Creation's Paths

Join Charlie, a non-binary sci-fi and fantasy writer, and their husband, Brian, as they explore the theological and symbolic meanings behind the Assumption of Mary. This discussion delves into the historical evidence for religious figures, the nature of faith, and the importance of religious stories beyond their factual accuracy. Through a lighthearted and pragmatic lens, the episode navigates complex religious topics, emphasizing the spiritual significance of Mary’s story and its relevance to modern lives. This thoughtful analysis aims to foster a deeper understanding of faith, divine union, and the enduring power of religious narratives.

Thank you for Tips or Donations:

https://ko-fi.com/cedorsett

patreon.com/cedorsett

Substack: https://www.creationspaths.com/

For Educational Resource: https://wisdomscry.com

For all of the things we are doing at The Seraphic Grove go to Creation's Paths https://www.creationspaths.com/

Social Connections:

BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/creationspaths.com

Threads https://www.threads.net/@creationspaths

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/creationspaths/

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction and Purpose

00:14 Meet the Hosts: Charlie and Brian

00:38 The Importance of Lightheartedness in Religion

01:18 Historical Jesus and Mary: Evidence and Beliefs

02:58 The Assumption of Mary: Theological Insights

03:46 The Dormition of Mary: A Third Century Story

05:09 Faith vs. Historical Evidence

08:44 Mary's Role in Christian Theology

11:50 The Ascension of Moses and Michael's Role

12:31 Moses as the Law-Giver and His Farewell

13:33 Mary's Farewell and Her Role as Law-Giver

16:00 The Law of Love and the Agape Feast

16:46 The Assumption of Mary and Its Significance

17:55 Union with God: The Ultimate Goal

19:49 Visualization and Meditation on Divine Moments

21:12 Final Thoughts and Call to Action

In this episode of Creations Paths, Charlie, a non-binary sci-fi fantasy writer, along with their husband, explores the transformative image of Mary as the Tree of Life. Charlie shares their personal journey through faith, the struggles of growing up neurodivergent in an evangelical household, and finding solace in the teachings of Saint Louis de Montfort. The discussion delves into various interpretations of the Tree of Life across traditions, the compassionate and non-judgmental nature of Mary, and how this imagery provided a refuge and deeper connection to the divine. This episode offers powerful insights into practical mysticism and spirituality focused on embracing the divine presence within everyday life.

Support us on: https://ko-fi.com/cedorsett

Become a patron of the arts patreon.com/cedorsett

For Educational Resource: Wisdoms Cry https://wisdomscry.com

For all of the things we are doing at The Seraphic Grove go to Creation's Paths https://www.creationspaths.com/

BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/creationspaths.com

Threads https://www.threads.net/@creationspaths

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/creationspaths/

Transcript:

Charlie- New: [00:00:00] When I was a kid, and I mean kid, I had a lot of struggles. I was undiagnosed with a lot of my neurodivergences. I knew I was different but I didn't really know what queer was and when I did start realizing what that meant I lived in a culture and in a household where that was wrong and I struggled with a lot of things.

Faith was one of those things. I've always had a deep and abiding love for the divine, for Jesus in particular, but I always felt like I was never good enough. And then one of my great aunts gave me a copy of The Secret of the Rosary by Saint Louis de Montfort.

Everything changed. Then I read The Secret of Mary and True Devotion to Mary and all of his other works. I've read everything that is available from him in English. But one of the most powerful thoughts that he ever put into my head is the image of Mary as the [00:01:00] tree of life. So let's talk about that today on Creations Paths.

Intro

hello everybody, my name is Charlie. I'm a non binary sci fi fantasy writer and I'm joined today with my husband.

Brian - New: Hello.

Charlie- New: When we talk about the Tree of Life, there are a couple places that your mind might go to. You might go to the Kabbalistic Tree of the Sephiroth. That's awesome. You might think about the Crann Bethadh, the Celtic Tree of Life. You might think about the Garden of Eden. You might think about St. Bonaventure's wonderful book, The Tree of Life, which is kind of his retelling of the life of Jesus. And yeah, for me, my mind goes to all those places. But primarily, to this image [00:02:00] of Mary. As the tree of life. And this image is born out of the Hail Mary, out of the Ave Maria. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.

Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Which, by the way, used to be where the prayer stopped. So if you've ever prayed the Ave Maria and thought, it should stop there. It used to, and often when I say it, it still does.

This image of the fruit of Mary, Jesus is the fruit of Mary, St. Louis de Montfort into this wonderful mystical theology of Mary as the tree of life and Jesus as the fruit that grows on that tree. The fruit of life, the food of life that gives us everlasting life. And so, in some of the more mystical passages of his writing, he tells us that we are, at the beginning of our faith, granted a seed for the tree, that we [00:03:00] plant within us, and we water it, we cultivate it, we help to remove the weeds from around it, so that Mary might keep growing.

That eventually the tree will bear fruit. And Jesus will be born within us. this imagery saved me as a kid. I don't know if you, um, I grew up in the kind of evangelical cult world that I did. Evangelicalism is a cult. It is a high control group that shuns people who leave it. Trust me, I know.

But perfectionism is so strong in these groups. You have to be perfect. You can't have made any mistakes. You can't have done any of the things that they classify as mistakes. They seem to be minting new mistakes that you can make all the time to help keep people in line and subservient. It's a dangerous, dangerous practice they have.

The image of Mary, my prayers to Mary, [00:04:00] learning to say the Ave Maria, learning to pray the Rosary, really did root me. Into the divine in a way that I never had before. The image of Mary as the tree of life was so powerful for Because, like I've said a million times, I love Jesus. Jesus is my Ishta Devata.

Jesus can be kinda hard to identify with, depending on how you want to put it. conceive of this person. In most schools of Christianity, this is a divine being born into the world to save it.

I am not a divine being born into the world to save it. And I hope, in a lot of ways, none of y'all will. Consider yourself to find means for it in the world to save it. That's a, that's a lot of pressure. In many ways, that's too much pressure to put on any person.

But that's hard for me to identify with. Mary, on the other hand, is a woman. Just a woman. We can talk about the doctrine of the [00:05:00] Immaculate Conception and how I think the visions of the words made that meaningful to me. It is not meaningful to me in any other way because I do not believe in original sin. So I don't believe that Mary had to be born without original sin. We can talk about that when the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes approaches in more detail. But Mary's relatable. She was just a girl going to the well when she got her call.

Brian - New: She was a mother of a difficult child. We will just put it like that because, you gotta be honest. Even to sit back and go, Jesus is the perfectly behaved child, this is still a child that is not going to necessarily do what the parents tell them to do. This is not perfect in the construct of perfect in a parent mind as the child is not bothering me with questions at this point in time, or, disrupting the flow of cooking, or whatever it is. They were still a child. They still had questions. They still evoked thought. So yeah, they're still a mother.

They still have motherly things. What is the [00:06:00] child up to? There is even a story in the Bible where Mary has a panic moment because her child is missing. And later finds him at the temple he runs off to the big city.

He disappears in the big city like You know, you know, he's up to and even at the temple. He's still up to trouble. He's still causing a ruckus He's still disrupting life, you know

Charlie- New: I'm just gonna bring that up because within the non canonical Gospels. We have all kinds of infant stories of Jesus where he, yes, very much a divine troublemaker.

Very, very much a trickster figure in those stories. And I have a sweet spot in my heart for quite a few of them. But even in the canonical Gospels, like you were saying, we have only one story of Jesus's childhood in the canonical Gospels. And it's, he snuck away from his family. When they show up, he backtalks them. Well, where did you think I would be?

Brian - New: The easy way to phrase this Problematic isn't necessarily a moral judgment of good or evil. It is [00:07:00] Problematic in a sense that's still disruptive, still does things that are unexpected Whether joyful or sad or whatever, you know any other later moral Attributions are given to it. It's still trying it's still testing. It's still challenging As all the mothers out there know.

Charlie- New: We fly to your patronage, O Holy Mary. Never has it been known that anyone who asked anything from you had ever been turned away empty.

Brian - New: One of the things that I found that helped make Mary and God so much more approachable. it is instinctual for us to be able to go to our mother, to be able to turn to our mother, and the concept of this is the mother, the mother of mothers, to be able to approach with problems…

In this episode of Creations Paths, Charlie, a non-binary sci-fi fantasy writer, along with their husband, explores the transformative image of Mary as the Tree of Life. Charlie shares their personal journey through faith, the struggles of growing up neurodivergent in an evangelical household, and finding solace in the teachings of Saint Louis de Montfort. The discussion delves into various interpretations of the Tree of Life across traditions, the compassionate and non-judgmental nature of Mary, and how this imagery provided a refuge and deeper connection to the divine. This episode offers powerful insights into practical mysticism and spirituality focused on embracing the divine presence within everyday life.

Thank you for Tips or Donations:

https://ko-fi.com/cedorsett

patreon.com/cedorsett

Substack: https://www.creationspaths.com/

For Educational Resource: https://wisdomscry.com

For all of the things we are doing at The Seraphic Grove go to Creation's Paths https://www.creationspaths.com/

Social Connections:

BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/creationspaths.com

Threads https://www.threads.net/@creationspaths

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/creationspaths/

In this episode of 'Creation's Paths,' Charlie, a non-binary sci-fi fantasy writer, and their husband Brian explore the esoteric aspects of early Christianity and Christopaganism. They delve into the complex historical context of the first to third centuries, discussing the influence of hekhalot and merkava mysticism on early Christian thought. The episode covers the forgotten origins of Christianity, the role of mysticism in early Jewish and Christian traditions. Key topics include the chaos of the first century, the diverse Jewish sects at the time, and the mystic traditions like the vision of Ezekiel and the book of Enoch. The episode also touches on the influence of the apostle Paul and the early Christian schisms between Gnostics and proto-Orthodox beliefs. Join the discussion to gain a deeper understanding of the hidden historical and mystical roots of Christianity.

Support us on: https://ko-fi.com/cedorsett

Become a patron of the arts patreon.com/cedorsett

For Educational Resource: Wisdoms Cry https://wisdomscry.com

For all of the things we are doing at The Seraphic Grove go to Creation's Paths https://www.creationspaths.com/

BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/creationspaths.com

Threads https://www.threads.net/@creationspaths

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/creationspaths/

Transcript:

Charlie- New: [00:00:00] Hello and welcome to this episode of creation's paths. Today, we're going to talk about something a little bit more esoteric something a little bit deeper. We're going to look at the question who shall ascend and who has descended and why this is important for us to understand the history origins and potential future of Christianity and Christopaganism.

Intro .

Hello everyone. My name is Charlie. I am a non-binary scifi fantasy writer, and I am joined today by my wonderful husband, Brian.

Brian - New: Hello.

Charlie- New: Today we're going to be talking about something a little bit. Like I said in the intro esoteric. I don't want anybody to get worried. I am not expecting people to be a master of hekhalot [00:01:00] mysticism or merkava mysticism, or to even know what either of those two words I just said, meant. It's important though that we understand this because. The origins of Christianity have been. . Swept under the rug. So obscured. By an Imperial tradition that came along later. We have forgotten where it actually came from. And the arguments that were actually happening. In the first century. Well, I guess the first five centuries, but really for our sake here, we're talking about the first one to three centuries. Of the church.

This colors, everything. It goes to the question of who is Jesus. It goes to the question of what is the kingdom. It goes into the question of. What. Is the work of somebody on the way.

It also will probably help you understand. who the apostle Paul is and why Paul converted to Christianity. Without ever having met Jesus. [00:02:00] Because we. Like to play. Dumb about the first century. I don't mean that to be insulting. I mean, that, to be. Self-preserving. First century. Of the common era. Was chaotic in ways that it is really hard to get your mind around.

Rome was doing all of the many things that Rome was doing. Which goes everywhere from the good, the bad to the extremely ugly and grotesque.

When we go into the Lavant, when we go into the land of Judea and Galilee, one, most people don't even realize those are two separate countries for. Lack of a better term terms. The Galilee and Judea had different rulers and different leadership.

They were both under Rome. That's why in the crucifixion narratives, punches, pilot, who was in charge of Judea. sends. Jesus too. Herod. Because Herod was the king over the Galilee.

Okay. It's all getting over [00:03:00] complex. And that's why we don't think about it. We don't want to think about it. We like to think Jesus was the only miracle working. prophet in the first century. He was not, I'm not going to go down the long list of them. But there was a long list of them. He was not even the only person. Who claimed or was believed to be the Jewish Messiah in the first century, he was not, there were several of them. In fact, the Talmud goes through and says a lot about a lot of these people.

First century. Was a complex time of upheaval and change. Because the Roman empire. Was just coming into being, we like to think of the Roman empire as something that is ancient and to us. Yes. At the time. The Roman Republic had just fallen.

See Julius Caesar had been killed, not that long ago in our narrative and Augustus. Was the first real Roman emperor. So when you open the gospels and you see this. The time of Caesar [00:04:00] Augustus.

This is a time of great turmoil, the Republic, the democratic Republic for whatever the word democratic. Fits into the way the Romans did things . The democratic Republic had fallen and was being replaced by this new Imperial state. That would go on for. A long time. At least a thousand years to the follow-up of. Byzantium. In Constantinople. It went on for quite some time. But everything's been reordered. And so there is a lot of chaos. Not only is there a lot of chaos, but because. Judea had not been conquered for that long. There's a lot going on with, in. The meilu of first century Judaism. I'm not going to go into all of the different aspects of it, but you can see this preserved in the gospels themselves, where Jesus is talking about four distinct se Of Jews that were alive at the time. You have the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the scribes. Which there's a lot of [00:05:00] contention over.

Exactly. Who he's referring to as describes that could actually refer to several groups or several groups that are being lumped together into one category and the priests. And we know who the priests are.

He's talking about four groups just in the gospels, at minimum. And that's not all of them. There were a lot more, in fact, amongst his. Disciples. We have. One who is referred to as a zealot. Now, this was a completely different sect of Judaism that existed in the first century. That was neither a He has scriber priest. So now we're up to five, just within the confines of the new Testament. Just what's in the gospels.

So needless to say, this is a very complex time.

Out of this new nascent religion gets started. Which initially called itself the way and that we now know as crazy as Christianity.

But what were they doing? What was going on here?

I and a lot of other folk.

[00:06:00] Tend to believe that Jesus and the apostles. We're. Participating in what was known as either. hekhalot mysticism. Or merkava mysticism. Now these two words are virtually interchangeable. They're not interchangeable, but there's a lot of overlap. And confusion where many texts. Have both in them. So let's go to English for a second. hekhalot means palaces. Merkava means charity.

Starting at about the third century, fifth to third century before the common era. A fascination was born in to the idea of how we're profits profits.

The last prophet that we have recorded. In scriptures, Malakai and Malakai. That's fifth century. Before the common era. And then the profits are gone.

They're just gone. Despite what many of us might be thinking. well, God just got quiet. the old Testament talks about schools of profits.

They taught each other. They [00:07:00] learned things. Well, if there's a school, then it's something you can learn. So the idea is these lessons got lost and people started looking for them. Mystics started happening. Various people started trying to, connect to God in various ways. And an obsession grew. Around the vision of Ezekiel. Where he sees. So much. He sees the four living creatures.

He sees the ophanim that are often referred to as biblically, accurate angels, even though. There's a good argument that they're not even angels.

Brian - New: Deep topic. Yeah.

Charlie- New: I get really upset when I see biblically accurate angels and they show a picture …

In this episode of 'Creation's Paths,' Charlie, a non-binary sci-fi fantasy writer, and their husband Brian explore the esoteric aspects of early Christianity and Christopaganism. They delve into the complex historical context of the first to third centuries, discussing the influence of hekhalot and merkava mysticism on early Christian thought. The episode covers the forgotten origins of Christianity, the role of mysticism in early Jewish and Christian traditions. Key topics include the chaos of the first century, the diverse Jewish sects at the time, and the mystic traditions like the vision of Ezekiel and the book of Enoch. The episode also touches on the influence of the apostle Paul and the early Christian schisms between Gnostics and proto-Orthodox beliefs. Join the discussion to gain a deeper understanding of the hidden historical and mystical roots of Christianity.

Thank you for Tips or Donations:

https://ko-fi.com/cedorsett

patreon.com/cedorsett

Substack: https://www.creationspaths.com/

For Educational Resource: https://wisdomscry.com

For all of the things we are doing at The Seraphic Grove go to Creation's Paths https://www.creationspaths.com/

Social Connections:

BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/creationspaths.com

Threads https://www.threads.net/@creationspaths

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/creationspaths/

In this episode, Charlie, a non-binary sci-fi fantasy writer, together with their husband Brian, discusses the concept of harvesting imagination and light in accordance with the Via Creativa. They delve into the cyclical nature of creativity, emphasizing the importance of practical spirituality, the interplay between light and darkness, and the necessity of sharing one's creative output. They also reflect on the profound role hope plays as an act of creative will, particularly in challenging times.

Support us on: https://ko-fi.com/cedorsett

Become a patron of the arts patreon.com/cedorsett

For Educational Resource: Wisdoms Cry https://wisdomscry.com

For all of the things we are doing at The Seraphic Grove go to Creation's Paths https://www.creationspaths.com/

BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/creationspaths.com

Threads https://www.threads.net/@creationspaths

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/creationspaths/

Transcript:

Charlie- New: [00:00:00] On this first quarter moon after Lunesta, we turn our minds to the Via Creativa to the creative way. And start asking ourselves, how can we harvest imagination and light? What. Imagination Are we harvesting in the season?

intro

Hello everyone. My name is Charlie and I am a non-binary scifi fantasy writer. I'm joined by my wonderful husband, Brian.

Brian - New: Hello.

Charlie- New: Today we're going to be talking about harvesting imagination and light. Because we are at our first fruits festival Lunesta, we are. Focusing on this harvesting image, especially as we're here, harvesting those first fruits, those first little inklings. That are coming up [00:01:00] on the fields.

How can we bring that in? How can we have more of that in our life? I think a lot of us really need more imagination in our life . I used the word light. A lot.

I've always used light in terms of God, in the beginning was the word and the word was with God. And the word was God. And the same was in the beginning with God and without him, nothing would have been made that was made. And in him was light. And the light was the life of humanity. . That beautiful prologue to the gospel of John and so light. And diety are forever joined in my brain. Even more than that right now, as it feels like we're going through such dark times with. The riots that are going on in Britain and the wars around the world. And. The economy and the weather and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and.

I think we need to be. Mindful about looking for those places where we can find a [00:02:00] light. Where we can find hope. Where we can find. Whatever it is that pierces the darkness. And brings us to the other side. For the new moon we talked about entering that darkness and harvesting peace. Today. As we're entering this. Time where we're focused on the Via Creativa, the creative way.

Answering that question for ourselves in our own lives. How do you find. imagination. How do you find light? And I do mean how not where, but how, because I think we need to be practical. We can be all mystical and metaphysical, and I can use all manner of metaphors here about where and all thats not going to help anyone. I. Have a very strong bias that mysticism. Spirituality needs to be practical. It needs to be. Rooted down in our bones in a very practical, honest, and straightforward way.

Let's start with a brief recap of the Via Creativa. [00:03:00] Because. There's a quality that it has that. Often gets missed in people. When Matthew Fox talks about the Via Creativa. He says that it is born from the union of path one and path two. Of that via positive, and via negativa in that. Cosmic hospitality. And that letting go and letting be, and that welcoming in and letting go. That it's in the union. Of these two that the Via Creativa the creative way. Comes forth.

I think it's really important for us. To hold that in our minds, when we're thinking about the creative way. Because. Creativity really is about welcoming in the ideas. I think we focus on that a lot. I'm waiting for inspiration. I am waiting for the muse to sing to me and to tell me the things that I should be making.

We don't want to think about the other side of that. That's the letting it go or we let the letting it go [00:04:00] terrify us. Well, I've written this thing. Why should I publish it? I've made the song. Why should I sing it in front of somebody else?

I've made this food. What if nobody else likes it? I made this. Knitwear crochet where thing. What will people say? If I wear it in public, maybe I'll just wear it around the house. We put these paralyzing. Roadblocks. Between us.

Really letting our imagination and our creativity flourish.

That's why. seeing creativity is arising from that hospitality, that davar, that divine word. Coming into us. . That willingness to let go and let be. You really have to do both things to be creative.

The via creativity. We're told that this is the place where we learn to give birth to God that we are. Where this is the place for goddess as much mother. As child.

Both of those images. Have that welcoming, gracious, Via Positiva energy to them. They [00:05:00] also have that letting go energy.

a, mother has to let their child go to go out into the world. A child has to let go of the family to go out into the world. And all of our creative endeavors do as well.

More than anything right now. In this time in this place, I think the greatest creativity that we're called to. Is hope.

Because hope really is a creative act.

Hope isn't. An emotion as much as people want it to be. Yeah. We can feel hopeful. It creates a sensation in us when we have it.

Brian - New: The emotion is more, the joy. That the hope brings. When you really break it down, In itself is not the emotion. It brings joy. It brings happiness.

Charlie- New: It really is born from the joy that's born, that we're feeling. We confuse it for an emotion. It's kind of like how we think compassion is an emotion. No, we feel loving kindness. We feel that loving [00:06:00] sensation within us, but compassion it's self is a mental act. It is an act of choice. If I can use the big words that I like to use, it's a volitional act. It's an act of our will.

Hope is very much an act of will. It's not. A pie in the sky dream. I think too many people.

Allow hope. Too. Be that thing that's just out of reach. To be that thing that's just beyond us. I know it's probably not going to happen, but I have hope. That's a platitude. That's not really hopeless.

Brian - New: Once again, it's without works.

Charlie- New: Yeah.

Brian - New: When said. In that manner. It is said without the intention of doing anything, it's more of, this is an excuse. For the situation rather than. Normally when it's actual hope. When you say you have hoping you mean it. There is. Intention behind it.

Charlie- New: It's the one thing that we say a lot. We go back to this faith without works is dead. That [00:07:00] really is core to everything. , if you get nothing out of any of the other spiritual ideas that we put forward, if you can just latch onto that faith without works is dead idea.

We'll be so much better off. Then most people that are. Trying to find a spiritual path because that's really the core, the heart of all of it. As we discussed in the via negativa.

On the new moon. That harvesting piece is that active? Portion. That we're engaging it. In. That place of darkness.

In the Via Creativa in this creative path. There is this instinct, this urge to say that the action here is to create something. To make a sculpture, make a painting, write a poem, write a story. Tell a story. Cook a meal, bake some bread, there's this very. Literal understanding of being creative. I don't want to discourage that.

I don't want to discourage that in [00:08:00] any way. If that's where your heart is. If that's where you're feeling called and moved. Do that.

We need to expand our understanding of creativity. To other aspects. Of our lives, our creative projects in and of thems…

In this episode, Charlie, a non-binary sci-fi fantasy writer, together with their husband Brian, discusses the concept of harvesting imagination and light in accordance with the Via Creativa. They delve into the cyclical nature of creativity, emphasizing the importance of practical spirituality, the interplay between light and darkness, and the necessity of sharing one's creative output. They also reflect on the profound role hope plays as an act of creative will, particularly in challenging times.

Thank you for Tips or Donations:

https://ko-fi.com/cedorsett

patreon.com/cedorsett

Substack: https://www.creationspaths.com/

For Educational Resource: https://wisdomscry.com

For all of the things we are doing at The Seraphic Grove go to Creation's Paths https://www.creationspaths.com/

Social Connections:

BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/creationspaths.com

Threads https://www.threads.net/@creationspaths

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/creationspaths/

Join Charlie, a non-binary scifi fantasy writer, and their husband Brian as they delve into the mystical and historical significance of the Holy Grail, its connection to St. Lawrence, and its deeper symbolic meanings. Learn about the origins of the Grail legend, its historical claims, and spiritual practices surrounding it. The episode also introduces a powerful meditation on the Grail, bridging earthly and cosmic energies to achieve balance and enlightenment. Gain insights into the spiritual path, the symbolism of the Grail in different traditions, and upcoming meditation practices.

Support us on: https://ko-fi.com/cedorsett

Become a patron of the arts patreon.com/cedorsett

For Educational Resource: Wisdoms Cry https://wisdomscry.com

For all of the things we are doing at The Seraphic Grove go to Creation's Paths https://www.creationspaths.com/

BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/creationspaths.com

Threads https://www.threads.net/@creationspaths

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/creationspaths/

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to the Holy Grail

00:58 The Martyrdom of St. Lawrence

01:33 The Holy Grail in Spain

02:57 Historical and Ritualistic Significance of the Grail

05:05 The Grail in Druidry

08:09 Meditation on the Grail

13:01 The Grail as a Symbol of Balance and Motion

14:19 The Grail Story: A Controversial Retelling

15:34 The Grail as a Symbol of Balance and Power

17:00 Balancing Earthly and Spiritual Concerns

18:05 The Fourth Path: Justice and Celebration

19:10 Finding Balance in Daily Life

21:27 The Grail and Spiritual Practices

25:25 Conclusion and Call to Action

Transcript

Charlie- New: [00:00:00] Today on the feast of St. Lawrence, we're going to talk about a very important topic. One that I think a lot of people, either relegate to myth and legend. Or one that just doesn't come into mind all that much. When we're talking about spiritual, mystical and magical things today, we're talking about the holy grail and the quest to find it.

Insert intro here. .

Blessings in the light to you. My name is. Charlie. I am a non-binary scifi fantasy writer, and I am joined today by my wonderful husband, Brian.

Hello

today. We're going to be talking about the quest for the holy grail. And one of the.

Most entertaining and sad saints. , St. Lawrence. St Lawrence, if you don't know, [00:01:00] was martyred on this day. Many many centuries ago in the third century. When he was martyred, he was, , burned to death. He was put on a gridiron which is basically a cage that they lock you in and put you over a fire and cook you to death. And reportedly as he was being burned alive, he said to the Romans that were killing him. I think I'm done on the side. Perhaps you should turn me over.

Brian - New: A tasty way to roast fish, not intended for human use

Charlie- New: The reason St Lawrence and the holy grail are connected is that. If you want to see the actual holy grail, the thing that has the greatest claim to being the actual holy grail, you need to go to Spain.

You need to go to Madrid. And they're on display in a beautiful reliquary case. We will see the cup that Saint Lawrence brought there. Now this cup is claimed to be the cup that was used by Christ at the last supper. And why does it have the greatest claim to this? Because when they started testing it and looking [00:02:00] at it, it is a first century. Jewish. Kiddish cup. From. Israel. It is made from Israeli stone. It is made in the style of first century cups that would be used at a Passover. Dinner. And just the odds of a cup from the first century, Palestine. Making it all the way to Spain. As the cup that was used at the last supper, especially remembering that St. Lawrence is in the tradition of Saint Peter. He was in the line of St. Peter, like actually in the line of St. Peter. The idea that it could have been passed down from Peter. To him makes sense.

It has the best argument, whether it is or not, we will never know. Unless we get some ability to do time travel or to be able to put up a time window or something to look back into, but we will never know.

I will say for anybody who wants to talk about [00:03:00] historical grails, The historical grill would have been made out of stone or glass. It had to be made out of something. Impermeable. Because it was used at a Passover day. Meal. And you could not have anything that had the risk. Of yeast being in it. It had to be considered ritualistically clean. Would was not ritualistically clean. Metals, we're not considered, ritualistically clean for these kinds of purposes in the first century. It was. Virtually impossible to find a metal cup in this time, period.

It also would not have been clay. More than likely it would have been stone.

Carnelian stones were used a lot for these cups in the first century. And that's in fact what we see in the cup. That is preserved in the cathedral there. In fact, when we were sending up our altar, we got a carnelian cup. To use as our grail. That is what we use in ritual. Does does any of this matter?

No. [00:04:00] It's an interesting historical thing, because there's a lot of question about this. If there is a historical grail, If somehow the cup used at the last supper did survive. More than likely it's in Spain.

The grail, as we think about it is the cauldron of the Dagda. that is where the idea comes from the horn of plenty. But because the Celtic regions gave us the stories of the grail. it is. The cauldron of the Dogda.

It's the ever flowing cauldron that has all of the blessings in it. That no one leaves unsatisfied. That is what the grail is. So if you just want to think of it as the cauldron of the Dagda. Or the cup of Christ or, or, or, or. Any of that works. The grail is a legend. I feel like it's very important. For us to realize when we were talking about pure legend and pure mythology. Was a cup used at the last supper. Jesus was a Jew. Of course they had a cup. That is part of the Passover ritual. Does it [00:05:00] matter if we have the actual cup? No.

What is the symbol of the cup? What does the cup mean? In druidry, especially.

The cup, the chalice, the holy grail has a very particular meaning. In fact, Dion fortune says when we are calling for blessings, we should take the chalice pose. We should stand. In the form of the grail. In other words, you stand like you're doing the Y in YMCA stand with your back straight. And you've put your arms out in front of you to welcome it all in that you stand in chalice pose. To bring it in as a sign to the universe. I'm ready. Give it to me. That's what we're talking about here. Is this cup of blessing. This chalice of miracles, this chalice of magic, this jealous of life. That brings all good things into us.

In the tradition of the AODA, the. Ancient order of Druids in America.

They have a very. Wonderful way. Of understanding the grail. This [00:06:00] is not unique to them, but I'm not going to go into all of the symbology for why it is this way. But if you are interested in that, John Michael Greer has written a lot of books on druidry that you can find. These ideas in there. But the idea is that the grail. Is where the lyric energies, the energies of the earth. Rise up and meet and balance with the cosmic solar energies. That are coming in from the cosmos. And they mix and they meet and they are joined in.

Perfect. blessed unity and harmony. That this is the grail. That this is enlightenment, that this is wisdom. Phillip Carr-Gomm, when he talks about the grail, talks about it as a symbol of enlightenment. That it is. this. State, almost that you can attain. Where you have achieved the grail. You've had the beatific vision.

You have had that moment of enlightenment. I would agree with that. It is a powerful [00:07:00] image. It is one that we can meditate on that we can sit in. Allow through visualization. To bless us and bring us joy. This AODA idea. Of it being where we find this great balance between the powers of earth. And the powers of the cosmos, the great to lyric c…

Join Charlie, a non-binary scifi fantasy writer, and their husband Brian as they delve into the mystical and historical significance of the Holy Grail, its connection to St. Lawrence, and its deeper symbolic meanings. Learn about the origins of the Grail legend, its historical claims, and spiritual practices surrounding it. The episode also introduces a powerful meditation on the Grail, bridging earthly and cosmic energies to achieve balance and enlightenment. Gain insights into the spiritual path, the symbolism of the Grail in different traditions, and upcoming meditation practices.

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Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to the Holy Grail

00:58 The Martyrdom of St. Lawrence

01:33 The Holy Grail in Spain

02:57 Historical and Ritualistic Significance of the Grail

05:05 The Grail in Druidry

08:09 Meditation on the Grail

13:01 The Grail as a Symbol of Balance and Motion

14:19 The Grail Story: A Controversial Retelling

15:34 The Grail as a Symbol of Balance and Power

17:00 Balancing Earthly and Spiritual Concerns

18:05 The Fourth Path: Justice and Celebration

19:10 Finding Balance in Daily Life

21:27 The Grail and Spiritual Practices

25:25 Conclusion and Call to Action

Join Charlie and Brian as they dive deep into the Druid craft concept of the Law of the Returning Tide, distinguishing it from commonly misunderstood spiritual principles like karma. They explore how our actions and intentions influence the energy that comes back to us, emphasizing the importance of mindful contributions to the universe. Learn about the balance of faith, action, and intention in shaping our realities and the limits of our influence over the unfolding tides of life. Discover practical exercises to experience the returning tide in daily life and understand the broader impacts of our energetic and material contributions.

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Threads https://www.threads.net/@creationspaths

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Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to the Law of the Returning Tide

01:05 Meet the Hosts: Charlie and Brian

01:23 Understanding the Returning Tide vs. Karma

02:22 Misconceptions and Cultural Appropriation

03:53 The Returning Tide Analogy

08:09 Magic, Prayer, and Influence

13:54 Practical Exercises for Compassionate Acts

15:00 The Ripple Effect of Joy

15:45 The Power of Returning Tide

16:15 The Illusion of Control

17:02 Surrounding Yourself with Positive Energy

18:45 Faith and Action: A Necessary Combination

21:46 Miracles and Effort

24:26 The Reality of Good and Bad Events

26:20 Conclusion and Call to Action

Transcript:

Charlie: [00:00:00] This is not an episode about karma. We're going to be talking about something that sounds a lot like karma. But karma is a Hindu idea. And we're talking about something from Druid craft. We're going to be talking about the law of the returning tide. And how it can help you. Understand. So much of what happens in your life. In a way that is vitally important. And easily misunderstood. While you're going to be tempted to go, oh, They're talking about karma. Please. Wipe your mind of anything that you've heard before. So that we can have a fresh. Valid discussion of this topic. So that you can actually find out how it can help you. Today, we're talking. About the law of the returning type.

Brian: [00:01:00] Insert intro here.

Charlie: Hello, my name is Charlie. I am a non-binary sci-fi fantasy writer. And I'm joined today by my husband, Brian.

Brian - New: I feel like Dr. Evil, there is a very insistent cat right now so I'm sitting here petting the kitty cat.

Charlie: Which is oddly appropriate for what we're going to be talking about today.

Today, we are going to be talking about the law of the returning tide. If you want to know more about this, I highly recommend Phillip Carr-Gomm's, wonderful book, Druid craft. Which is his attempt to bring back together the divergent paths of Wicca and Druidry that started together with two friends. Gerald Gardner and Ross Nichols. And. Diverged. Very far away from each other. With some issues in between. And he's trying to bring them back together in a way that I find oddly compelling.

I am not a duotheist and the book [00:02:00] does have a lot of duotheistic ideas in it, but that is kind of core to traditional Wicca. Beyond that I highly recommend the book I really like it a lot. This language. Of the law of the returning tide. I find very, very helpful. In understanding what is probably one of the most misunderstood spiritual principles out there. And this is phrased a lot of different ways.

Often it's shorthanded as karma. And it is not karma. Karma is a very complex idea that arises from both Hinduism and Buddhism. And that is not what we're talking about here. We're also not talking about dependent origination. That is , again, a very complex idea. That is found in Buddhism. We'll probably talk about that in a future episode at some point, but again, that's not what we're talking about here. Other shorthands that you might be familiar with for this?

You get what you give. Reaping the whirlwind. We have a lot of [00:03:00] phrases for this idea of what you put out into the world comes back to you.

On a basic level. Yes. I agree with this. asterisk.

Big asterisk. x so big. It's bigger than the phrase that came before it. Because this is a very misunderstood. Misappropriated.

CulturallY. appropriated. Idea. That if misunderstood does. Far more harm than good. Because this is how we justify bad things happen.

We've said, oh, you get what you get.

Brian - New: Yeah. Chickens coming home to roost.

Charlie: That is not the law of the returning type. That is not what we're talking about here. That is something that. I want us to learn to let go of. And let it drift away. On the tide and never come back.

So the analogy of the returning tide. Helps us. In that, yes. What you put out into the [00:04:00] universe, you will get back. If you put good out into the universe, Goodwill often come back to you. If you put bad out into the universe, bad will often come back to you. If you put up joy, you will reap joy. If you put out. Sorrow and misery sorrow and misery will come back.

Yes. All of that is technically true. The problem is. Everything we put out into the universe is like a message in a bottle. You put whatever this intention is, these actions are, they go into the bottle and we throw them out into the ocean and the waves carry them out. And Lord knows. And I mean that quite literally only God knows. Where they're going to come back to shore.

Brian (2): Well, it's like with the chickens coming home to roost analogy. First of all, if you don't put out chicken feed, they're not going to want to come back. If you don't have a chicken coop they're not going to want to come back. If there are no chickens they will not come home to roost. There are a lot of other factors involved.

Charlie: And also it's not necessarily your chickens that are [00:05:00] coming back.

Brian (2): Yeah. This could be your neighbor's chickens,

Charlie: we had a rooster for a long time in our yard. We never bought chickens. We have not had chickens, but it got out of one of our neighbor's yards. I don't know what neighbor had that rooster. I don't know where that rooster came from. But it lived in our garage. It. Went around our yard all the time.

It claimed our yard is its own. It was our. For all intents and purposes, people thought it was our rooster. We got comments from several of the neighbors about our rooster, doing things in there, their yards, not our rooster don't know where the rooster came from. But it showed up one day. And we had a rooster. We didn't have any other chickens, but we had a rooster.

This analogy of our actions being like a message in a bottle. And this idea of the returning tide. All of the energy that we put out into the cosmos, whether it's good, bad. Anything in between.

It goes out. But it [00:06:00] mixes. With all of the other energies out there. There is this spiritual and I use this word a lot. Solipsism solipsism is a stage of development that most people grow out of. And you, if you've ever been around children, You know, this phase, it's usually around two years old. Me me, me, me, me, me, me, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine.

Where a child is individuating for the first time. They're realizing, oh, I am a separate self. And all of a sudden. Everything is about me and everything is mine. And you see this in kids and most people grow out of it.

Brian - New: Which doesn't mean it's gone. Everybody has it to some degree still to this very day. We all have it at some level.

Charlie: When I talk about spiritual solipsism. This is there's this idea of, I will manifest good things in my life by only putting good things out and only good things will return to me. And if bad things come out that's because I didn't manifest [00:07:00] enough good things in …