Lost in Religion

Am I slowly becoming an Atheist?

I have done so much research into so many religions, and still need to do more of course, and thought I found Wicca to be mine, but it's not really.  I hardly follow any of the holidays of esbats and my alter is in complete shambles.

Perhaps it is from pure laziness, but I think structured religion of any sort isn't for me.  I can feel the spirituality of the earth and plants, but I feel like I waste too much energy trying to connect.  I rather focus on my art and make it my religious experience.

by Purnima Koli

With this lack of motivation in keeping a traditional Wiccan calendar I think I need to stop wasting my energy looking for spirituality and just let it happen naturally though my art.  This could be a newfound magick for me, perhaps I just need to stop neglecting it.

I know there are witches out there who have no religious connection, perhaps this is the path for me, considering there is nothing invalid about perusing your art and making a soulful connection to the world, I find a special solace rather than panic in evolving my perspective on the many paths people take spiritually.

Honestly, the words, the practice, the calendar never sat well with me, but I tried and explored, however I feel hallow when I shallowly try and have decided to let my heart take me where I should be.

I will not stop posting, but the journey has changed.

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.

Has it really been a month?

It really has been about a months since I last wrote and I apologize for being so busy!  I had a wonderful-stressful Halloween (Samhain), but mostly due to decorating my house.  I added the photos to my Flicker account, so enjoy!

Again, I've been so busy with my art and trying to get back into school I haven't taken to time to focus on my spirituality.

For starters, crazy hoarding lady is gone, I no longer work for her and I no longer work with my original nanny family.  Their pre-schooler is going to school now and the mom decided to quit work and stay at home.  I hope the best for them.

I work for a new family now, two kids, 5 and 11 and I am happy with the pay and hours.

Right now I'm going to focus on my art until school begins, I'm starting the winter quarter, and I'm actually happy I'm going back to school.  My older sister, wants me to finish my Creative Writing degree, but I want my Early Childhood education units and to be certified so I can have a better job and then finish my degree.

It took months for the IRS to fix my tax paper issue so I could even go back to school, so there is nothing I could do anyway, plus I'm in good standing at the junior college and need the GPA boost to go back to state.

I'm not too worried about money, I'm content, but my sister worries.  I'm glad she worries because it will help me see through my already started degree.

Altogether, really busy, but it's nice to leave a little update, I miss writing here, but I have to promote my Etsy store too, and that can be a full time job.

Getting Married the Right Way?

by Ralf Roletschek

I just read an article from Fox News, I know, already red flags going up right?  The title of the article was "Waiting Until the Wedding Night-Getting Married the Right Way".  

If you do read the article, the one I linked has added animated gifs, *snort*, there were some words I found to be absolutely hilarious.

snookered
schlepping
floozies
charlatans

I felt like I was on a blast to the past!  I also wondered if he used thesaurus on Microsoft Word to find "intelligent" words for his opinion.

Good for you, you waited for marriage.  But the ignorance spewing out of his mouth makes me shake my head in shame that you call yourself a Christian.  A person who, by definition, should be "Christ like".  

Jesus accepted everyone, from whores to tax collectors and called for people to love your neighbor.  Instead, this man decides to judge strangers he will never meet, focus on his "right" way of thinking, and criticize another married couple instead of enjoying time with his wife.

I understand everyone can be a hypocrite, but this man takes the cake for backsliding just by is pompous attitude. 

Marriage has grown and evolved over time and has not always been between a man and a woman.  There wasn't always Christian marriage sir, the Pagans had it first.

Busy Painting My Life On Etsy

Hi everyone, I know I haven't written in this blog in a while but here is why:

Alice looking at a cardboard tree.

Zombies Don't Eat Cows, will be shown in October at Great Bear Coffee in Los Gatos.

Rainbow City, avaliable on Etsy.

A present for my niece's birthday

Custom order for a friend.

I've done all of these paintings in the last few weeks.  I also opened an Etsy store, ADD Anonymous, and been working away on more paintings and sales.

I'm just so inspired and finally happy that I can't stop, however, I think I shouldn't ignore my audience, so I will be posting about my art here, as well as on my other blog.

My art is apart of my religious path and I'm just so happy I found a creative outlet.

Blessed be!

New Store On Etsy

I just opened up a shop on Etsy called ADD Anonymous, I don't know how much Pagan related items I will put on there, however, I'm really excited and open to any advice.

One question is gnawing on my brain; is it worth it to create a shop related blog?

I have so many blogs under my true name, but I always fall out.  This is actually my most consistent blog if you can believe that!

Two items are in the shop now and more will be on the way.  I'm going to create more and hope for the best.

If you are already on Etsy, drop me a line and favorite me, I will do the same because who doesn't need some positive karma.

Blessed be
to you and me.

Selling Paintings

I have some paintings on Craigslist:

Oh No Snow White!
20X24
Mixed Media
$75

Lonely Star

19X25

Acrylic

$30

Caution Zombies Ahead
30X26
Mixed Media
$75

Please contact me if you have any questions about the paintings.