Merry meet!

It's 2012, and it's time for this pagan to peek her little head out of the broom closet.

I've been following the pagan path for many years now, but out of a combination of fear (for my job) and respect (for my parents) I have been closeted most of the time. There are a few souls who have stood behind me and given me support (that's you, my Padawan; and many of my friends in the reenactment groups; and my "daughter" Lisa; oh, and my friends in SF fandom, of course.) Now that my parents are gone and I have retired, I have no reason for fear. So I have decided that this is the year of my coming out!

I don't have any one tradition that I follow. I honor all aspects of God and Goddess equally. I am definitely a theist; that is to say, I believe in a Higher Power in many forms and shapes. I lean toward a Celtic pantheon, more or less, but any deity is likely to be honored. For example, I have recently made offerings to Bastet in Her aspect of the Goddess of Joy and Merriment. I have a simple prayer that I offer to the Moon at the first sighting after moondark and one at the full moon. I will go into these and others of my quirky list of beliefs as the year progresses.

For now, this serves as a brief intro to me.........

I'm a college graduate, a retired civil servant, a hopeless romantic, a flaming Liberal. I was raised a mainstream Protestant by a Methodist mom and Southern Baptist dad, but allowed to explore other belief systems. At an early age I was exposed to some of the Pentecostal faiths, I attended a Catholic church with my best friend, and I dabbled for a while in both Judaism and Mormonism. To my co-workers and most of the less liberal family members I presented myself as a Universalist (or Unitarian). I went to a number of "Camp Meetings" with one of my college friends. I took several classes in comparative religions. I have read extensively books about the basic Western faiths, and a goodly number of Eastern ones. (Highly recommended: The Joy of Sects, by Peter Occhiogrosso. He even has a good section on Paganism.)

My obsession is genealogy. I have worked ancestor worship into my own brand of paganism. I am also heavily into science fiction and fantasy, mysteries, romantic suspense (Nora Roberts/JD Robb is a favorite currently) and movies, particularly animation.

I guess that's about it for now. Expect more ramblings in the future.