(^204) A Wiccan Bible
It seems rather clear that the ancients connected the soul with what Wicca calls the
Fifth Element. It is the force that brings a man and a woman together to create a child,
the force that brings lovers together in such a way that, once knowing each other, they
might wander the world searching for reunion. Here we see that the soul is the center
that we talked about in the Book of Four.
Of course, I cannot speak to the nature of your soul. That is a job that each indi-
vidual must do for oneself. But I can use historic reference to the ancient Pagans, as
seen in the Book of Holidays, and put forth speculation as to the nature of the soul
most applicable to a modern interpretation of those ancient Pagan religions. You see,
the nature of our soul can be seen in those things that give us joy and those things that
give us grief. The ones that give us joy, we celebrate. So in understanding the nature of
the Wiccan soul, we can look at those things that were celebrated by the ancients to
determine what those ancients valued and if, indeed, the values we hold are Pagan.
The Wiccan Soul Screams for Beauty
The third day of every Greek month is sacred to the Three Graces. Also known as
the Three Charities, they are the Greek personification of natural beauty. They are
Aglaea (Splendor), Euphrosyne (Mirth), and Thalia (Cheer). In modern Wicca, this
does seem clear in our many arts, in the celebration of human form by using it to view
our Lord and Lady, by the inclusion of skyclad rites, and by reverence for the beauty of
the Earth and all its creatures.
The Wiccan Soul Screams for Both Love and Lust
The fourth day of each of the Greek months is sacred to Aphrodite, goddess of
love. While the three Graces are honored the day before Aphrodite, they are them-
selves the attendants of Aphrodite, thus marked plainly on the third day of every Greek
month were the attendants of Love. While there are many things one might do to tend
their love, one of the most sacred in the Wiccan religion is the act of romantic love
itself. The Greeks also remind us of this with the Aphrodisia on Hekatombaion 5.
The fourth day of each of the Greek months is also sacred to Eros, the god so
connected to sexual desire that his name is the root word for erotic. While the souls of
all creatures scream with lust, the Wiccan religion embraces lust when this aspect of
our soul is tempered with mind ( as discussed in Book of Mind). But in identifying the
lust in the Wiccan soul, we see the Bendideia celebrated in honor of Bendis for the
days of Thargelion 15 through 19. While it is not clear if this reference in Aradia found
its way into the Charge of the Goddess, it is clear that the Charge of the Goddess
instructs that “all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals.”
How could one say the Romans argue this point when we see the a clear origin of
Valentine’s Day in their Festival of Juno on Februarius 14 and the Lupercalia on
Februarius 14 and 15? Then there is the Vinalia Rustica on Sextilis 19, which is presided
s WB Chap 11.p65 204 7/11/2003, 5:55 PM
barré
(Barré)
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