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What it's All About:
I have to apologize for the uneven quality of the audio. I am still getting used to editing on new software. You’ve all heard that there are White Supremacists out there pretending to be pagan. But that is not what we are all about. We are a collective group that includes individuals from every background imaginable - ethnicities, sexualities, gender, and abilities. This podcast is a platform to celebrate the vastness of what we call paganism. And this episode is no exception. But this is not the only one out there. |I will explain more in this podcast.
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Qareen/Qarin
Dream Symbol: (There are three)
Photo by Sander Sammy on Unsplash
Abduction
Photo by Dainty Dystopia on Unsplash
Acid
Photo by szm 4 on Unsplash
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Transcript:
(03:56)
Welcome to another episode of the Music From the Goddess’ Vault Podcast. I am your host, Midnight Starr. You heard Fay Brotherhood sing Invincible. Today’s episode is all about inclusivity in paganism. First, let’s get some stuff out of the way. If you love this program, show some support for the Music From the Goddess’ Vault Podcast on glow.fm. You either pay five dollars a month, fifty a year, or just splurge and get a one-time fee of twenty bucks. All you have to do is check it out: http://www.glow.fm/musicfromthegoddessvaultpodcast. You can also make a donation to http://www.ko-fi.com/goddessvault or http://www.patreon.com/goddessvault. Keep up to date with Music From the Goddess’ Vault Podcast by signing up to my newsletter. You'll be in the loop when new shows appear. You can access past episodes by paying $7 a month or $70 a year. Or you can subscribe for free at http://musicgoddessvault.substack.com. That's http://musicgoddessvault.substack.com. If you have any ideas for this show, you can get in touch with me via the blog, https://goddessvault1.wixsite.com/home. Music From the Goddess' Vault Facebook page. Check me out on TikTok at Midnight Starr (with two r's and the number two). Instagram and Twitter @goddessvault. And on Mastodon at @goddessvault@witches.live. I also have another Mastodon instance at midnightstarr2@pagan.plus you can contact me one. Now for the topic: Inclusivity in paganism. I have to get a bit off-topic here. I forgot to mention one thing in my show about ADHD Pagans. I forgot to mention that I have that, but I also have a duo diagnosis. An MRI scan a year ago revealed I have Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum. The Corpus Callosum connects to the left and right hemispheres and acts as a communication center. Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum is a rare defeat or disease involving the partial or complete absence of the Corpus Callosum. This happens during the third trimester of pregnancy. I mentioned that it's rare, that it affects one in every 4,000 births. There are two types of Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum: Partial (Which I have) and full. Those born without a Corpus Callosum suffer severe impairments, developmental delays, seizures, learning difficulties, and more. Partial ACC can cause problems with developmental delays, learning disabilities, eating and swallowing, mental processing, and social interaction, to name a few. But it depends on the individual. ACC is usually diagnosed in early childhood, before the age of two. However, there are a few people, like me, diagnosed with this defect in adulthood. Although there is no cure, people with ACC can live a long life. Now, returning to the topic of inclusivity in paganism. I mentioned ACC because paganism includes people of different genders, backgrounds, ability, and neurodiversity. There are many pagans out there who are also autistic, or who have ADHD, or both. I just have ADHD, which stems from a rare and invisible disability. I found out about this topic from a Pagan organization on Mastodon. I'm going to cover them and inclusivity in paganism in general. Now, let's hear some tunes: Misconceptions by Cloud the Pagan Rapper.
(11:40)
To me, the best thing about being a pagan is that you get to meet everyone, no matter what they look like, who they love, and their disability. There is a wide range of us out there. Plus, there’s a wide variety of paths that all of us can follow. Some of these paths are cultural and some are not. We also talk about cultural appropriation and how we are concerned about not offending anyone if we decide to on a path that is not of our own ancestry. I've seen plenty of LGBTQ+ pagans. And I have seen a few who are not white. This is great. What’s even better, as I mentioned before, is that there are many of us who are neurodivergent. If you are wondering, neurodivergent is just another way of saying that we think differently than those who are neurotypical or normal brained. I'm aware I'm not the only pagan who loves that this is the only path that takes others with no questions asked. Unlike Christianity and other major religions, paganism doesn't judge people like the LGBTQ+ community. There are others who have health or mobility issues. I just read a Wild Hunt article, that is in the show notes, about pagans who have disabilities liking the idea of doing rituals via Zoom during the pandemic. Some could hear better online than they could in a large group. There are pagans out there who have arthritis, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, or are wheelchair bound and/or have service animals with them. I won't forget that everyone's equal in the pagan world, no matter what gender they are. Talking about this subject is something I love to do, and there's lots of information on the web about it. I actually found out that there are two websites on this topic. I will talk about both after you hear The Horned God by Kellianna.
(16:55)
Time for another Spirit Guide of the Week. This spirit guide was requested from kahumahu (I hope that I pronounce that right) on pagan.plus. I am going to the Middle East and North Africa to talk about the spirit Qarin. They are more of a spirit than they are a deity. That is because a Qarin could be your shadow, alter ego, reflection, spirit double, or doppelgänger. They are the spirit that is born and die the same time that their human counterparts do. If the human marries, their shadow does too. The same goes if the human has kids. There is a psychic bond shared between human and spirit. Humans and their Qarin live parallel lives, and they do not converse with each other. In Jewish folklore, the humans and spirit are the same gender. In Egyptian and Arabic folklore, each person has a Qarin of the opposite gender. Sometimes the Qarin can be your evil twin. To the point where jealousy may lead to strife. A Qarin can disrupt human relationships. They just want to keep their human to themselves. They might even threaten their human's kids. The Qarin is a part of life in some Semitic countries and feared in others. They can be allies if their health is linked to yours. The good thing is that they cannot kill you because they die with you. There are ways to protect yourself against the Qarin. You can take seven grains, put them in a charm bag and carry, wear, or hang it near a cradle. And shield yourself from your shadow with a fish-shaped amulet. That is it for now. Stay tuned for another spirit guide of the week.
(22:51)
That was Catch the Shadows by Falconer. The website that I connected to and got my attention through Mastodon is inclusivewicca.org. I was just looking through the site seeing who created it and there is no about page there. I suspect that author Yvonne Aburrow is the one behind it. She’s written some books on the subject, including All Acts of Love & Pleasure: Inclusive Wicca. You can find articles on topics like anti-fascism, feminism, sexuality, indigenous people, body positivity, mental health, disability, aging, and more from a pagan perspective on the site. Plus, you can see videos about inclusivity on there. The other website that I found is an accompanying one create by Yvonne Aburrow and Christine Hoff Kraemer, which is paganconsentculture.com. This site is more about how do we become a consent culture when we are a sex positive one. Yvonne mentioned in her video because there is the problem of some people within the pagan community pressuring others into anything sexual that they don’t want to do. And that becomes more like Rape Culture. As someone who was sexually bullied when I was a teenager, I'm familiar with why not everyone is okay with hugging, being touched in certain areas, or situations where they don't want to be naked. There are some people who come into paganism who are already victims of sexual assault. This site encourages every pagan group to discuss consent among the group members. So that is something to look into as well. Anyway, you can look at those two websites yourself. Once again, they are inclusivewicca.org and paganconsentculture.com.
Let’s get back to some music. How about We Are the Power in Everyone by Reclaiming.
(27:56)
Here's another dream symbol to interpret. The three symbols are Abduction, Acid and Advertisement. When you are abducted in a dream, it usually signifies that someone or something is controlling you. A dream in which you are being abducted suggests that you are hanging onto something that you should let go of. If you saw an abduction in your dream, it represents you feeling powerless. Acid in dreams typically denotes feelings of anger, fury, or desire for retribution. Dreaming that you drank acid suggests that you are emotionally stuck and must learn how to communicate with others. If you dream about acid rain, you have probably been duped. You're allowing vengeance and hatred to rule over and define you. If you see yourself browsing through advertisements in your dreams, this could be a subconscious message for you. A dream in which you were placing an advertisement suggests that you must strive hard to accomplish your objectives. And if you see someone you know in an advertisement in your dream, it may be a sign that they can support you in your current predicament. If you want a dream symbol to interpret and maybe have a dream symbol featured, I will mention the contact information at the end of this show. So keep dreaming.
(32:43)
Again, if you are driving or doing something that needs your attention, please skip ahead. This track is on the album Living Meditation, Vol. 2: Guided Meditations with David Harshada Wagner by Music for Deep Meditation. It's called 8 Minute Power Meditation.
(41:44)
Before the meditation, you heard Chainless by Leslie Hudson. That is it for this show. Again, I am your host, Midnight Starr. Got an idea for a show topic, spirit guide or dream symbol? Share it on the website https://goddessvault1.wixsite.com/home, through the Facebook page, TikTok at Midnight Starr with r’s 2, Instagram and Twitter at goddess vault. On Mastodon at goddessvault@witches.live and midnightstarr2@pagan.plus. If you want to help keep this show going, you can donate money to either https://www.ko-fi.com/goddessvault,https://www.patreon.com/goddessvault, or you can become a fan on https://www.glow.fm/goddessvaultpodcast. If you want to be the first to hear the latest episode, you can sign up for the newsletter, https://musicgoddessvault.substack.com.
I am going to leave you with Balance in All Things by Crow Women. Blessed Be.
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