece of last years log, (held onto for just this purpose). The log would burn throughout the night, then smolder for 12 days after before being ceremonially put out. Ash is the traditional wood of the Yule log. It is the sacred world tree of the Teutons, known as Yggdrasil. An herb of the Sun, Ash brings light into the hearth at the Solstice.

A different type of Yule log, and perhaps one more suitable for modern practitioners would be the type that is used as a base to hold three candles. Find a smaller branch of oak or pine, and flatten one side so it sets upright. Drill three holes in the top side to hold red, green, and white (season), green, gold, and black (the Sun God), or white, red, and black (the Great Goddess). Continue to decorate with greenery, red and gold bows, rosebuds, cloves, and dust with flour.

Deities of Yule are all Newborn Gods, Sun Gods, Mother Goddesses, and Triple Goddesses. The best known would be the Dagda, and Brighid, the daughter of the Dagda. Brighid taught the smiths the arts of fire tending and the secrets of metal work. Brighid's flame, like the flame of the new light, pierces the darkness of the spirit and mind, while the Dagda's cauldron assures that Nature will always provide for all the children.

Symbolism of Yule: Rebirth of the Sun, The longest night of the year, The Winter Solstice, Introspect, Planning for the Future.

Symbols of Yule: Yule log, or small Yule log with 3 candles, evergreen boughs or wreaths, holly, mistletoe hung in doorways, gold pillar candles, baskets of clove studded fruit, a simmering pot of wassail, poinsettias, christmas cactus.

Herbs of Yule: Bayberry, blessed thistle, evergreen, frankincense holly, laurel, mistletoe, oak, pine, sage, yellow cedar.

Foods of Yule: Cookies and caraway cakes soaked in cider, fruits, nuts, pork dishes, turkey, eggnog, ginger tea, spiced cider, wassail, or lamb's wool (ale, sugar, nutmeg, roasted apples).

Incense of Yule: Pine, cedar, bayberry, cinnamon.

Colors of Yule: Red, green, gold, white, silver, yellow, orange.

Stones of Yule: Rubies, bloodstones, garnets, emeralds, diamonds.

Activities of Yule: Caroling, wassailing the trees, burning the Yule log, decorating the Yule tree, exchanging of presents, kissing under the mistletoe, honoring Kriss Kringle the Germanic Pagan God of Yule

Spellworkings of Yule: Peace, harmony, love, and increased happiness.

Deities of Yule: Goddesses-Brighid, Isis, Demeter, Gaea, Diana, The Great Mother. Gods-Apollo, Ra, Odin, Lugh, The Oak King, The Horned One, The Green Man, The Divine Child, Mabon.

From: Wicca.com/YuleLore

Yule Drinking:

Â“When the gods left the earth, beer became alcohol and the divine intoxication became a purely mean drunkennessÂ…Â” (Gronbech 1997, 180).

In the north, Christmas is called Jul or Jule. This is the time for Juldrinking and Julfeast. In this season, one can choose among specially brewed Christmas beers, Wodelbeers (Wodel=Wotan) made from rye, and traditional Yule beers. Old Nordic Julbeers were not brewed in keeping with Bavarian pureness laws, but instead included intoxicating herbs like hemp, wormwood, black henbane, fir greens, and wild rosemary.

The festive time was sometimes called Â“beer daysÂ” in Germany, and the tranquil atmosphere of domestic family togetherness was described by the name Â“beer peace.Â”

Beer brings a festive shine with it. It does not belong to the mundane nourishment and thirst-quenching quality of everyday food, but offers a spiritual enjoyment of a higher level than milk and whey, a holy nourishment. And it is the drink that honors the high feast with its blessing, of a special power to unite gods and human beings. (Gronbech 1997, 164).

The magical power of old Germanic brewing methods has been replaced largely by technology by now. Instead of intoxicating ingredients, manufacturers add the sedative plant hops to create a beer without holiness, a festive beverage made profane. However, the magic of the past still shines on modern labels, and the consciousness that accompanies the drinking can be a catalyst for a sense of Christmas holiness.

Germanic mythology, especially from the north, is full of drinking stories. According to one myth, Odin (Wotan) robbed Odhrarir of the Â“ecstasy drinkÂ” or the Â“meade of inspiration.Â” Whoever drank this beverage would be filled with wisdom and knowledge, become artistically and gifted in the art of poetry, and develop the ability to lure and seduce with words.

Thor, the thunder god, was the heaviest drinker of the gods. His thirst was unquenchable, his drinking feats legendary. One myth recounts that during a drinking competition he drank from the sea godÂ’s drinking horn, which was connected with the worldÂ’s seas. He gulped three times and caused high and low tides. These were some truly divine gulps! Many humans seem to want to emulate Thor, especially during Yule drinking; thus the Yule feast always ended when the people were drunk.

- Â“Pagan Christmas: The Plants, Spirits, and rituals at the Origins of Yuletide; Christian Ratsch and Claudia Muller-Ebeling 2006 inner traditions publishing (originally published in German by AT Verlag 2003), Pg. 117-118

Look For Part Three, a Look at the Roman Festival Saturnalia

and Part Four a History of the Feast of The Nativity from the Churches point of view.

and Finally a Part five A Modern Look at how Christmas celebrations are conducted today.

look for them whenever I get them complied and wrote up.

_____________________________________________

by Paul R
Member since:
July 30, 2007
Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice; What's the deal? (Part 3 - III)
November 19, 2008 05:30 PM EST (Updated: December 18, 2008 10:07 AM EST)
views: 275 | comments: 10
For Those of you following along in this series Hooray for you!

For Those of you that aren't here are the links to the first two articles;

Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice; What's the deal?

And; Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice; What's the deal? (Part 2 - II )

I would Suggest reading those before going any farther, Thank You.

PART 3 - III of my Winter holiday essay series.

The Roman Feasts of Saturnalia and To Sol Invictus:

The Roman Feast of Saturnalia was celebrated in commemoration of the Roman Sun Deity Saturn. The greeting for this event was Â“IO, Saturnalia!Â” Which roughly translated into, Â“Ho, Praise be to Saturn!Â” Originally it was only a day long celebration but it became so popular and important in Roman culture that it expanded into a week long festival. The cities in Rome were turned upside down the Slaves became businessmen and businessmen became slaves, it was all in good fun and only for the festivities. The town Mayors usually picked a citizen of low class to be in charge of the festivities as a Â“Master of ceremoniesÂ” for the events. Gambling was made legal for this time and even the slaves could participate. There was the making and exchanging of small gifts. The slaves were absolved from any sort of punishment during this time and treated their masters with a bit of disrespect, giving them a taste of their own medicine so to speak. Everyone wore their most colorful and nicest clothes. It was a time to eat, drink, party, and to be merry. During huge dinners the Masters would cook, prepare, and serve the slaves. In addition to the public festivities, private citizens would conduct their own parties and celebrations. It was remarked that during this time there was to be no serious business performed.

Seneca the Younger, around 50AD wrote about Rome during the Saturnalia;

It is now the month of December, when the greatest part of the city is in a bustle. Loose reins are given to public dissipation; everywhere you may hear the sound of great preparations, as if there were some real difference between the days devoted to Saturn and those for transacting business....Were you here, I would willingly confer with you as to the plan of our conduct; whether we should eve in our usual way, or, to avoid singularity, both take a better supper and throw off the toga.

In the year 274AD Emperor Aurelian created a new Roman god, a State-Supported Roman god at that. This new godÂ’s name was Sol Invictus, and it quickly took SaturnÂ’s place as being significant. Soon after that the festival of Saturnalia was replaced by the feast to commemorate the birth of Sol Invictus or Â“The Unconquered Sun.Â” The Week long Festival of Saturnalia was replaced by one big party day held on the day of the Winter Solstice on the Julian calendar, December 25th.

When Christianity took root and a day of worship and commemorating the Christian deity Jesus Christ was needed it seems only appropriate that it was super imposed on December 25th. Because, Jesus was the Unconquered Son to them. If you need a farther explaination of this, please go back to the first article in this series and read the Section from the book Â“Pagan ChristmasÂ” Titled Â“Sun Gods: Apollo, Mithras, and JesusÂ”.

Saturnalia and The Feast to Sol Invictus soon waned as Christianity and the Christmas grew in popularity. Still, if you look close enough you can find traces of these Roman Pagan Festivals in our Modern Day Celebrations of Christmas. The same can be said for the Northern European Celebrations of Yule, If you look close enough can find traces of that in our modern Winter holidayÂ’s as well.

Thank you for your time.

Look for future articles between now and Christmas time on the Christian history of the Feast Day of the Nativity and how it came into being from a early and modern Christian perspective.

And a last article on how people choose to observe the Winter holiday time today, maybe if your nice IÂ’ll include a modern day neo-Pagan Yule Ritual.

(Information for this article compiled with the aid of Wikipedia and PaganWiccan.about.com and Ancienthistory.about.com)

Thank you again.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Occult Vs. Orthodox Christianity

From a book by Ted Andrews - I would reccomend getting it and reading it with an open mind, eyes, heart, and soul.

"The Occult Christ: Hidden and Mystical Secrets of Christianity"

Occult Vs. Orthodox Christianity (The Historical Jesus) Pgs. 54-55

"In order to take the mysteries out of the hands of the privileged and select, the entire life of Jesus and the Christ would have to become an analogy of the Mysteries. All preparations, all events, the ministry itself and every aspect in the life of Jesus Christ parallel an experience of the initiatory process into the Archangelic Mysteries.

Thus what could not be discerned from the actual teachings could be by example. Through Paul comes the interpretation of the ministry and death of Jesus as events which sprang from God. This is reflected in such scriptures as I Corinthians 15:47. It is later supported by Peter in Acts 2:23 and Romans 3:25. Luke and Matthew's account of the birth reflect divine intervention and higher significance then just a mundane event. The role of Jesus in light of the ressurrection, rooted in the ancient myths of all the dying and rising gods and goddesses, thus has its greatest magic in revealing a process for higher initiation.

In spite of subsequent censoring, the major events in the life of Jesus Christ have carried through. Knowing these major events is all that is necessary for anyone wishing to open to an initiatory experience. There was enacted, through the description of this life and its events, what had previously only been enacted in the Mystery School initiation Rituals. The second half of the book will show you how to use those major events to open to such today.

Where, though, does the occult aspect of Christianity fit into all of this? Unknown to the general Christian community, Christianity is as much occult in philosophy as it was orthodox. Jesus distinguished between the things he could say openly to all and the things which he could only hint at, the things which the few could handle but the many could not. The Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven were to be opened to all, but in a manner that would prevent them from being profaned while still accessible without the traditional Mystery School training.

After Jesus' death, there would develop a split in his followers. This resulted in two types of Christians: one of the occult or esoteric practices and one of the more orthodox and moralistic kind. The first involved direct experience and knowledge of the spiritual and natural laws and their practice within life, and the second focused on vicarious atonement and good works. In the struggle between the two, the latter eventually won out, since much greater numbers were versed in it than the hidden aspects. This would ultimately lead to the abolishment of the occult mysteriest of the Christ.

The gulf would widen, but the hidden aspects would never die out. The Orthodox elements continued to employ literal interpretations to the teachings of the Christ, and the more esoteric references were lost to the few who were able to understand and pass them onto others. It is these that embody the true spirit and essence of Christianity. As we grow beyond literal teachings, duty becomes desire, and problems and confusion surrounding the literal dissolve. We find answers to our questions through exploring the hidden aspects of Christianity. The scriptures were not meant to be oracles, but a guide for the individual to discover his or her own answers based upon experience. Occultism is centered on the experiences of life. It is more than a science. It is a philosophy and sometimes even a religion that attracts seekers who no longer wish to depend on blind faith. A belief is formed out of experiences that results in a devotion to seeking answers and illumination. This allows the individual to share in the work usually assigned to saints and angels as the ministers and messengers of God.*"

*reference: Fortune, Dion. Sane Occultism (Northamptonshire: The Aquarian Press, 1981), p.11.

Lords Prayer, from the original Aramaic

Translation by Neil Douglas-Klotz in Prayers of the Cosmos

O Birther! Father- Mother of the Cosmos

Focus your light within us - make it useful.

Create your reign of unity now-

through our fiery hearts and willing hands

Help us love beyond our ideals

and sprout acts of compassion for all creatures.

Animate the earth within us: we then

feel the Wisdom underneath supporting all.

Untangle the knots within

so that we can mend our hearts' simple ties to each other.

Don't let surface things delude us,

But free us from what holds us back from our true purpose.

Out of you, the astonishing fire,

Returning light and sound to the cosmos.

Amen.

Lords Prayer, from Aramaic into Old English

Translation by G.J.R. Ouseley from The Gospel of the Holy Twelve

Our Father-Mother Who art above and within:

Hallowed be Thy Name in twofold Trinity.

In Wisdom, Love and Equity Thy Kingdom come to all.

Thy will be done, As in Heaven so in Earth.

Give us day by day to partake of Thy holy Bread, and the fruit of the living Vine.

As Thou dost forgive us our trespasses, so may we forgive others who trespass against us.

Shew upon us Thy goodness, that to others we may shew the same.

In the hour of temptation, deliver us from evil.

Amun.

Religious Experience as Perception of God

Philosophy of Religion

selected readings

second edition

Michael Peterson

William Hasker

Bruce Reichenbach

David Basinger

------------Religious Experience as Perception of God: By- William AlstonPg. 20

Summary:

William Alston's Perceiving God argues that some mystical experiences should be regarded as perceptions of God analogous to the perception of physical objects in sense experience. On Alston's account, beliefs about God derived from mystical experiences are prima facie justified and thus rational in the absence of reasons to believe that apparent mystical perceptions are unreliable.

Translation: We do not need fancy well thought out reasoning, or philosophy to justify our personal beleifs in God, or to even justify our chosen Demonimation, or choice of relgious path.

all we need to justify our beleif in the divine..is our own personal experiences.

I'm at the point that I should truly practice what I preach. The next time someone quotes bible verses at me about not serving two masters and this and that, I am going to copy the summary of Alston's "Religious Experience as Perception of God" to them, to prove that my personal expereince that has led me to beleive what it is I do, is just as valid as thier beleif in thier book.

The Archetype of Christ is Alive and Well!

*Disclaimer: This Article Is an archived blog from my personal collection posted several years ago on the myspace.com website. It in no way reflects the site thepaganheretic.webs.com or the blogspot blog site as a whole and only reflects my personal views I once held or still do hold. This May Contain outdated information. this is only archived for informational and entertainment purposes only. Thank You. Paul R. The Pagan Heretic.*

Posted to myspace in 2007.

Archetype of Christ

Although people generally think of Christ as a historical figure, as a dream symbol he depicts powerful influences acting upon your personality. For a start, Christianity is a huge social and political force in the world. Many of us as children are educated to accept its beliefs or we meet its influence in one way or another. Therefore Christ in our dreams often depicts this enormous influence and how we relate to it.

Like any of the world's great religious figures, Christ can also be a very potent compensatory symbol. Each of us have feeling responses to events. Some events lead to a pleasurable response, others to a painful response. As children, and often as adults, we are largely at the mercy of events as to whether our life is experienced as painful or pleasurable. But there is also a way of creating our own response that few of us use consciously. If we are lonely or depressed for instance, we may read a book or watch a video, stimulating feelings that displace the loneliness or despair. This ability to produce positive or different feelings is often seen in the dream process. By holding in mind an image connected with hope and love, feelings will be produced that will compensate in some measure for pain or depression we may be feeling. Therefore in many dreams the figure of Christ is used to compensate for what may be felt as crushing or defeating life circumstances or inner despair. Such compensation may also be used to deal with things missing from ones life, such as a sexual partner or social achievement. See: compensation theory.

The fundamental power of Christ as an archetypal force lies in a different direction however. As an archetype Christ enters our life with powers of redemption, aid to help us out of awful life situations, and a type of love transcending the human limitations of jealousy and dependence.

Often overlooked in this influence is the power to look at oneself and life very clearly, very honestly, without hiding behind excuses or self deceptions. Perhaps more than anything else though, Christ is a cultural image depicting the power of our own highest possibilities.

Christ is not the only historical figure with these associations. Krishna and Shiva in the Indian culture, Mohammed in Islamic culture, and Quetzalcoatl/ Kukulkán/ Gukumatz in the South American culture have the same sort of power. Some aspects of the Buddha are approached for redemption and there are many saviour heroes from other cultures such as Anansi in Africa, Cúchulainn in Eire, Osiris in Egypt and Hercules in Greece. Apollonius of Tyana is also recorded as living a sacred life.

Depending upon the culture we were raised in, we will unconsciously put an image to the power of change and transformation that we experience. People in all ages, all cultures and all social circumstances have experienced what is often felt to be a divine influence touching them in some way.

I believe through observation that such long held and powerful traditional beliefs are based on something functional. The description of compensation above is an example of this. To be able to survive crushing life experience is a real achievement, not an imagined one, and is therefore functional. Using an image to evoke hope and motivation doesn't make it less of an achievement. But the archetype links with patterns of love and strength actually lived by others. They are then patterns remaining in the collective experience of us and can be accessed. When we touch these powerful racial memories we may clothe them in the image of our cultural hero or saviour.

To be clear about this, the power that is found is a release of our own potential emerging from our core self. So in this sense the image of Christ is a graphic presentation of our own innate wonder. The patterns of love and strength mentioned above, and other behaviours lived by past individuals that remain in collective memory, offer keys or clues as to how to release this innate potential. That such keys, as well as ones innate potential, are often clothed in symbols and traditional imagery, is simply because we have not made such parts of our potential or heritage clearly conscious. They thus emerge from our unconscious clothed in whatever imagery or ideas we can accept or allow.

So what does Christ the Redeemer and Good Shepherd mean in this sense?

To understand this we must first remember that our ego, the sense that we have of being a distinct person, is not one and the same thing as our body's biological processes, or of our deep psychological processes. We all have some understanding of this because we can observe in ourselves or in others, that we - our personality - may want something that is very much against what our body wants. People with eating disorders for instance may actually die from malnutrition. People who have a fear of sex may constantly fight or repress their sexual urge. A person is often at odds with the natural processes and urges that underlie their conscious ego.

Norman MacKenzie explains this very well in his book Dreams and Dreaming. Writing about the clinical use of LSD to help patients deal with various forms of neurosis, he says that the drug enabled a massive observation of how people's mind worked, and how people related to their unconscious drives. When a patient first took LSD one of the commonest reactions was massive anxiety. This degree of anxiety usually arises only when we are threatened physically or mentally. The patient fears the drug is robbing them of control and will overwhelm them. In fact what is happening is that the repressive defences the person uses to keep their inner drives and processes under control are being relaxed.

People relate to this threat in two major ways. They either fight to keep control, and employ all manner of techniques such as keeping their attention focused outwardly by such things as talking, walking about, drawing, holding their breath or dancing - or they surrender to what is being experienced. To meet the parts of ones nature that have previously been pushed into unconsciousness, one needs to surrender in some degree. If the person fights the loss of control as the new material from within is emerging, it sometimes feels as if they are disintegrating. Their body may feel as if it is changing or dying, and they are losing themselves.

Below are two descriptions from people using LSD therapeutically which illustrate these different responses.

It didn't happen at first, but gradually I began to feel that if I relaxed I would not be able to hold back my emotions, that I would do something that would be seen as crazy. So I sat holding onto myself, literally tensing my muscles to hold back whatever might happen to me. Time seemed to stretch and I felt as if I would never get out of this tension and difficulty. I just had to sit through it, live through it, and hope there would be an end. I also wanted to get away, but I was frightened I would get lost, like I was a child of four or five. Maybe that's how I felt at that age, so I had to stop myself from doing what I wanted to do. A.K.

Here is someone else's description of a similar situation.

Early in the session I started having fantasies about being attacked. Each time it happened I put the fantasy aside because I couldn't see why I would be having these feelings that I was being attacked. There were a lot of images flowing into my mind also about the horror of life in general - babies abused, children murdered, men and women shot or tortured. The fantasies returned and several men attacked me and were trying to drag me off somewhere against my will. As the fantasy progressed, or replayed, I began to realise that it only appeared like an attack because I was resisting the process. In fact the men wanted to show me something that was important to me. They were being quite gentle, but because of my resistance, it felt to me like an aggressive act. I then let myself be carried off by the men, and began to feel as if a great chunk of my nature has been held back since childhood because of anxiety. In fact I had been frightened to 'live' this part of me. I had held so much of myself back throughout most of my life that I constantly felt there was something I was missing and had to search for. But it wasn't an external thing - it was the me I had denied. B.M.

AK was using tensions and experiencing fears he had developed in childhood to hold back feelings that he had been taught were not acceptable. In BM's experience he learned to move beyond such tensions and fears.

In observing such struggles in thousands of people, the doctors and clinicians working with them saw that no matter what the patient was experiencing, even if they felt completely overwhelmed for a while and were lost in their fears and emotions, something within them was learning from the experience and attempting to integrate not only the insights gained, but also the various parts of their nature that were in conflict or split. Mackenzie says, 'No one knows what type of 'thinking' this may be. It appears to be different both from 'reality thinking' and 'autistic thinking,' from the patterns of conscious thought and the imagery of fantasy - a kind of bridge between two types of mental process.'

Jung observed something similar in the psyche. He called it the Transforming Principle, or the self-regulating action, which constantly attempts psychic growth. He stated that one can watch this at work by noting many dreams from the same individual over a period of time. When one does this 'tendencies become visible, then vanish, then return again. ...... one can observe a sort of hidden regulating or directing tendency at work, creating a slow, imperceptible process of psychic growth-the process of individuation.'

Most religions call it the power of God at work in ones life, and many of them teach that if one surrenders to it, one will be healed and made whole. Different people and cultures represent or depict this transforming power within them in their own way. It is often represented as Christ, but equally as well as something more abstract. However, whatever we wish to name it, there is in us a potential that has in it more than we presently know of ourself, and it has the power to heal and transform.

Looking at what AK said about his experience we can see that he was holding back this power of transformation. He was using tensions and experiencing fears he had developed in childhood to hold back feelings that he had been taught were not acceptable. Yet those feelings held in them his own potential for living a fuller life. No wonder St. Paul fell of his horse as he opened to this power.

In BM's experience he learned to move beyond such tensions and fears. But also he says something that is at the heart of what this archetype brings. He says, "It wasn't an external thing - It was the me I had denied."

That is the heart of the Christ archetype. It holds in it the you that may have been crushed, denied, traumatised, repressed, in some way held back from emerging as a reality in your life. It is the potential you hold within you that has not been allowed to flower. It is the very best of what you are, not some distant possibility that you have to get from outside yourself.

Here is another personal description. This time not from an LSD session, but from a man allowing the transforming action to take place while fully awake and without drugs. This makes clear what it is like to confront the power of transformation within.

In the previous week I had met a feeling I could not account for, which had left me wondering what was happening. I had the very strong impression that I had killed a man and now had the guilt of blood on my hands. This time in the group, when I surrendered, something I could never have suspected happened. I was standing with my eyes closed, but it seemed I could see, because the spontaneous mental imagery was so clear. I was standing under a clear night sky, with the stars brilliant above. But there was a star more brilliant than the others that fell to Earth, and I knew it was something wonderful and special so hurried to see what it was. Others had also seen it, simple rural people like myself. What we found was a baby. But the wonder of it was so much I fell on my knees and couldn't stop myself crying out again and again - A baby! A baby!

The tears and the cries were because I had the clear feeling or knowledge, a direct knowing, that all of the heavens, all of life's mystery, had come to life in this baby. And to actually know this, to feel the impact of it, was almost more than I could bear. But part of the amazement was that this was every baby born. It wasn't just one special baby. It was my own birth too! All the mystery of life was born in me. I sobbed with the pain and wonder of it.

Then the scene changed and I was standing by a dirt road. There were lots of people lining the road waiting. I didn't know what for. Then excitement rose as a man came walking along the road toward us. He looked very ordinary to me. But as he got near he looked right at me and a huge feeling of love swept through me. I knew this man loved me in a way I had never been loved before. Then he walked directly to me and took hold of my hands and said, 'You are my disciple'.

I stumbled backwards away from him. The love was too much, too painful. Looking into his eyes I knew I had been born with all that love, but I had killed it in myself. The blood on my hands was because I had murdered myself. I had crushed the flower of my sexuality through fear. I had denied my own wonder and value in the world, looking to others for guidance. I had killed Christ in me - Christ who was the splendour of my own life and love if I dared to live it - my own birthright. But he had touched my hands, and I went to each of the people in the group and put my hands on them, trying to rub some of that magic onto them.Thomas.

As can be seen from Thomas's description, the image of Christ holds in it not only the power of self-revelation for him, but also the relationship of teacher to disciple, and transforming love for one in need of wholeness. Thomas cannot help but think of Christ as separate from himself, even though at the same time he realises with deep emotion, that he is gazing at and being touched by his own wholeness, his own potential.

This paradox needs to be remembered not only when meeting the Redeemer archetype, but almost any archetype. Also implicit in this meeting is the possibility that because confronting ones own wholeness and seeing ones own guilt, or the smallness of oneself, can lead to great personal transformation, it may lead the present personality, as it is at the moment, to dying and being left behind. Thus the meeting with Christ may include a personal experience of death and resurrection.

So the experience of meeting Christ may be a representation of the denied force of joyous life within - denied out of attempting to live social or religious rules and regulations, or social pressure to conform. Therefore, because ultimately we are an integral part of the universe, and have no existence outside of it, when we meet Christ/our wholeness and potential, we also become aware in some degree of the hugeness we are a part of or an expression of. We meet a sense of eternity, an awareness of the symbiotic - or cooperative processes or forces - operative in human life and the cosmos.

The Sunday School or Church Christ: This is another aspect of the Christ archetype and depicts social norms, the generally accepted morals and social rules. This 'Christ' comes about because the church tends to represent traditional values and national history, and attempts to press people to live these values. The dreamer may have a child-like relationship with this Christ, or if attempting to be self responsible, be in conflict with it. Some people find this Christ has a castrating role in their life, and flee in horror. In fact this aspect of social indoctrination may lead to such a burden of guilt and suppression that it can create psychic cripples. Trying to do all the 'right' things may lead us to the point where 'we can't say no to a glass of water without a pang of guilt.'

Two of the great forces that push at the human soul or psyche are, firstly, social pressure, such as the moral norm; and secondly, biological pressures such as the sex drive. Individuals may fight a lifelong battle with one or the other of these. The social criminal typifies battle with social authority pressures and rules; the ascetic and the bulimic battle with biological drives.

These two forces can be seen in the symbols of Christ and Mary Magdalene. The battle of these two immense forces is not really won until there is the marriage or unity between the two. The following dream and its exploration illustrate this dynamically.

I was in the basement of the house where I lived in London. I had taken some floorboards up. Underneath I saw a large white serpent or worm, somehow connected with a dead evil woman like a force of destruction and evil. I seemed to understand the evil could corrupt all of London, that it lived in a great underground lake that existed and are all of London. I pocked at the serpent with a piece of wood and it came to life and plunged into the earth. There seemed to be an air filled hole that I poked into and the wood I was using was wrenched away from my hands.

My family thought I was crazy because I was trying to tell them about this and sent for a doctor. I was very pleased to see him because he was very unbiased, though not believing - nor disbelieving. I explained my experience and feelings. With him there I dared to poke at the floor with a long scaffold pole. The pole was ripped from my grasp by some force below. Then we tied the pole to a beam and it ripped part of the beam off. I felt there was enough power to tear down my house if I had used it as an anchor. Then I saw Christ standing on my right, and the terrifying woman on my left, and they came together and the evil was neutralised - but so was the power of Christ. Mathew

Mathew saw the Christ figure as the moral norm in the society he was raised; a morality he had struggled with all his life. The woman he experienced as the urges such as his sexual needs, with which he had also struggled. When Christ and the woman merged he felt enormous peace.

The positive aspect of 'Sunday School Christ' is that prior to maturing enough to take realistic self and social responsibility, people need guidelines for behaviour. They often yearn for security or certainty. Religion in the form of powerful positive declarations of 'truth', supply this need for many people. For such people, making personal decisions in the face of the ever shifting external situations is enormously stressful. So organised and dogmatic religion is of great strength to them.

The Ideal Christ: This is yet another facet of this archetype, and is the psychological process which causes us not to take responsibility for our own highest ideals; our own yearnings for the good; our own most powerful urges arising against what we see as evils in the world. This influences us to wait for a sign from Christ in our dream in order to gain authority, or to overcome the anxiety associated with the drive. We want God to say we should act in a certain way because we are not willing to be self responsible.

Example: 'I stood outside a castle. It was closed and guarded by soldiers in armour. Wondering how to get in I thought that if I dressed and acted as a soldier I would be allowed entrance. It worked and inside Christ met me and said he had important work for me to do.' Sonia.

The closely guarded secret is Sonia's own impulses to do some sort of socially creative work. She doesn't want to own them as her own. It is much easier if she can say 'Christ told me to do this.' In this way she avoids direct encounter with opposition and has a feeling that she has greater authority than her own.

The Healing Christ: The Christ archetype has powerful healing influence for many people.

Example: 'A fierce battle was raging with bullets flying. I immediately fell down and 'played dead'. It wasn't that I was hurt in any way, but I didn't want to be at any risk in the fight. As I lay there I saw a tall well built man in soldiers uniform walk to me. He gave no sign of any fear concerning the bullets, and quietly knelt beside me. I felt he was Christ, but was confused by him being a soldier. He placed a hand on my back and gradually worked his fingers under the shell of a large limpet type creature that I had never before known was parasitically attached to my back. I could feel him pull it away, but knew its tentacles still ran right into my chest. He then sat me up and told me how I could rid myself of the tentacles and so be healed.' Peter Y.

Peter, whose dream this was, had a debilitating psychosomatic illness at the time of the dream, causing pain where the tentacles ran. The shell is his defences against feeling his own hurts and inner conflicts. The dream shows him contacting a strength which is not afraid of his internal battlefield or conflicts, and can show ways of healing real human problems. The healing rests upon the dreamer's conscious action, not Christ's, suggesting the dreamer taking responsibility for his own situation. Peter realised he had been avoiding his own internal battles, but felt he had found a strength - in the Big Man - which would support his efforts to find healing. In fact he met his conflicts and grew beyond his ailments.

Peter's conflicts were between his love for his children and his sexuality. The Christ he met was his own undammed life, the flood of loving sexuality, the strength to burst through social rules and regulations because love or life pushes. When we find it in ourselves we don't give a hang about bullets, death, right or wrong, because we have a sense of our own integral existence within life, and our own rightness and place in eternity.

The Integral or Cosmic Christ: Each of us have, perhaps deep in their unconscious, a sense of connectedness with the whole, with the cosmos. Perhaps it is best to call this our own wholeness, which incorporates all the light and darkness in us, all the expressed and the potential. We may be little aware of this. We may be denying it sceptically as Lester is in the example below.

Example: 'I am a journalist reporting on the return of Christ. He is expected on a paddle steamer going upstream on a large river. I am very sceptical and watch disciples and followers gather on the rear deck. The guru arrives, dressed in simple white robes. He has long, beautiful auburn hair and beard, and a gentle wise face. He begins to tap a simple rhythm on a tabla or Indian drum. It develops into complex intermingling of orchestral rhythms as everyone joins in. I now realise he is Christ, and feel overwhelmed with awe as I try to play my part in the music. I'm tapping with a pen and find myself fumbling. A bottle or can opener comes to me from the direction of Christ. I try to beat a complementary rhythm, a small part of a greater, universal music.'Lester S.

Finding this inner connection with things can enrich all that we do in life, even if it is a very humble thing like Lester's can opener. The awareness of connectedness and wholeness brings with it a realisation of taking part in the unimaginably grand drama of life. It gives a feeling, no matter what the state of our body, crippled or healthy, that we have something that makes any faults insignificant. It doesn't take all the difficulties out of life, but it is a wonderful companion on the way. We come to know that at base we are a wonderful shining being, and that life and its circumstances and events, are a way in which we are learning to let that internal wonder shine out.

Another way of looking at this is by seeing Christ as a process. Christ might then be seen as a collective identity arising in the consciousness of humanity. This relates to us as individuals much as our identity relates to the cells of our body. Just as our identity survives the death of billions of cells in our lifetime, so the Christ consciousness survives our death and change, integrates our experience, transcends our function, and has a personal relationship with us.

When we meet this aspect of ourselves in a personal experience very real changes occur. I often use the analogy of adolescence because, prior to becoming an adolescence we might read about it and think we understand it. But when we actually enter teenage it is deeply personal and life changing in many and varied ways. Entering the awareness of Christ in ones life is the same.

Explaining this in another way - while we live a self-centred life - i.e. while we feel our ego and its boundaries of experience are all we have - we hold on to certain things or ways of life. When we grow beyond that point, when we enter the universal awareness that Christ depicts, we cannot pass through that door while still holding onto self-centred motivations. You can only enter the universal while carrying things that stand beyond self interest.

In dreams and religion Christ is also represented as the son of the Cosmos or God. This aspect of Christ possibly comes about because of a sense many people have that the origin of their personal life is from beyond the Earth. This powerful urge to see oneself as more than a physical body is symbolised by Christ, a being who transcends physical boundaries. Perhaps this is why the film ET is so moving for many.

Human beings of all ages have, when opening to the influence of their larger perceptions during meditation, trance, prayer, or drug use, experienced awareness of love existing behind the creation of things, a love that is the source of the big-bang itself, a love that willingly died that we might exist. Humanity became aware of this at a particular stage of the development of self-awareness. The arrival at this stage of self-awareness was expressed in what we know as the historical Jesus. The internal awareness of the love that gave us being was projected outwardly and became the Christian Myth.

As one man who encountered Christ said, "Christ is like the sun, a principle of nature. No one can own it, although different individuals or groups can relate to it or use it in various ways, as happens with electricity. The Roman Catholic Church cornered the market so to speak. Prior to the Council of Nicaea there was a free market. You could say the church fenced off a beach and started charging people to go to it on Sundays. And there are different names for this natural principle in different languages."

Useful questions are:

What aspects of the Christ archetype, if any, am I influenced by?

Am I repulsed or held by the influence of the 'live by these rules' pressure?

Am I helped by the belief there is a divine loving presence?

Do I feel the power of an inner wonder and potential I am allowing into my life?

In recognising my relationship with Christ, can I evolve it to something more satisfying?

Another Link To Check Out: Jung Society of Atlanta - Christ, a Symbol of the Self.