Annapurna is the Hindu goddess of food: The Mother Who Feeds

Annapurna is the Hindu goddess of food: The Mother Who Feeds.
"In this world, apart from our spiritual practice, there is no other place or power that we can rely on." Supreme Master Ching Hai

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Hosting the Archangels

My sister sent me an email asking me if I wanted to host the archangels this week. I had never heard of it, but apparently it's something well known to Spiritualists, Christians, Wiccans, Jews, pretty much everyone except the pasty white of the Mormon faith, which is probably why the concept is so foreign to me. (Or maybe it's the fact that the Mormons never referred to them as archangels, but rather that they believe that archangel Michael was also the first man, Adam (D&C 128:20-21) and that the angel Gabriel is Noah. The angel identified as Raphael by other Christian traditions is also recognized as an angel of significant standing in LDS scripture.)

So the ritual begins by creating some sort of special place in your clean house. (Okay, I dusted, does that count?) An alter if you will. Upon this shelf, alter (or the top of my organ, such as it is) you place a white flower (I found a Jasmine in full bloom... bonus!) a white candle, and an apple. I also gussied it up with a white doily.

Next you write three wishes on a piece of paper. One for yourself, one for your family, and one for Mother Earth. You put those in an envelope and place them next to the candle. You can also write a question on another piece of paper and put it in a separate envelope. At 10:30 the first night, you light the candle and then open your front door to usher in the archangels. There's a script, but basically you just thank them for their presence and treat them like an honored guest. They stay five days, then you thank them and let them out at 10:30 on the fifth night.

My sister has an indigo child. This child did not appreciate the presence of the archangels, and my sister warned me that they caused nothing but upheaval and strife the whole week she hosted. But she blames that on my niece. We'll see what happens this week.

Some background:  The archangels, according to Wikipedia are the highest of the high of celestial beings. They have many different names, depending on which religion you are, but the most common three are Michael, Rafael, and Gabriel. This picture is supposed to be of Michael, slaying Satan. Well, I don't believe in Satan perse, but I do believe in evil energy. So perhaps the gentlemen will keep us free from that this week. I wonder if there are female archangels? If there are, I suppose the patriarchal men who wrote the bible never bothered to mention them.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Sharing is Caring

It's taken me ten years to walk the path out of Mormonism. I've blogged about the experience here recently, but up to that point the pain and agony of the journey was shared with very few people.


For obvious reasons, I don't give my life history/struggles to the world. But this week I came to the realization that not only am I better for having gone through that painful experience, but others can benefit from it.


A friend of mine reached out to me this week, seeking my advice for a friend of his who is walking a similar life-path as I've walked. I shared my story, gave him my take on how he should handle his friend, and hoped for the best.


I was so grateful and humbled by the follow up on this situation. Not only was I able to help my friend put aside some of his pre-conceived ideas about how to help his friend, but he was able to use my story to re-think how he wanted to support and love this friend through his decision, rather than fight him and try to change his mind.


As he put it: "Your email was literally the thing that allowed things to click in my brain in such a way that I finally "got it." 


 I always said: "If I only help one person by sharing, then I will feel that something good came of doing so." This week, one person has been helped. I feel grateful for the blessing of written expression, and for the ability to touch a life.