Sin of Restriction is Like A Crown of Thorns

My Dear Readers have probably wondered why I have not blogged as frequently as I used to. Though I love blogging, I have been very busy. I have a whole new set of things to explore in Life and I am thankful. It's a lil scary, only because it's different but I remain ever mindful that stars shine their brightest in the dark. I have one very profound thing to say about this last four months.

Love is about empowerment. Anything else is not really love.

When I was growing up, one of things that used to get on my nerves were the visual forms of Jesus. Jesus was usually some beautiful white guy with with light-coloured  hair. This nerve was further struck by the notion that my ethnicity looks upon darker skinned individuals as lesser beings. I come from a stock, whereas, our skin color ranges from very light to very dark, depending upon the amount of inherited aboriginal blood. (My parents' country was one of those conquered ones) I am a dark-skinned individual. (Think Sookie, or Paris Hilton without the Oompa Loompa orange) As a very young girl, I realized that I could never attain that standard, no matter how hard I tried and no matter how good I was. I am not a white guy, like Jesus. Something happened to me as a little girl when I realized I can never attain that type beauty, I began to seek the true meaning of what is "beautiful" and therefore Divine. Although I now realize there is a difference between inner beauty and outer beauty, in my defense, I was thinking about these ideas as a girl of 8 or 9 years old.

What I found is that humans tend to portray their deity according to how they relate to them. It's cultural and a reflection of their environment. I guess that's why I find polytheism so attractive. I do not have to associate "beauty" and therefore Divine, to just one type of face and therefore I can actively become Divine myself. I am not bound to one image or concept.

My longtime Dear Readers have known about my issues with the triple goddess. I have problems with the idea because I cannot relate to it in almost the same way I could not accept the divine images in Christianity. Even though the deity has a woman's face, she still reminded me of the triplicity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.

I guess I finally reached an understanding of the whole thing when I was doing some personal Work. I actively look at the darker or shadow side of notions so I can find a more balanced perspective. It's that whole idea that "the stars shine their brightest in the dark". I have actively had to defend my type of framing because some pagans view it as negativity.

I was was trying to frame the feeling of resentment within the model of the seven ancient/sacred planets and within the context of the "seven deadly sins". What I found was that resentment cannot really be framed within the context of one planet. Frater MR reminded me that the only sin is the sin of restriction.

Two other things helped me resolve my difficulties with the triple deity notion.

I was visiting with my Beloved Frater and on his altar he has a picture of Jesus. Though he is a pagan like me, I asked him why he put the picture there. He told me that it was because he thought that Jesus was a good representation of Tiphareth and I was reminded of of the phrase "Christ Consciousness". Images of the Sun and glorious beams of Light began to form in my minds eye when he said it and I finally started to resolve within my heart, and not just in a cognitive sense, the concept of beauty within Christianity. It was quite an epiphany because in my heart, I still attribute my values of prayer and devotion to my Catholic upbringing. If anyone doubts that power, I challenge anyone to go to a Catholic church when the little old ladies are saying their rosary if a little one is sick. Those lil grandmas have a phone line to God.

Then, Frater RO made the comment:

"There's no guilt in Christianity. That's the point of Christianity. Anyone who tells you different is selling something."

When the divine wears the crown of thorns is not about the sin of restriction. It's not about restricting ourselves. It's not about guilt or sin at all.

The Divine, like Love, is about empowerment.