When I think about dogma , I automatically think about the Christian dogma and all the boring cycles it has and all the troubles that it has as well. And if you have ever had to deal with or witness the cold hearted approach that some Christians have towards non-believers, you might have asked yourself ..."Why don't they teach Christians how to live in society?" In my debate room days the frequent question was why does the church spend so much time preaching about dying and going to heaven, but no time on being a part of society? And I started to think that we as pagans are falling into this same situation, and I don't want that to happen.
Because paganism is an umbrella term, it covers a lot of ground and groups. Odinists that would carry an axe for some ceremony work are in the same group as "Harm none" Wiccans. As in Christianity there are rifts between the different denominations, so I know we will have the same issue as the Pagan community grows and gets stronger. And it is human nature to focus on the differences and forget what we have in common with others. But for Pagans it is much worse, there is a feel of being head strong in beliefs and being shunned by others. So we separate and hide our pagan sides to society, we can walk next to another pagan and never know it.
So I was doing a lot of thinking on what can be done to stop this and improve the pagan community. I decided that I was going to create 8 new sabbats for my practice that focus on being a better person and a part of society. No longer was I going to hide who and how I am. The eight traditional sabbats will stay in place, and be treated with the great respect they deserve. I will refer to these as the 8 Solar Sabbats because they are based off of the solar year. In between each sabbat I will be placing a Social Sabbat. These will work on improving our personal and social lives and break us out of the ruts that some of us are in.
- Dec 21 Yule
- Jan 11. Resolution Day
- Feb 2. Imbolc
- Feb 25. Peace Day
- Mar 21 Ostara
- Apr 11, Friendship day
- May 1 Beltaine
- May 27 Homage Day
- June 21 Litha
- July 11. Animal Day
- Aug 1 Lughnasadh
- Aug 27 Rustic day
- Sept 21 Mabon
- Oct 11 Sharing Harvest Day
- Oct 31 Samhain
- Nov 26 Day of Mourning
Resolution day is a day of self discovery and evaluation. Taking a lists of good and bad traits that you have , and thinking about why you are that way. And making a 3rd list on who you want to be in the coming years. The ritual that I have figured out is taking the good qualities list and the who you want to be list and place them in your book of shadows . The list of negative qualities would be burned at the altar , symbolizing you shedding the parts you no longer want.
Peace Day is about resolving the conflicts in your life and your part of the world. The day is spent thinking about who you have issues with and why. and when possible talk them out and end the hatred.
Friendship day is a day devoted to making new pagan friends. With the previous sabbats completed you are a better person and worthy of making new pagan acquaintances.
Homage day, is a day devoted to honoring people that have changed your lives. not just immediate family and veterans. This concept is about learning and honoring the great people of history and how they affected us today. The ritual that I envisioned is a meal with many images of the honored people and openly talking about them and to them. Many people love Robin Williams, you could have an image of him on a wall and talk about your favorite movie and how it moved you.
Animal day is to focus on the animals in our world. We as pagans focus on how the plants are growing that sometimes we forget to look at the animals. It is summertime, so spend time with animals outside, maybe go to the zoo if you don't have any pets. Go vegan for a day if you still eat meat. Have a ritual that focuses on the totem animals and their attributes. Such as the Bear is a symbol of the earth and strength.
Rustic day is to remind us that the natural world is not of computers and cellphones. That people used fire to cook and not a microwave. Shun all modern equipment the best that you can and live life like those back in the day. I know that we can never get back to the say it used to be in the 400's. I plan to live that day like it was 1914 not 2014.
Sharing the Harvest Day is about sharing the good foods ands wealth that we may have. The foods are being harvested in the fields, this should be a day to make sure that nobody goes hungry. Have a ritual for some food that you can give to charity. Maybe you know a family that is down on their luck, cook them a meal and give it to them. For those that are also having economic issues, I thought about setting up a potluck for friends and family. If everyone brought one dish, the group will have a good meal and good friendship.
Mourning day, Homage day was to celebrate all the positive moments and people in history during the waxing time of the year. Mourning day is to show respect for those that lost and suffered . A ritual to send out energy so that these people would not be forgotten for what they did or went through.
I think that this would be a great journey for us pagans to take. With resolution day we are reborn. We make peace and friendship as we grow in the year. As the year matures we show respect to those that made our lives possible and to world around us. Then we learn about work and sharing with others. Finally as the year starts to end we mourn those that paid a high price for what they believed in.
I would love to hear some feedback from others about this idea of mine. And do you know of any other pagans that have similar ideas. Take Care and Be At Peace.
