“The test of faith is whether I can make space for difference. Can I recognize God’s image in someone who is not in my image, whose language, faith, ideals, are different from mine? If I cannot, then I have made God in my image instead of allowing him to remake me in his.” ~ Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

While the quote is from a Rabbi, it applies to all of us who claim a belief in Deity, regardless of which path we follow. Here in the U.S., it is easy to find examples of this in far too many of our public officials, who profess some form of Christian faith, and then act in ways and enact laws that directly contravene the teachings of Jesus so completely that He would drive them out of their offices with a whip were He to manifest in physical form today.

But let us not focus solely on the mote in their eyes, when we have boards of our own to contend with. In the Northern Traditions community, do we not have our own problems with those who claim to be followers of the Norse Gods, and use that alleged faith to engage in acts of hate based on their personal biases? As recently as Friday, January 25, 2019 (two days ago, as of this writing), two white males who are members of a group calling themselves “The Wolves of Odin” were harassing people at a mosque in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The mosque staff had to call the police to have the men removed. The men claimed they were there “just to ask questions”, but one of them was wearing a toque with the Arabic word for “infidel” on it—it’s difficult to believe they were there in a peaceful attempt to gain cultural understanding.

But our prejudices don’t have to take such extreme forms to be problems. It’s often a more subtle manifestation— a fleeting thought of “what is that person doing leading this ritual?’ or “I wouldn’t have expected someone like that to be interested in what we are doing”.

That person is somehow different from us, and we question their presence in our space. Perhaps not for a reason as obvious as race or gender, but more subtle things, such as judging/rejecting on the basis of body type or appearance, or questioning someone’s intelligence based on the way they speak—both so incredibly common in our culture, and a form of judgment that is so ingrained that we often aren’t aware of it.

What brings that person into the space (which is not our personal space, but the shared Our space of ritual, blot, ceremony, etc.) is the same reason we are in the space—a devotion to our particular God(s), a commitment to serve our God(s), and a desire to celebrate our devotion with others in a meaningful and respectful way.

I have been to events where newcomers were greeted and made part of the gathering, and events where none of the regular members could be bothered to say “hello”, much less properly welcome those were were not already part of their group. For some groups, inclusivity means “all are welcome”; for others, inclusivity means “we will include you if you are already one of us”.

I know which type of group I prefer to be involved with, and which kind of person I prefer to be. I still have a lot of work to do around judging people (this blog post I wrote last summer is still applicable), and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one.

Becoming aware is the beginning of change; acting on that awareness is required to complete the change.

Once we know better, we can do better.

May our Gods bless us with the wisdom to be aware, and the strength to take action.

I can finally announce this publicly! I will be one of the speakers at the UK Tarot Conference in London, October 11 – 12, 2019!

The amazing speaker roster features Mary K. Greer, Caitlin Matthews, Katrina Wynne, Avril Price, Richard Abbot—and me!

This year’s theme is “The Tower”, as it’s the 16th year of the conference.

My presentation will be “Your Friend, The Tower—It’s Tower-iffic!” When the Tower card turns up in a reading, most people are not happy to see it. The prospect of destruction isn’t a fun thing to contemplate, but like all Tarot cards, the Tower has more than one aspect. We’ll look at the Tower to see it could possibly be seen as a positive indicator in a reading, using a spread I created specifically to work with this challenging—and exciting!—card.

Boats In Fog
~ Robinson Jeffers

Sports and gallantries, the stage, the arts, the antics of dancers,
The exuberant voices of music,
Have charm for children but lack nobility; it is bitter earnestness
That makes beauty; the mind
Knows, grown adult.
A sudden fog-drift muffled the ocean,
A throbbing of engines moved in it,
At length, a stone’s throw out, between the rocks and the vapor,
One by one moved shadows
Out of the mystery, shadows, fishing-boats, trailing each other
Following the cliff for guidance,
Holding a difficult path between the peril of the sea-fog
And the foam on the shore granite.
One by one, trailing their leader, six crept by me,
Out of the vapor and into it,
The throb of their engines subdued by the fog, patient and
cautious,
Coasting all round the peninsula
Back to the buoys in Monterey harbor. A flight of pelicans
Is nothing lovelier to look at;
The flight of the planets is nothing nobler; all the arts lose virtue
Against the essential reality
Of creatures going about their business among the equally
Earnest elements of nature.

Reminding myself of this today, because today has not been a day of productivity, positivity or self-control.

Well, I did manage not to yell at anyone, and I made it through the day without bursting into flame, so yay for self-control! go me!

I had my day planned out, and was going to do So Many Things! and be efficient! and focused! and check off this and that and other things from the to-do list!

Some days, your body decides you aren’t going to do anything because it is tired/sick/just generally out of order.

Some days, the software company you need tech support from manages NOT to do their job in a breathtaking failure of basic reading comprehension, and you cannot do a damn thing until this problem is solved.

Some days, there’s no one big thing that’s wrong, but enough things aren’t right that nothing is working, and you wonder if you’ve fallen into a variant on the THX-1138 universe.

Some days, you get through the day more or less in one piece, and some days, that’s enough.

Sleep well, sweet dreams, and let’s try this again tomorrow.

Fiber arts can be any or all of these: practical skill, creative expression, personal therapy, a form of action, a way to make money.

Almost any movie set before the twentieth century shows a woman or group of women diligently working away at some sort of fiber art project—usually embroidery or cross-stitch, as those are among the easiest to create in terms of props for the set (as opposed to, say, a full-size floor loom).

The popularity of fiber arts waxes and wanes in contemporary culture. I know a number of women (and some men) who regularly practice at least two kinds of craft. Of course, I also know a number of people who are into historical re-creation, and there is significant overlap in these two groups. The Historic Hand Embroidery group on Facebook showcases some spectacular work by incredibly talented people.

The past few years, however, I have seen more of my friends and acquaintances take up various crafts as a means of personal and/or political expression. Aided by guides such as Julie Jackson’s “Subversive Cross Stitch“, even the complete beginner can find their way quickly into the joy of creating personal crafts to express their political and personal philosophies. Groups such as the Mildly Offensive Fiber Artists (MOFAs, as they call themselves) share their work, their patterns, and their tips gladly and gleefully.

I engage in several crafty delights: sewing (which is often aerobic, given the amount of swearing involved); embroidery (I use printed patterns, because life is too short to count threads); and weaving, because it’s fascinating, and also it’s part of my devotional work. Two of my favorite pieces are the embroidered cloth I created for my Sigyn altar

and the rune casting cloth I wove for my reading table:

The Completed Piece

With all three crafts (even sewing—there comes a point where it all starts flowing, and the swearing dwindles to near zero), I am able to enter a meditative state that is highly therapeutic. Focusing only on the object in front of me, concentrating solely on the movement of thread through fabric, or yarn through warp, is a wonderful moving meditation. And, at the end of it, you have A New Thing that you can keep, or give as a present, or sell. It’s a wonderful way to close out the world and clear my mind, and I have a cool thing to show for my time and effort.

There’s also the practical aspect of being able to repair or improve something—mend a pillowcase, re-attach a button (or replace boring buttons with beautiful or fun ones), hem a garment, customize a store-bought blanket with your own work—that makes life easier, more beautiful, and/or less expensive.

Fiber arts can fill many needs, both practical and intangible, and bring peace and quiet to your day.

Make of them what you will—make them yours.

Sources:

E. Tammy Kim: The Feminist Power of Embroidery

Kase Wickman: How Feminist Cross Stitching Became a Tool of the Resistance

Natalie Zarelli: The Wartime Spies Who Used Knitting as an Espionage Tool