The Disney Princess Example

by Lepidlizard

I've watched many Disney movies in my youth, and adulthood, and looking back I see the same themes presenting themselves, mainly, for little girls.  One of these themes was the dependence of a male hero to "rescue" the female protagonist.

Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella were all tired examples of this theme.  Some movies, like Mulan, edge away from this damsel in distress and actually have the male protagonist follow the lead of the female protagonist, however, even in the more modern princess films the female was still put down by a male hero.

The Princess and the Frog was a story with a strong female character, Tiana,  who worked hard for her life and everything in it and it was snatched away from her just before she was turned into a frog.  Only after she collects a man does Tiana realize her restaurant business, even when the bankers said before they found another offer.

What did this story teach young girls?  You can work hard, but it doesn't mean you will achieve your dreams without a man to support you.

Many of the earlier Disney princess movies were subject to a nuclear family setting, but even the modern ones fall short to have a strong female character.

Another similarity throughout the films were the age of the girls:
Snow White-14
Sleeping Beauty-16
Cinderella-18
Ariel-16
Belle-16
Jasmine-16
Tiana-19
Rapunzel -18
Giselle-20

All of these girls were very young to even think about getting married.  Disney raised the age of marriage infatuation over the years, but the place for fairy tale romance pushes girls as well as the pressures of college and becoming a super woman to manage it all.

Even in the animated and live action movie Enchanted princess Giselle never has to fend for herself.  She tries to facedown the dragon, however, this was taken away from her by an overweight chipmunk. Giselle does make the decision to have a "real" relationship and she does sacrifice her child-like perception of love, but she keeps her 

by Raul654

princess magic to create  children's clothing.

Some of these reasons maybe why Disney decided not to do any more princess themed movies, at least for now.  However, the constant promotion of this image of what a girl should want from a young age cannot be healthy. 

There was room for the Disney girl in the past, however, as times have changed so must the franchise, especially if it wants to empower girls.

Spontaneous or Structured Rituals

by Fer Doirich

I really do try to plan for a ritual, but life doesn't always give me enough time to go through the entire process I like.  My process may differer from others, but if I really have the time this is my process:

1. I prepare all of my tools, herbs, oils and whatever else I need.

2. Take a shower and visualize the water cleansing me.  You can rub with salt, but I use a nice organic soap and it doesn't irritate my skin.

3. I put on some loose fitting clothes.  I live in an urban area so I can't exactly go skyclad.

4. I try to go outside and do my ritual, but sometimes the weather doesn't permit.

5. I then ground myself, Ariel has a great meditation for this, #26 Lesson 2 (A)

6. Lastly, cast circle and I preform my ritual.

by Nyo

Sometimes I skip one or two steps, but I always try to ground myself so I'm not up for the next week bubbling with energy.  I remember my first Esbat and I did not ground myself, I was up for a week beeming with energy, but I was so tired.

I really do try to plan out most of my rituals, mainly because I like to make an effort.  There are only 21 rituals a year, unless I decide to do a spell.  I haven't really done any spells lately, I haven't the need, really I just need to work on my mundane life mundanely.

Going through the effort is a sign of respect to the dieties, directions and any other enities called upon.  I'm inviting them to my ritual, being prepared is just curtious.  It would be just rude to throw it together last minitue and hope for even an average expierence.

How do you prepare for your ritiuals?