Hey, Readers,
It took me three EXTRA LONG tries to upload my Pagan Perspective video this week about trance work. It finally posted today, a day late, while I was at rehearsal. I made it public even though Eric's video was already up by then, so his video shows at the Featured Video today. But that's okay, people will find it! Not everyone watches our videos on the first day they're up, anyway.
So because it took so long to put the video up, and because I had a script written out that I used for the video, I thought I would post the text version here. The video does vary slightly from this script, and I elaborated a little more on a couple things in the video. Otherwise, this basically covers it! It was a short video this week (so I thought it would upload quicker, but noooo, I had to have trouble!).
This week's topic:
from MrAbhainn [pron.: owh-anne] / Níall
--"I'd like to hear your thoughts on the growing trend of trance work in modern paganism and witchcraft. With a collection of Traditional Wiccans and Ecstatic Witches on the channel as well as solitaries whose individual paths are varied should be interesting. Trance work is a large area so I am as always very open to people interpreting as they will, whether it be trance seership/prophecy or possession such as with loas or orishas. Drawing down the Moon/Sun is another form or godform assumption."
Script:
--Trance work is not just in paganism/witchcraft. It is found in many religions and spiritualities, and even non-religious environments where the focus is more on what actually does on in our body and mind.
--I think it's really popular because there are so many different ways to go about it that people who are interested in it don't have to do something they're uncomfortable with, they can use another method that fits them. Just like meditation in general. A lot of things that people hear are beneficial or just really cool, such as meditation, yoga, lucid dreaming, ecstatic dancing, or generally reaching an "altered state of consciousness", are elements of trance. Daydreaming or getting really focused on a specific task is also trance, any time you slip into another level of consciousness or focus and other things are sort of blocked out.
--I don't personally know about any GROWING trend within the community, because so much of trance work is what I think of as things that the pagan-related community already does, like meditation or astral travel or any number of things. So I can't really comment on why I think there is a growth in the trend because I'm not directly involved enough to have observed an increase from the past until now.
--However, with the mention of seership, possession, and so on, I will say that I have never used trance with the goal of having another spirit speak through me, or anything. It's usually on my own and any messages I receive are for me so it doesn't have to do with another spirit coming into mine or using mine to communicate audibly, as with Oracles or seers.
--For me trance is all about getting to another level of consciousness where messages can come through or skills can be worked on, but it's never about bringing those things through to someone else or being a transmitter, although I do recognize that as another part of trance, but it's not what I personally have worked on.
--Drawing Down the Moon for me is not about bringing the Goddess physically into me and speaking through me or acting as the Goddess, it's just about connection to that energy and where it already lies within me. That's probably a difference due to solitary practice versus coven work, but that's what it is for me.
--There are four links in the description to pages I looked at when refreshing myself on what is considered trance: Wikipedia, a Wiccan page, a blog from someone exploring trance in their own way, and a psychotherapy site. So all that should provide a decent overview of the same basic topic from different perspectives.
That's all I have for this week. Thank you very much for watching, &c.
Resources:
1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trance
2) http://bluemoonwicca.org/trance.html
3) http://herbalwitchcraft.com/blog/2011/10/05/beginning-with-trancework/
4) http://meridianpsych.com/trance-therapy/
Blessings~
-C-
Of all the people on Pagan Perspective, you're the one I like the best, because you do your research before hand. Some of the others will just get on there and say, "I don't know shit about that". Lol. I'm just getting into your personal channel, too. I see you did a lot of T-shirt reconstruction. I did that as well. Super fun.
ReplyDeleteFor a lot of people, I have told them that it's valid to say if their path does not include something, because that's part of learning about that person's path. For example, we used to get questions only about Wicca, which Eric as a Norse pantheist did not use in his path. I told him I would rather him say "This is not part of a Norse view and/or is not part of my personal path," rather than make him try to research and report on a path which was not his, or rather than having a Wiccan substitute cover it. Because I had Eric state when something was not used in his path, people quickly learned that some things do not apply to all paths! And I think that's a big part of the channel.
DeleteEven I look at some questions and think, "That has nothing to do with ANY of our paths" or "I've never even heard of that" and the point has never been to give book reports but to share our own paths. I think sometimes people assume "they are pagan, this is pagan, therefore they can teach us about it." This is not always the case. But we try to learn, too. So yes, if other people on the channel know about a topic and I don't, or if we've all decided to try and cover it, I research it. I don't always, though. I don't always have the time in my day to learn about something I've never heard of, and I figure if I can Google it, so can anyone! =P