Kung Fu Pagan?!

I finally found the words for what I've been trying to describe: wu wei. It's hardly indigenous to Pagan thought; in fact, it's a Taoist concept. Yet I believe it fits in perfectly with my beautiful patchwork faith.

Wu wei literally means no action. As I understand it, it's about acting instead of reacting.

Aesop described a field of reeds bending in the wind instead of falling like the unyielding oak. Yet what I'm talking about is more than plain old resiliency. It's being so here, so grounded in who and what you are and where you belong in the universe, that nothing outside of yourself can make you become something else. It is a paradox, like the words 'act natural.' It is acting natural, without acting.

What does it mean to me? It means I sing the songs that reflect my own beliefs, instead of trying to filk the heck out of someone else's. It means my attitude is not anti-something, so much as it is pro-something. And when I raise energy with a purpose, well, I was raising it anyway, so let's put it to good use while we're at it.

The corollary: if I am to be spiritually agile, ready to flow like a kung fu master, if I am to be centered and flexible enough to act on what I act on, I can't very well put my faith in a dusty old box with the holiday decorations, rummage around for it when I need it, and look at it once a year. It must live every day, the Divine moving within me, as me.

And it does.

I'm not perfect, but I'm here. It is good.

Eggs for Beltane?

Coloring eggs with natural dyes is a little bit like learning your Pagan path. You find a lot of information that's been passed along by people who never tried it or checked it out, just found it in writing somewhere. Some of it works and makes sense. Some doesn't.

And most people make it way too complicated.

You don't need a different vegetable or herb for each color of egg. Just start with the primary colors and dip the eggs in a second dye to achieve secondary colors. Beet juice makes pink. Red cabbage makes blue (yes, really). Turmeric makes yellow (you can use curry powder). Most of the other dye suggestions either don't dye the egg (spinach) or make it a color you don't want (gray from hibiscus petals--go figure). 

Heat up the dye bath before the eggs go in. I boiled mine IN the dye baths. Also, include a little white vinegar to make the color stick. It takes a while (hours, in some cases), but it works.

Oh yeah, the calendar. The Wiccan flavored Ostara was a month ago, but today is Easter Sunday. I have a single 'Easter lily' blooming out front exactly on time, which is unheard of. I say this Easter is as Pagan as the earlier one, except that we're past the spring equinox. Bunnies, chicks, flowers, and eggs are a lot easier to associate with new life all around us than with a certain theology.

I did participate in a lovely public Beltane ritual last night, except that Beltane isn't for a couple more weeks. Late Ostara, early Beltane.

Call this a spiritual brunch.