Runes or Hanji

In western paganism we use magical writing. Magical writing serves as a focus for our will. Words have power and when we focus on that word, we hope to will a change. We usually use other languages to help us, as everyday English is too common and cannot help us focus our thoughts. When we use the other language, in our head we see that that is only the word and nothing else.

When most people think of magical writings, the first system that pops into their heads would be the runic system. Runes are the letters of the old nordic alphabet, each letter can also have a specific meaning. The vikings and other related peoples would use them not just for writing, but also for magic and divination, a practice carried on today in modern paganism and wicca.



But the Chinese characters, called Hanji (or Hanzi) are very old. They are a kind of pictoglyph, pictures that mean words, similar to the ancient Egyptian heiroglyphs, but more advanced and stylized. Hanji has been used for thousands of years and so with being very old, should carry a bit more power than the "newer" rune system. Hanji has found it's way into the New Age group, thanks to Feng Shui, Taichi and Kung Fu. Now it needs to establish itself more into the pagan groups. Paganism is a bit Eurocentric (I know we also use a few ideas from India and the Americas, too) and needs to embrace more of a world culture. I like the idea of using Hanji as part of my magic system.



In Asia, it is already part of their magic system. They use it to write spells and blessings. Here is a picture of a talisman I got from a local temple. They write a protective plea to the gods and then fold it up into a hexagonal ba-gua(lucky mirror) shape. Then they put it into the sheath and wear it for the blessing.

But I know that if you are part of cultural tradition, then you should use the cultures language. So if you are a Hellenist, then use Greek, if you are an Odinist, then use runes. But I do not belong to any one tratition, along with many others. You could incorporate Hanji into your system with relative ease. There are different kinds of Chinese spoken, but the Hanji tends to be mostly the same.

Elf=Asian

Has anyone else noticed that fantasy elves seem to be very Asian. Their body shape is identical, being very thin and having almost no body hair. They have similar faces. And fantasy elves have Asian hairstyles. When was it decided that elves would be Asian? I would like to know that. My son is playing the free online MMORPG game "Fiesta" and the elves there are very Asian. Though, the game was probably made in Korea, so of course with Koreans high level of Xenophobia, they would have made the characters look just like them, though with the gigantic eyes copied from Japanese anime (Koreans copy a lot of things from other cultures. They do have some things that are distinctly theirs, but I found that the majority of things were copied or borrowed from other cultures, with Japan, China and America being the strongest influences. Which is so odd that they copy so much from the other cultures they with them being Xenophobic and so passive aggressive with other cultures. Sorry, I rant about Korea at times still, it happens when you live there for any period of time.)

It is also that the style of their clothes and armor tend to mimic or be influenced by historical asian fashions.

I have also noticed that Asians have become very fond of Elves in anime and comics. My son reads Koren comics still and the elf characters are very popular. Maybe they have picked up that the elves look a lot like them, either consciously or subconsciously.

Lunar New Year

I have got to ask, why is Lunar New Year not an important holiday for western Pagans?

For Eastern pagans, it is a huge event, lasting from a few days, up to a month. They have the festival of lights, they were new clothes for the new year, they visit temples and clean up and give money to their children and grandchildren in lucky red envelopes.

An important symbol of paganism is the moon and it's 13 Lunar months. The lunar calendar was the calendar used widely by our ancestors, before the Roman occupation and Christian invasion, and is still used widely in the Asian world (in conjuction with the "western" calendar.) So, why isn't the conclusion of the 13th month a time of festivity?

Imbolc/Candlemas/Brigid's Day/Feast of Torches, is the holiday that is around the same time as the Lunar New Year. Did this holiday, centered around fire and ewe's milking, displace the Lunar New Year? Why was it deemed so unimportant? I know that some people think of Samhain/Holloween/Hollomas as the new year for pagans, but it was only for the celts(and other closely related tribes), not for the other pagans. Wicca sprang from the old Celtic pagan religion, along with some other pagan ideas. Wicca is the most recognized pagan religion in the west and as such, their Celtic ideas have become the most widespread and accepted pagan practices (you would think it would be the Hellenists, but sadly people seem to dismiss them as followers of a myth (which should be a blasphemy, as I worship some of the Greek gods and find it offensive when people talk about them as if they are nothing but dusty old myths and are not still "living" and being worshipped today.))

"Angels and Demons" strife

Even over hear you can't escape Christianity. Today I have a gripe. First I will say that I have nothing against the Christian religion in general, nor against Jesus and their Idea of God.

The new movie "Angels and Demons" is coming out. I thought the first movie, "The Da Vinci Code" was pretty good. There was way too much hype to it, but that is normal. But to hear that the Vatican and other Christians were activly opposing this films creation was rediculous. They complained that the movie (and book) did not show their religion in a good light and made it all look like joke. So let's get this straight, they seem to be complaining that someone did what they constantly do to everyone else, ever since they decided that if you were not a Christian and you did not have the same Idea of God as them, then you just have to be worshipping the devil.

Some of the things in the movie are not new ideas. People have thought of them before and will again. Like Jesus and Mary Magdelin being married. He may or may not have. Was Jesus the son of God? Well I think he was, in the same way that I am a son of God. We are all the children of God. To me he was a teacher and like any teacher, you should learn from him, but he is not the law.

Now they are going after the second movie and complaining again. An Italian Bishop said that the movie was "highly denigrating, defamitory and offensive."

This makes me want to explode with rage sometimes. Christians attack and belittle every other religion (well Jews are tolerated nowadays and Muslims are sometimes tolerated,) especially the pagan ones, but the moment anyone says anything about their religion they jump up and try to bite you on the rump. I am surprised that they didn't try to sue, like the Scientologists did. All I have to say is GROW UP. Stop acting like babies and just grow up.

So I urge people to go and watch these movies. See something that The Church does not want you to see and make up your own mind. I know Christians like to think of themselves as flocks, but don't be a sheep. Think for yourself!

I must also complain about a book I just saw while looking for good Wiccan and Pagan parenting books. This book is called :Wicca: Satan's little white lie" by William Schnoebelen. This book says that Wiccans actively recruit members and that it looks nice at first but then you find out it is really Satan worship!!!! Can you say attack on another religion? First, why was it on a recomended booklist from Amazon when I am a Wiccan? First off, there is no devil in Wicca. There is a God and a Goddess, whom together comprise all of creation. Any God or Goddess in history are masks of these two. Second, when have we ever actively recruited anyone. No one recruted me. I made the choice of my own free will without actually even talking to anyone. Also, while I am teaching my son my religion, I have already told him it is up to him to choose waht he wans in the future, so I also teach him about other religions so he can make up his mind (but I told him no Mormonism, to Islam and no Evangelist as these are all intolerant.) That is how our religion is different, we give the choice. You should write the author of this book and complain about his spreading of wrong information and for spreading hatemongering. We have had enough Torquemadas to last us for all eternity.

Pagans and toys

Living in Asia you get to see what the west may have been like if it was not forcefully converted to Chritianity. In Taiwan and Japan there are temples around every corner. They still do their traditional festivals, and those festivals were not covered up Christian names and ideas to appease the church. It is a great feeling of release to not have to worry about Christians constantly trying to convert you (like they used to do to us in Korea,) or harassing you just for being non-Christian.

I like to see and experience the panganism here. My son and I visit many temples. We like to collect the charms they offer and make prayers to the gods and buddhas for their blessings. My son collects toys here (I will admit that I do as well.) The toys are of the gods, lucky animals and mythic creatures. It is easy to find them and a great way to teach your children about the gods and mythic creatures. It reminds me of how the Navajo, Zuni, Hopi and other Pueblo indians used to give their daughters Kachina dolls as a way to help teach them about the spirits and gods.

Kachina dolls

Here you see a set of my sons toys from Taiwan. In the front are the mythic beasts of the Lung: the dragon, Ki-lin: the dragon unicorn, and Xuanwu: the dragon Turtle. In the middle are lucky animals, the leopard, a 3 legged toad, a mouse from the year of the mouse and a golden cow from the year of the cow. In the back are Buddha and the god of fortune.

This is a group of god toys. They were give to me by one of my students parents. They are part of a collection offered from a minimart here last summer. I recognize 4 of them, but I don't know who the other 2 are.

Here is the add for the toys

This is a wrathful buddha statue made for a child to use for devotion.

When I return to America and get my own place again, I want to help my son set up and altar and he can use some of these toys for it. It is a kids altar and shouldn't be so serious, so having toys of the gods is a great way for him to learn about altars and devotion. That is what they do here and it is a good lesson learned. I haven't seen any pagan parents mention this, though it doesn't mean they don't do this. Most set up nature altars and let the kids put whatever they want on it, and this is a great way too, but I want my son to grow up with the gods and know them as he would any member of the family, as kids did in the ancient days. Also, as toys, the kids can play with them and carry them around and the gods will be with them always.

I wish there were more toys like this in America, but all I have seen were some Greek and Egyptian ones, and only of the well known gods and goddesses. I actually got some Egyptian ones before I moved overseas, when being a father was just in the back of my mind, and am happy that they will be used as my son likes the Egyptian god Horus. There is also the comic book version of gods, like Thor. Though he doesn't "look like" the original god, it could still be used for and altar and devotion. (a god can look like whatever it wants and are often pictured with a variety of appearences, while most people imagine the god Thor being a burly redhead with a beard, there is nothing wrong with him looking like a handsome, blond, cleanshaven Nordic man. Think of it as his modern updated appearance.) I can't find a whole lot of others though. It may be hard to find what you are looking for. If all else fails, you can make your own (just remodel an action figure.) Final Fantasy has some gods and mythic creatures to use. Also there other games, like Warcraft, where some of the figures can be used. The Night Elf druid could be used as an image of the horned god, as an example. Japan makes many god toys, you have to hunt for them though. Good job Japan, stepping up to supply other pagan peoples with toys and minitures of their gods and mythic creatures. I was lucky enough to go to Japan several times, and I always checked out the toy stores, whether new or used, looking for things like this, and luckily found several.

Horus, from a group of educational toys, which is what I bought(see above)

Ares, from DC comics

Mjolnir, the hammer of Thor, as a toy or model

Odin and Sleipnir, from Final Fantasy

Cthulhu, which I would use as an image of the undefinable elder gods, rather than the horror story cult figure.

If you have a baby or young child, then maybe you could get a plushy, so that they can truly grow up with the gods and if you can't find the god(s) that you are looking for, then learn how to sew and make your own.

Anubis plushy

Marvel Comics Thor plushy

Ganesh plushy

Cthulhu plushy, for all the cultists out there

Our Shrine

I have had an interest in Buddhim for quite a while. So, now that I am in a country where people worship and pray to Buddha and the boddhisatvas, I feel content. With my fusing of traditional Asian religions and spiritualities, with my Wiccan ones we have brought the Buddha into it.

Here is a shrine we have in my home in Taiwan. I got the two Buddhas (one is on top of the shrine and has the historical Buddha, Kwan Yin and another Boddhisatva sitting together) in Korea, though I don't know if they were from there originally as they have Chinese writing on the bottom (but Koreans did, and still do a little, use Chinese writing.) The shrine itself is from here in Taiwan. We found it in an old ruined house. I think it was destroyed in an earthquake. My son and I cleansed, both physically and spiritually, and set it up for us. The charms are all from Taiwan. To get the benefit of the charm, we should wear them, but I prefer to keep their energies at the shrine until I am in great need of them. We have our athames in front of the shrine to get its energies. The athames are miniature reproductions of Chinese and Japanese warrior swords. The flowers came from some trees in the park. They had fallen off, so we did not even pick them. We set up the flowers for the Spring Equinox festival.

My son next to the shrine.

New Direction

I have decided to change this blog. Originally I used it to talk about my personal spiritual quest, as well as my sons. But with us moving around Asia right now, and my son having never met another Wiccan or pagan before, I decided to use this as a compare and contrast opinion board for some Oriental(1) and wiccan(2) religious ideas. That will include Chinese folk religion, Shintoism, Taoism, Buddhism and other religious and spiritual ideas that I find.

I find it appropriate to do this considering that my family is now a fusion of Eastern and Western and so my religious life should reflect that. I don't like the idea of simply making my new son part of my religion, but of exploring both of ours together and see what we can make of it.



*Notes*
1(I realize that some Asians hate this term, but it just means Eastern. I don't get upset if I am called an Occidental person)

2(here I use wiccan in a much broader sense of many European pagan ideologies)

Seed mantra of the medicine buddha, a buddha I have taken a liking to.